Working from home during the COVID -19 pandemic in the Netherlands

Wiezer, N.M.; Hengel, Karen Oude; Zoomer, Thijmen; Hooftman, W.

doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2021.12.983

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Within this time period, the governmental measures to stop the spread of the virus differed between measurements but also the working circumstances within this whole time period in various sectors differed from other years. For example, the number of homeworkers, and the number of hours working from home increased significantly during this period (Wiezer et al 2022 ). The pandemic might also have influenced the health status, especially the self-rated health of the participants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Within-individual changes in physical work demands associated with self-reported health and musculoskeletal symptoms: a cohort study among Dutch workers

Cillekens,

van Eeghen,

Oude Hengel

et al. 2023

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

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Purpose This study aimed to investigate changes in physical work demands in association with self-rated health and musculoskeletal symptoms. Methods Data from five waves over the period 2019–2021 of the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey COVID-19 were available for 7191 participants aged 19–64 years who worked (partly) on-site during at least two consecutive waves. Logistic generalized estimated equations (GEE) were used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for changes (increase or decrease compared to no change) in physical work demands between two waves and poor self-rated health and musculoskeletal symptoms in the following wave, adjusted for the health outcome at the first wave, age, educational level, working hours and hours worked from home. Results In females, a statistically significant association was found between an increase in physical work demands compared to no change and musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.17–1.65). A decrease in physical work demands in females was not statistically significantly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.80–1.08). Similar trends were found for poor self-rated health, although non-statistically significant. For males, comparable but attenuated associations were found. Conclusion While our study showed that increasing physical work demands are associated with adverse health (self-reported and musculoskeletal), it did not appear to benefit worker’s health to reduce work demands. Future research with multiple measurements in a shorter period and additionally using devices to measure physical work demands will be needed to confirm our study results.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Within-individual changes in physical work demands associated with self-reported health and musculoskeletal symptoms: a cohort study among Dutch workers

Cillekens,

van Eeghen,

Oude Hengel

et al. 2023

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

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“…Research is unclear on the overall effects of WFH on working conditions and wellbeing, with findings pointing towards both benefits and challenges [16,18,30,31,48]. Employee performance and wellbeing are often affected by similar factors.…”

Section: Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Age, gender, working hours and psychosocial working conditions may also predict musculoskeletal pain [55]. Several studies indicated that persons WFH during the pandemic, especially those who did so exclusively, tended to be more sedentary and less physically active [36,48,57]. However, persons WFH in the Netherlands during the pandemic reported good health and fewer musculoskeletal disorders than before [48].…”

Section: Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies indicated that persons WFH during the pandemic, especially those who did so exclusively, tended to be more sedentary and less physically active [36,48,57]. However, persons WFH in the Netherlands during the pandemic reported good health and fewer musculoskeletal disorders than before [48]. Besides, Grubben et al found WFH to be positively associated with sports participation [58].…”

Section: Wellbeingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trade Union Members’ Experiences and Attitudes towards Working from Home during the Pandemic

Debono

Garzia

2023

Sustainability

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The pandemic increased working from home (WFH) across the world. The implications of such practice for both organisations and employees are not sufficiently clear. This study examines the work-related experiences and attitudes of trade union members WFH in Malta during the first two years of the pandemic and compares them to those of workers not WFH. Data was collected through a mixed-method approach comprising focus groups (11 participants), a survey (340 participants) and interviews (15 participants). The pandemic appears to have affected less the careers of participants WFH than those of their peers. Participants were generally satisfied with their preparedness and productivity when WFH and experienced better work-related attitudes than those not WFH. But since the pandemic started, significant minorities of participants WFH felt lower levels of happiness and higher stress levels and experienced a deterioration in their physical and/or mental health. Participants experienced differential access to WFH according to their demographics and managerial attitudes. This study recommends trade unions to promote blended work whenever possible, as this system was not only favoured by participants WFH but also appeared to carry considerable benefits for both workers and organisations.

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“…Although work from home (WFH) has been present in Western countries for many years due to its numerous potential benefits for both businesses and employees, this concept is not very popular in Asian countries (Himawan et al ., 2022). However, since the outbreak of COVID-19, WFH has become more popular since it is not only a new way of working but also a measure that contributes to limiting the spread of the disease at work and in the community (Ekpanyaskul and Padungtod, 2021; Kaushik and Guleria, 2020; Li et al ., 2020; Savić, 2020; Tanathitikorn, 2022; Wiezer et al ., 2022). In many countries, WFH has even become a mandatory requirement for companies, organisations and governments (Pandey and Pal, 2020; Savić, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work-from-home intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory

Tsang

Liu

Nguyen

2023

IJM

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PurposeThe present study integrates inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory to propose a new model predicting employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed to collect data from 939 Taiwanese and Vietnamese office employees using a non-probability convenience sampling method. A total of 887 valid questionnaires were used for further analysis. The data were analysed following a two-stage structural equation modelling using SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 software. The validity and reliability of the instrument were tested and ensured.FindingsThe results revealed that inclusive leadership and factors related to protection motivation theory– including perceived severity and perceived vulnerability – have positive direct and indirect effects on employees' work-from-home intentions through the mediating role of employees' work-from-home-related attitudes. Protection motivation theory factors were found to have a stronger effect on employees' work-from-home intention than inclusive leadership. Differences in the relationship between perceived vulnerability, perceived severity and employees' intentions towards working from home were also discovered among participants from the two studied countries.Practical implicationsThe integration of inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory brings into light what will drive employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation. The present study has several theoretical and practical implications for scholars, governments, managers and policymakers that can help them improve management policies for working from home in the future.Originality/valueBased on integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory to explore employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation, the present study demonstrated that inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory should be considered for studies on working from home in a pandemic setting.

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Working from home during the COVID -19 pandemic in the Netherlands

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Within-individual changes in physical work demands associated with self-reported health and musculoskeletal symptoms: a cohort study among Dutch workers

Within-individual changes in physical work demands associated with self-reported health and musculoskeletal symptoms: a cohort study among Dutch workers

Trade Union Members’ Experiences and Attitudes towards Working from Home during the Pandemic

Work-from-home intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory

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