The Covid-19 crisis across the world has increased the proportion of e-working. The transition from cubicles to the home office raised many questions in connection with companies adopting the new working conditions. Our paper provides recent evidence on the extent of this move, its impact on workplace evolution, productivity and the future prevalence of the face-to-display workplace after the easing of the lockdown. It uses data from 154 service employees of an Austrian sports and leisure product company obtained using online surveys on employees' opinions on e-working. By a coincidence, we conducted the first of them shortly prior to the epidemic. We decided to modify our planned research goals and decided to study their opinions during different Covid-19 stages. As a result, our findings do not follow all the academic standards. First, they are almost impossible to replicate due to the specific coincidence. Then, the shift in our aims leads us to minor changes in the content of the questionnaire. There are not only significant differences in the proportion of workers in the office and at home during the different periods of the lockdown. After its end, there was a significant increase in the number of those who had started working at home—more than one half. Compared to the period prior to the lockdown, they have a tolerant attitude to their work from home and believe that their productivity might remain the same. For many of them the change was an unavoidable obligation so they would prefer to return to the traditional workplace. The results suggest that more than one fifth want to continue working from home permanently, about one third more frequently than before, more than a quarter sometimes and just one seventh not at all. We studied the issues related to their productivity and its limits during all three stages. There are three important reasons for the fall in productivity related to e-working: (1) Providing childcare/home schooling, pet sitting and/or care for others while working (>one-fourth); (2) Work-from-home routine (>one-fourth); and (3) Having less work to do (>one-fifth).

In this pilot study, we investigated the biocompatibility and degradation rate of an extruded Zn–0.8Mg–0.2Sr (wt.%) alloy on a rabbit model. An alloy screw was implanted into one of the tibiae of New Zealand White rabbits. After 120 days, the animals were euthanized. Evaluation included clinical assessment, microCT, histological examination of implants, analyses of the adjacent bone, and assessment of zinc, magnesium, and strontium in vital organs (liver, kidneys, brain). The bone sections with the implanted screw were examined via scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). This method showed that the implant was covered by a thin layer of phosphate-based solid corrosion products with a thickness ranging between 4 and 5 µm. Only negligible changes of the implant volume and area were observed. The degradation was not connected with gas evolution. The screws were fibrointegrated, partially osseointegrated histologically. We observed no inflammatory reaction or bone resorption. Periosteal apposition and formation of new bone with a regular structure were frequently observed near the implant surface. The histological evaluation of the liver, kidneys, and brain showed no toxic changes. The levels of Zn, Mg, and Sr after 120 days in the liver, kidneys, and brain did not exceed the reference values for these elements. The alloy was safe, biocompatible, and well-tolerated.

Objectives: Working remotely comes with significant pros and cons with different demands for individuals or teams. E-working has been the object of much interest, but there has been little research on the statistical difference between its advantages and disadvantages. Research Question: Is there a significant statistical difference between them? Methods: The present research, however, goes one step further and identifies the statistical difference between them. Firstly, we evaluated the positive and negative aspects with a meta-analysis of 20 studies and, secondly, we used a non-parametric test, namely the Wilcoxon Rank Test, for further analysis across pros and cons. Findings: We found that e-working provides more positive than negative ones. A binomial test showed that most studies (more than 50%) mention flexibility, productivity and efficiency, satisfaction and WLB as benefits. Novelty/improvement:E-working is a triple win option. There are many advantages to working remotely, but this method of work does not suit everyone. Our results provide building blocks for a more complete theoretical and practical treatment of e-working for the future. But COVID-19, technology advancement and a connected global world show clearly that e-working will play a crucial role in the future of the workplace. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-SPER-02 Full Text: PDF

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Workplace culture includes beliefs, attitudes, practices, rules, norms and customs. Ideal workplace culture focuses on activities that generate and demonstrate trust. A strong form of essential values that all employees respect and practice helps to build the positivity and effectiveness of a workplace environment. This paper examines the positivity and effectiveness of an on-site and hybrid working model from Austria. A research question is raised that concerns the difference between negative and positive approaches towards different working environments when following the aspects of respect and dignity, support, caring, rewards, forgiveness and inspiration, and asks whether these differ fundamentally and represent different theoretical mechanisms. Mixed research methods (quantitative and qualitative) using the medium of WhatsApp were applied. Relying on Chi-squared tests, we detected significant differences in 25 out of 29 statements where hybrid workers are more often supporting, caring, rewarding, forgiving and inspiring than cubicle workers. In four cases, the test did not detect any significant difference of respect and dignity dimensions: treating each other with respect, demonstrating integrity, fostering dignity in one another and showing appreciation for one another. Evidently, as shown by the data obtained, organisations that offer a hybrid working model have a very high score of positivity and effectiveness in providing the best place to work. The hybrid model might be an inevitable arrangement for some organisations. The interview data present a clearer picture of some pros and cons. The current data seem to reveal that these benefits persist as companies shift to hybrid working at scale and at pace.   Received: 7 July 2021 / Accepted: 19 August 2021 / Published: 5 September 2021