Documents labour flexibility 712 results

"Work organization practices, including work flexibility, are changing and can affect worker well-being. Common work flexibility types include working at home, taking time off when needed, and changing one's work schedule. Given the changes in and the importance of work flexibility, the study assesses its prevalence and association with worker well-being in the United States. We used 2002–2018 General Social Survey—Quality of Worklife (GSS-QWL) data, descriptive statistics, and regression analyses to assess the reported likelihood of job stress, job satisfaction, healthy days, and days with activity limitations among workers reporting work flexibility. The prevalence of work flexibility remained relatively stable during the period examined. Working at home increased the likelihood of job stress by 22% and job satisfaction by 65%. Taking time off decreased the likelihood of job stress by 56% and days with activity limitations by 24%, and more than doubled the likelihood of job satisfaction. Changing one's schedule decreased the likelihood of job stress by 20% and increased the likelihood of job satisfaction by 62%. This study used all the available data from GSS-QWL and demonstrated the ongoing importance of work flexibility for well-being."

"The unprecedented extension of telework as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 gives rise to questions about the impact of this form of work organisation in the longer term, particularly because there are many reasons to believe that it will accelerate pre-existing trends towards the digitalisation of work and the increasing flexibility of work arrangements. Many employers have had a large proportion of their employees working from home since March 2020. Both employers and employees with no previous experience of telework have faced the advantages and drawbacks of this work arrangement. As time goes on, it is likely that telework and more flexible work organisation arrangements will become a more prominent and permanent feature for employers and employees. While literature outlines the potential benefits of telework for both organisations and individuals in terms of flexibility, autonomy, performance and work-life balance, studies also point out potential drawbacks. Telework has traditionally been associated with psychosocial risks, mainly related to the pervasiveness of information and communications technology (ICT) (extended availability and increased workload), blurring boundaries between work and private life (work-life conflict) and isolation. Telework also entails higher ergonomic risks because working outside the employer's premises increases the complexity of risk assessment and the enforcement of occupational safety and health (OSH) standards by either the company or workers' representatives. The increased prevalence of telework as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increasing interest regarding this form of work organisation and its impact on the well-being and health of employees. For this reason, in autumn 2020 the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) conducted a consultation with its national focal points (FOPs) network through an online survey about existing legislation applicable to telework in a national context, and any legal changes, initiatives and debates resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This report presents an analysis on how telework is regulated in Europe, based on this consultation and an additional literature review, including a review of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO's) national legislation database. The report starts with an introductory overview of EU regulation pre-COVID-19, followed by an analysis of national regulation pre-COVID-19. The next chapter provides an account of changes in legislation, other initiatives and policy debates post COVID-19. The report ends with some concluding remarks."

"Does flexible working really provide a better work-life balance? Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, flexible working has become the norm for many workers. This volume offers an original examination of flexible working using data from 30 European countries and drawing on studies conducted in Australia, the US and India. Rather than providing a better work-life balance, the book reveals how flexible working can lead to exploitation, which manifests differently for women and men, such as more care responsibilities or increased working hours. Taking a critical stance, this book investigates the potential risks and benefits of flexible working and provides crucial policy recommendations for overcoming the negative consequences."

"The year 2022 opened with cautious optimism. Europe was emerging from two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with NextGenerationEU setting out a plan for a recovery that builds a strong and sustainable future. The Russian attack on Ukraine early in the year changed the situation dramatically, however, creating new turmoil across the continent. In its work during the year, Eurofound documented the impact of the rising cost of living and other developments arising from the war on the economic and psychological well-being of Europeans. This 2022 yearbook also summarises findings from the Agency's signature survey on working conditions during the pandemic, its reporting of trends in employment and its study of the potential role of social dialogue in the green and digital transition. Eurofound's research on working and living conditions in Europe provides a bedrock of evidence for input into social policymaking and achieving the Agency's vision ‘to be Europe's leading knowledge source for better life and work'."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged the spread of remote working as an instrument to prevent the stop of work activities. Resilience has led to the adaptation of the existing work models into hybrid ones, enabling many companies to test new forms of organisation. This has led to critical issues, particularly in the management of the health and safety at work and in the sustainability of production processes, due to the contradictions in these areas, in the European legislation. At present, it is still difficult to obtain an overall framework of effects and possible risks of hybrid workplaces. In fact, in addition to traditional risks, new risks and unexplored interaction between risks and human factor are emerging. Furthermore, it highlights the need to rethink new reference figures in the safety management system. However, the benefits of increased productivity, work life balance, sustainability and environmental impact are clear. The aim of this research is to rationalize the technical knowledge and the case studies of possible risks related to hybrid workplace, in order to support the worker and the employer in the analysis of hazards and risk assessment, risk communication and prevention, through a dynamic assessment system based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). For this purpose, the current legislation has to be investigated, identifying technological solutions useful to fill some gaps for an extension of protection in new forms of remote work."

"The post-pandemic recovery of Europe continued in 2023, with strong job creation despite subdued economic growth, against a background of rising geopolitical tension. Eurofound's research over the year brought to light evidence on the key issues shaping the daily lives and work of Europeans. This 2023 yearbook provides a snapshot of that work, summarising the Agency's findings on a wide range of topics, including rising labour shortages and initiatives to address them, the impact of workplace stressors on health and well-being, the challenges of securing affordable housing, and developments in minimum wages across the Member States. Eurofound's research on working and living conditions in Europe provides a bedrock of evidence for social policymaking and achieving the Agency's vision ‘to be Europe's leading knowledge source for better life and work'."

"Job insecurity is negatively associated with employees' extra-role behavior. Studies of this negative impact often use a social exchange or stress–strain perspective to explain how job insecurity impairs employees' extra-role behavior. This study offers an alternative account. Based on a conservation of resources perspective, the authors propose that job insecurity denotes a threat of loss of resources, which will motivate individuals to focus on how to protect what they have and reduce further loss. Such conservation of resources will limit one's flexibility, or the ability to consider alternatives and change a course of action in response to environmental changes, and thus undermine employees' extra-role behavior for pursuing constructive changes at work (i.e., taking charge). The authors also propose that the impact of job insecurity on flexibility can be more detrimental to employees higher in work-based self-esteem (i.e., domain-specific self-esteem) due to the experience of self-concept dissonance. The results, obtained from 188 employees in 19 teams of a manufacturing company, supported the hypotheses, while mechanisms suggested by a social exchange perspective (i.e., felt obligation to organizations) and a stress–strain perspective (i.e., vigor) were taken into account. This investigation extends understanding of how and why job insecurity influences employees' work behavior, as well as who is most vulnerable to job insecurity."

"Die Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt seit der Mitte der 2010er Jahre wurde früh mit weitreichenden Hoffnungen und Befürchtungen für Veränderungen in den Geschlechterverhältnissen diskutiert. Mittlerweile liegen diverse, ein breites Feld an Fragen umspannende empirische Studien vor. Nach einigen Vormerkungen zum Verhältnis von Gender und Technik resümiert der Beitrag die bisherigen Befunde entlang von fünf Themenfeldern, die sich als Schwerpunkte der Digitalisierungsforschung aus Geschlechterperspektiven herausgebildet haben: 1. Ortsflexibilisierung / Homeoffice, 2. Plattformen, 3. Automatisierung und neue Anforderungen, 4. Diskriminierung durch Algorithmen und KI und 5. mangelnde Diversität und (globale) Ungleichheiten in der Technikentwicklung. Die Autorin schließt mit einer Zwischenbilanz dieser bisher vorliegenden Befunde und benennt weiteren Forschungsbedarf."