The paper examines the psychological impact of teleworking compared to office-based work. Results suggest a negative emotional impact of teleworking, particularly in terms of such emotions as loneliness, irritability, worry and guilt, and that teleworkers experience significantly more mental health symptoms of stress than office-workers and slightly more physical health symptoms. OverviewThe aim of this paper is to examine the psychological impact of teleworking in terms of its effects on (1) the emotions and (2) the stress and health of the teleworker when compared to the office-based worker. Two studies are presented: Study 1, which is qualitative and interview-based, addresses the first aim by comparing the emotional impact of work patterns on teleworking and office-based journalists. Study 2 uses a quantitative questionnaire-based design to address the second aim by comparing the occupational stress and health symptoms of office-workers and teleworkers. Before the current research is presented, a brief overview of teleworking and its currently understood benefits and problems are discussed.

For many within the nursing profession, the work role involves a great deal of emotional work or 'emotional labour'. Such emotional work can be performed through 'surface acting' in which the individual simply feigns an appropriate emotion, or through 'deep acting' in which they actually try to feel the required emotion. The current study aims to aid understanding of the complex relationship between components of emotional labour and stress within the mental health nursing sector. Thirty-five mental health nurses completed questionnaires relating to a total of 122 nurse-patient interactions. Data were collected in relation to: (1) the duration and intensity of the interaction; (2) the variety of emotions expressed; (3) the degree of surface or deep acting the nurse performed; and (4) the perceived level of stress the interaction involved. Nurses also completed Daily Stress Indicators. Results suggest that: (1) emotional labour is positively correlated with both 'interaction stress' and daily stress levels; (2) the deeper the intensity of interactions and the more variety of emotions experienced, the more emotional labour was reported; and (3) surface acting was a more important predictor of emotional labour than deep acting. Implications for mental health nurses are outlined.

Student boredom within the school system has been widely studied and shown to be linked to various negative consequences such as diminished academic achievement, school dissatisfaction and truancy. However, little attention has been given to the issue of boredom within higher education and the current study aims to redress this balance. Two hundred and eleven university students completed questionnaires aimed at assessing contributors, moderators and consequences of their boredom. Results reveal that 59% of students find their lectures boring half the time and 30% find most or all of their lectures to be boring. The consequences of being bored included students missing future lectures and there was also a significant association between level of boredom and grade point average. The most important teaching factor contributing to student boredom is the use of PowerPoint slides, whilst the personality trait Boredom Proneness was the most important factor moderating the experience of boredom. Implications for future research and for teaching staff are outlined.

The practice of tele-or home-working, has been adopted by an increasing number of companies and workers in response to the changing economic and social needs that characterise the world of work today. Working from home brings new challenges as well as benefits, and a variety of studies have examined the impact of tele-working in terms of such benefits and costs. Few studies, however, have focused on the emotional impact that working away from the office may have on workers as they cope with new technologies, reduced support, increased social isolation and other changes. This neglect of the feelings of workers reflects a somewhat wider neglect in the arena of emotion at work in general. The present study aims to redress this balance through a qualitative pilot study that examines the changing emotions that tele-workers experience. The implications of the study for tele-workers and managers are outlined.

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