1. COVID-19 and Teleworking from Home: Understanding New Issues from a Macroergonomic Perspective
- Author
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Michelle M. Robertson, Marcelo Gitirana Gomes Ferreira, and Lígia de Godoy
- Subjects
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak ,Work (electrical) ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,business.industry ,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ,Perspective (graphical) ,Workload ,Business ,Public relations ,Closure (psychology) - Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has been adopted by many organizations as a way to reduce the risk of contagion and preserve jobs and companies. This emergency situation led to a sudden and compulsory shift from the office to home, forcing the adoption of teleworking from home by people and organizations who had little or no experience with this type of workstyle modality. Also, important phases such as planning and resourcing workers and managers may have been passed over with minimal or no attention. This paper aims to raise and discuss experiences on the adoption of remote work during COVID-19 and issues that should be addressed to avoid possible negative outcomes. Experiences in the adoption of telework during the pandemic show consequences already discussed by the literature, like work-family conflict, but under specific circumstances, such as the closure of schools and daycare centers. Excess workload and technology invasion are also reported as difficulties of remote work in this scenario. Using a macroergonomic model, we address issues that should be verified to overcome these challenges, at different levels, considering factors related to the organizational, personnel, and technological subsystems, and the external environment. The use of a macroergonomic model intends to consider aspects from diverse areas that could influence individual, group, or organizational desired outcomes. The consequences of sudden and enforced remote work during COVID-19 reinforce the importance of planning and accompanying telework comprehensively.
- Published
- 2021
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