Humanoid service robots made swift progress in extending a helping hand to the strained global healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case provides an overview of the robots’ inclusion in healthcare regarding pre- and intra-pandemic contexts. Specific focus is devoted to humanoid service robots as their shape, size, and mobility make them advantageous in using the physical spaces designed for humans. A collection of examples from hospitals worldwide is presented in illustrating the humanoid service robots’ deployment in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pointed future directions aim to facilitate better decision- and policy-making that may ease human anxiety and promote greater acceptance.

Communal tables and open workspaces have become popular servicescapes, that is, contemporary spaces for experiencing, dining, or working alone but together. Previous research demonstrates that experiencing with close others (e.g., with friends or family) increases happiness and satisfaction, but experiences shared with strangers in contexts such as communal tables or workshops have not yet been thoroughly analyzed. Addressing this research gap from a social–psychological perspective, we suggest that even though individuals are generally happier when they share experiences with loved ones, self‐construal plays a moderating role in the relationship. Individuals with high autonomy and high relatedness do not anticipate greater happiness from experiences shared with friends than with those shared with strangers. Three experimental studies (two online and one field) demonstrate this effect, using different operationalizations of autonomy relatedness. Managerial implications are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.

Self-concept clarity (SCC), defined as the extent to which the content of an individual's self-beliefs is clearly and confidently defined and internally consistent, influences experiences in social relationships. This paper extends the previous literature on SCC by proposing and demonstrating that high-SCC individuals anticipate and experience more happiness than low-SCC individuals when they share a social setting with friends and anticipate and experience less happiness than low-SCC individuals when they share a social setting with strangers and that this is because of perceived interpersonal distance. A series of four studies, including both online studies and a field study, support these predictions. Alternative explanations of self-esteem and self-efficacy are also ruled out. The findings yield both theoretical contributions and practical implications.

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