Remote Work: New Fields and Challenges for Labor Activism

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered how and when we work. Suddenly, organizations had to grant the possibility of working from home to all employees whose presence on-site was not necessary, independent of rank and job. In light of this experience, a return to permanent presence in the office for all has become unlikely. As remote work has both positive and negative implications for employees, their organizations, and workplace institutions, this contribution seeks to answer the following questions: First, what are the challenges for workplace equity and employee well-being that arise from the increased use of remote work? Second, what can be done to ensure that remote work actually benefits employees? Third, what are the implications of the increased use of remote work for the labor movement?

Dijitalleşmenin Etkisinde İnsan Kaynakları Uygulamaları, Çalışanların Yetkinlikleri ve İyi Oluş Halleri

“…Uzaktan çalışmayı evlerinden gerçekleştiren çalışanlar açısından iş-aile çatışmasının arttığına ilişkin bulgular bulunmaktadır (Yang vd., 2023). Bunun yanı sıra bu araştırmada da benzer bir bulgu olarak; uzaktan çalışmayla beraber gelen çalışanların sürekli olarak kontrol amaçlı izlenmesinin, çalışanların kendilerine güvenilmediğini hissettirdiği, bu durumunda çalışanların iyi oluşları üzerinde olumsuz yansımaları olduğu belirtilmektedir (Anteby ve Chan, 2018;Hipp ve Krzywdzinski, 2023).…”

The Digitalization Boost of the Covid‐19 Pandemic and Changes in Job Quality

“…In our study, we focus on those aspects of subjective job quality that we regard as key at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Germany, the massive implemen-tation of short-time work-a government-subsidized scheme to temporarily reduce regular working hourspreserved many jobs (Bauer & Weber, 2021), and lockdowns were less strict than in other countries, so one of the most severe changes in daily working life was the obligation to work from home if the nature of the job permitted it (Hipp & Krzywdzinski, 2023). For working parents, telework was often complicated by caring for their children during work due to daycare and school closures (Zoch et al, 2022).…”

“…Scholars have identified increased flexibility in working time and improved work-family reconciliation connected to telework (Pfeiffer, 2012;Sardeshmukh et al, 2012). Although telework seems to enhance job satisfaction, it also involves specific demands, which have become apparent during the widespread use of telework in recent years (Hipp & Krzywdzinski, 2023). These are reduced interactions with coworkers and increased work-life boundarylessness (Wöhrmann & Ebner, 2021), resulting in stress due to constant availability and information overload (Pfeiffer, 2012).…”

“…In the course of increasing digitalization in the workplace and the mass dissemination of telework, digital communication, and digital collaboration during the Covid-19 pandemic (Adams-Prassl et al, 2022;Bellmann et al, 2021;Hansen et al, 2023;OECD, 2021), the association of digitalization and job quality has received great research interest (Hipp & Krzywdzinski, 2023;Laß et al, 2023;Senik et al, 2022;Wöhrmann & Ebner, 2021). This pandemic-driven digitalization boost provides scholars with the unique opportunity to study the positive and negative effects of rapid workplace digitalization on several aspects of job quality.…”