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1 – 10 of 21Hsin-Te Wu and Kuo Cheng Chung
This study aims to focus on the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) course. As AIoT has many theoretical theories and students usually have little interest in learning the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) course. As AIoT has many theoretical theories and students usually have little interest in learning the protocols, the experiments can help stimulate their curiosity. Due to the environmental factor, the teaching requires assistive videos and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to understand students' learning conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
The experimental design generally follows the course theories going from easy to complex, and students can extend the acquired concepts to other project development, yet, without in-depth knowledge about the experiment, resulting in limited creativity.
Findings
The assessment analysis can reveal whether students have grown from the teaching. The final analysis at the end of the term can show learners' conditions; meanwhile, students can deliver their level of satisfaction. The click-and-mortar teaching environment provided in this research can improve learning setting and quality, solidifying learners' proficiency.
Originality/value
The research result has proved the feasibility of the proposed method. Apart from showing the experimental steps, the video also explains the corresponding theories, helping students reinforce experimental knowledge and boost learning willingness.
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Simon Lansmann, Jana Mattern, Simone Krebber and Joschka Andreas Hüllmann
Positive experiences with working from home (WFH) during the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) have motivated many employees to continue WFH after the pandemic. However, factors…
Abstract
Purpose
Positive experiences with working from home (WFH) during the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) have motivated many employees to continue WFH after the pandemic. However, factors influencing employees' WFH intentions against the backdrop of experiences during pandemic-induced enforced working from home (EWFH) are heterogeneous. This study investigates factors linked to information technology (IT) professionals' WFH intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
This mixed-methods study with 92 IT professionals examines the effects of seven predictors for IT professionals' WFH intentions. The predictors are categorized according to the trichotomy of (1) characteristics of the worker, (2) characteristics of the workspace and (3) the work context. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the quantitative survey data. In addition, IT professionals' responses to six open questions in which they reflect on past experiences and envision future work are examined.
Findings
Quantitative results suggest that characteristics of the worker, such as segmentation preference, are influencing WFH intentions stronger than characteristics of the workspace or the work context. Furthermore, perceived productivity during EWFH and gender significantly predict WFH intentions. Contextualizing these quantitative insights, the qualitative data provides a rich yet heterogeneous list of factors why IT professionals prefer (not) to work from home.
Practical implications
Reasons influencing WFH intentions vary due to individual preferences and constraints. Therefore, a differentiated organizational approach is recommended for designing future work arrangements. In addition, the findings suggest that team contracts to formalize working patterns, e.g. to agree on the needed number of physical meetings, can be helpful levers to reduce the complexity of future work that is most likely a mix of WFH and office arrangements.
Originality/value
This study extends literature reflecting on COVID-19-induced changes, specifically the emerging debate about why employees want to continue WFH. It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to understand which factors influence IT professionals' WFH intentions and how they impact the design and implementation of future hybrid work arrangements.
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Vahagn Jerbashian and Montserrat Vilalta-Bufí
The authors analyzed the evolution of working from home (WFH) within industries in 12 European countries in the period 2008–2017 and studied its relationship with information and…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors analyzed the evolution of working from home (WFH) within industries in 12 European countries in the period 2008–2017 and studied its relationship with information and communication technologies (ICT).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used data from the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) to document the trends and levels of WFH within industries in 12 European countries. The authors further used the EU-KLEMS database and a difference-in-difference approach to study whether the fall in prices of ICT is associated with a higher share of employees who work from home in industries that depend more on ICT relative to industries that depend less.
Findings
The authors show that WFH has increased almost everywhere and that there is significant heterogeneity across industries. The authors provide evidence that the fall in prices of ICT is associated with a higher share of employees who work from home in industries that depend more on ICT relative to industries that depend less. This result also holds within age, gender and occupation groups. While the authors find no significant differences among gender and occupation groups, the positive association between the fall in ICT prices and WFH increases with age.
Originality/value
This paper has two main contributions: First, it reports that WFH has increased in European countries in the period 2008–2017. Second, it provides new explorations about the relationship between ICT and WFH by using the price variation of ICT.
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Lisa Bellmann, Lutz Bellmann and Olaf Hübler
We enquire whether short-time work (STW) avoids firings as intended by policymakers and is associated with unintended side effects by subsidising some establishments and locking…
Abstract
Purpose
We enquire whether short-time work (STW) avoids firings as intended by policymakers and is associated with unintended side effects by subsidising some establishments and locking in some employees. Additionally, where it was feasible, establishments used working from home (WFH) to continue working without risking an increase in COVID-19 infections and allowing employed parents to care for children attending closed schools.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 21 waves of German high-frequency establishment panel data collected during the COVID-19 crisis, we investigate how STW and WFH are associated with hirings, firings, resignations and excess labour turnover (or churning).
Findings
Our results show the important influences of STW and working from home on employment dynamics during the pandemic. By means of STW, establishments are able to avoid an increase in involuntary layoffs and hiring decreases significantly. In contrast, WFH is associated with a rise in resignations, as can be expected from a theoretical perspective.
Originality/value
While most of the literature on STW and WFH is unrelated and remains descriptive, we consider them in conjunction and conduct panel data analyses. We apply data and methods that allow for the dynamic pattern of STW and working from home during the pandemic. Furthermore, our data include relevant establishment-level variables, such as the existence of a works council, employee qualifications, establishment size, the degree to which the establishment was affected by the COVID-19 crisis, industry affiliation and a wave indicator for the period the survey was conducted.
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Marianne Thejls Ziegler and Christoph Lütge
This study aims to analyse the differences between professional interaction mediated by video conferencing and direct professional interaction. The research identifies diverging…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the differences between professional interaction mediated by video conferencing and direct professional interaction. The research identifies diverging interests of office workers for the purpose of addressing work ethical and business ethical issues of professional collaboration, competition, and power in future hybrid work models.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on 28 qualitative interviews conducted between November 2020 and June 2021, and through the theoretical lens of phenomenology, the study develops explanatory hypotheses conceptualising four basic intentions of professional interaction and their corresponding preferences for video conferences and working on site.
Findings
The four intentions developed on the basis of the interviews are: the need for physical proximity; the challenge of collective creativity; the will to influence; and control of communication. This conceptual framework qualifies a moral ambivalence of professional interaction. The authors identify a connectivity paradox of professional interaction where the personal dimension remains unarticulated for the purpose of maintaining professionality. This tacit human connectivity is intertwined with latent power relations. This plasticity of both connectivity and power in direct interaction can be diminished by transferring the interaction to video conferencing.
Originality/value
The application of phenomenology to a collection of qualitative interviews has enabled the identification of underlying intention structures and the system in which they affect each other. This research identifies conflicts of interests between workers relative to their different self-perceived abilities to persevere in competitive professional interaction. It is therefore able to address consequences of future hybrid work models at an existential and societal level.
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Bee Lan Oo and Benson Teck-Heng Lim
This study aims to explore the gender differences in working from home (WFH) experiences during the pandemic from the Australia’s construction workforce perspective. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the gender differences in working from home (WFH) experiences during the pandemic from the Australia’s construction workforce perspective. Specifically, it explores gender differences in terms of: (1) the respondents’ family responsibilities during the pandemic; (2) their WFH experiences prior to and during the pandemic; and (3) their perceptions of the impacts of challenges associated with WFH on their work activities and performance along with their self-reported work performance when WFH, overall satisfaction with WFH and preference for WFH post-COVID.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a survey design to reach the targeted sample population, i.e. construction workforce in the Australian construction industry who has had experienced WFH during the pandemic. Data was collected using an online anonymous questionnaire survey.
Findings
The results show notable gender differences in various aspects including family responsibilities, workplace arrangements and perceptions of the impacts of the challenges associated with WFH on work activities and performance. Also, statistically significant associations are detected between gender and the respondents’ self-reported work performance when WFH, overall satisfaction with WFH and preference for WFH post-COVID.
Originality/value
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about WFH experiences among construction workforce due to the low prevalence of regular and planned remote working in the industry. This is the first study sheds light on construction workforce WFH experiences using gender lenses. The findings have implications for construction-related firms continuing with WFH arrangement post the pandemic, which may include the formulation of policy responses to re-optimize their present WFH practices.
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Sarit Rashkovits and Esther Unger-Aviram
To better understand employees’ preferred extent for working from home (WFH) setting that implies physical distance from clients and co-workers and enhanced physical proximity to…
Abstract
Purpose
To better understand employees’ preferred extent for working from home (WFH) setting that implies physical distance from clients and co-workers and enhanced physical proximity to others at home, this study, relying on job-demands resources (J-DR) theory, aims to investigate the relationships between this preference with both the perceived increase in emotional job demands and the exposure to childcare demands. Thus, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of perceived job difficulty in the relationship between emotional job demands and the preferred extent for WFH, and the moderating role of gender in the relationship between the number of children and the preferred extent for WFH.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 239 employees who began WFH during the pandemic completed an online survey. Structural equation modelling was conducted to analyse the data and test the hypotheses.
Findings
As expected, an increase in emotional job demands had a significant negative indirect association with the preferred extent for WFH, through perceived increase in job difficulty. Furthermore, the number of children was negatively related to the preferred extent for WFH among male but not female employees.
Practical implications
The findings provide insights for promoting employees’ preferred extent for WFH.
Originality/value
The study points to a relationship between emotional job demands and employee attitudes towards WFH in terms of increased job difficulty and the preferred extent for WFH. It also points to the need to investigate the interaction between sex and number of children to understand employees’ preferred extent for WFH.
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Katarzyna Mikołajczyk, Dorota Molek-Winiarska and Emily Kleszewski
The main aims of the paper were to explore the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in shaping the work-life balance of managers working remotely and to identify…
Abstract
Purpose
The main aims of the paper were to explore the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in shaping the work-life balance of managers working remotely and to identify individual recovery strategies and organisational interventions to support digital managers. The theoretical background was based on the work-family border theory and the effort-recovery model.
Design/methodology/approach
A semi-structured individual in-depth interview (IDI) was used as the research method. The research group consisted of 13 managers from companies in Poland representing various industries. In all, 560 min of recordings and 201 pages of text were obtained and subsequently coded and categorised.
Findings
The results showed that remote managers struggle with the work-life imbalance and blurred boundaries between work and private roles, as well as difficulties in maintaining digital hygiene. The use of ICT enables high flexibility but contributes to work-life conflict. Managers who work from home experience a constant workload and suffer from impaired recovery. The use of ICT creates a need to recover and maintain digital hygiene. However, there are constraints that impede managers' recovery attempts. Many feel that their work does not allow to recover but requires to be “always on” to help their subordinates fulfil their responsibilities, even though they do not expect their subordinates to work after hours. Finally, managers perceive organisational support as insufficient or inappropriate for their needs. They admit that they do not participate in organisational interventions due to lack of time and do not believe that they help them to maintain or restore their well-being.
Originality/value
The role of ICT in blurring the boundaries between work and private roles was explored in depth, as was the “always on” phenomenon as a factor contributing to the tension between the need to recover and the inability to engage in recovery activities. The study has practical implications for integrating individual and organisational approaches to well-being and identifies solutions to encourage managers to maintain digital hygiene and mental health.
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Balagopal Gopalakrishnan, Aravind Sampath and Jagriti Srivastava
In this study, we examine whether work from home (WFH) had an impact on firm productivity during the COVID-19 period.
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, we examine whether work from home (WFH) had an impact on firm productivity during the COVID-19 period.
Design/methodology/approach
We employ a panel fixed-effect model using 79,201 firm-quarter observations in a cross-country setting of 68 countries.
Findings
First, we find that firms that employed WFH contributed to real sector growth during the pandemic due to greater capital expenditure compared to otherwise. Second, we find that WFH amenable firms turned over assets better than less WFH amenable firms.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the impact of WFH on firms’ investment and efficiency using a cross-country setting.
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Hannah Kira Wilson, Matthew Tucker and Gemma Dale
This research investigates the challenges and benefits of working from home and the needs that organisations should understand when adopting working from home practices.
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates the challenges and benefits of working from home and the needs that organisations should understand when adopting working from home practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-determination theory was used to understand the drivers of motivation when working from home, to provide a deep understanding of how organisations may support employees working from home. A cross-sectional qualitative survey design was used to collect data from 511 office workers during May and June of 2020.
Findings
Employees' needs for competence were thwarted by a lack of direction and focus, unsuitable work environment, work extensification and negative work culture. Employees' experiences and needs for relatedness were more diverse, identifying that they enjoyed spending more time with family and having a greater connection to the outdoors, but felt more isolated and suffered from a lack of interaction. Employees' experiences of autonomy whilst working from home were also mixed, having less autonomy from blurred boundaries between home and work, as well as childcare responsibilities. Conversely, there was more freedom to be able to concentrate on physical health.
Practical implications
Employee’s needs for competence should be prioritised. Organisations must be conscious of this and provide the support that enables direction and focus when working at home.
Originality/value
Swathes of research were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but overwhelmingly focused on quantitative methods. A qualitative survey design enabled participants to answer meaningful open-ended questions, better suited to explain the complexity of their experiences, which allowed for understanding and richness not gained through previous studies.
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