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Smart-work has been attracting more attention since the COVID-19 outbreak hit the world in 2020. Smart-working practices do not always run smoothly despite the necessary infrastructure being in place. Taking the quality-value-loyalty chain and information system continuance model as the basis, this study aims to identify how “smart-work support service” leads to employees’ continuance intention toward smart-work. In this study, the smart-work support service refers to the infrastructure making smart-work possible and services needed to support smart-work.

Using data collected from a survey of 406 employees working in Korea, this study verifies the components of smart-work support service quality and dimensions of perceived value through partial least squares analysis and then tests the proposed conceptual model using structural equation modeling.

The results verified that the quality of smart-work support service consists of eight attributes while dividing the perceived value of smart-work into three dimensions and further revealed that the service quality influences the intention to continue smart-working by way of perceived value and satisfaction.

This study sought to explore the relationship among service quality, perceived value and satisfaction by clearly conceptualizing and measuring them in the context of smart-work, thereby ultimately understanding the impact they have on the intention to continue smart-work.

This study aims to develop a scale for new ways of working (NWW) in higher education institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The study also intends to validate the psychometric properties of the developed scale.

This study targeted the academic staff of universities in the GCC region. Out of the 1,200 questionnaires distributed, only 1,016 questionnaires represented valid responses. Because there was not a unified theory for NWW, the authors developed a six-dimension tool that covered all virtual work aspects and psychometrically validated.

The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a structural model of six factors: flexible work location; work–life balance; communication; workplace design at home; culture and motivation; and satisfaction. The model showed a satisfactory fit. The scale consisted of 32 items with a high Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.85, which demonstrated good internal consistency. The results also suggested that the NWW scale had adequate convergent and divergent validity.

The data for the current study is a cross-sectional that represents a single sector; therefore, it would be more interesting to include more sectors. The study findings contribute to the ongoing debate in feasibility and usefulness of NWW pre, during and post-Covid-19 crisis. This research has offered a new scale for measuring NWW that fits dynamic educational environment where continuous learning and innovation are the key critical factors for survival. For this reason, further future studies need to refine, validate and improve the current scale structure. Also, because the current scale is by no means conclusive, future studies may look at other work characteristics and contextual factors that determine the success of NWW.

Practitioners can use the results of the current study as an intervention tool to leverage NWW acceptance to regain benefits and mitigate negative consequences. In addition, policymakers may use the scale as an evaluation tool to examine the readiness of higher education institutions to counter the COVID-19 crisis.

The originality of this work stems from the fact that it is the first study to develop a scale for NWW and test its psychometric properties in higher education institutions in the GCC countries, a domain that has been ignored by the extant literature.

This study aims to examine the impact of “space-as-a-service” (SAAS) provision on office rents in the UK and quantify premia to office rents.

Using hedonic modelling techniques the authors are able to quantify the impact of a number of SAAS features on office rents in the City of London using CoStar data. The authors control for the quality of the buildings by focussing on five-star buildings, rated by CoStar, as these buildings are more likely to incorporate SAAS features.

Using data on 317 transactions in 37 City of London Office buildings over the period 1 November 2004–15 July 2020, the authors find that tenant exclusive mobile applications (MAPPS) and a public terrace or rooftop command a rent premium of around £13 and £6.5 per sq. ft per annum, respectively. However, other SAAS features such as conferencing facilities, on-site fitness centre and touch down space have no significant impact on office rents. The impact of exclusive MAPPS varies with size of net lettable area.

The SAAS real estate model is an emerging trend in the office market. As it grows in importance more research questions will have to be investigated. The present study raises awareness of the need to specify SAAS features and form a rating system that will facilitate future research on the subject.

The conclusion from the present investigation is that only two SAAS features have a positive impact on office (tenant exclusive mobile apps and a public terrace or rooftop), which suggest that these two features may form the basis of any future SAAS rating system. These two SAAS components should carry more weight in valuations and pricing.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that attempts to quantify the impact of SAAS features on office rents.

This article responds to the call for more research on mobile work by exploring how the aspirations of these workers relate to job satisfaction through adaptation to the job characteristics they experience.

Based on aspiration theory and the literature on mobile work, the paper examines how mobile workers form aspirations and how this is related to their perception of job satisfaction. The empirical analysis uses a two-tier stochastic frontier analysis and the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey dataset.

Mobile workers formulate higher aspirations than the working conditions they experience and report lower levels of job satisfaction than other types of workers. They revise their aspirations downwards when they experience autonomy, discretion, performance-related pay schemes, relation-oriented leadership while they increase their aspirations when they experience work intensification and discrimination.

This paper provides new insights into the work perceptions of mobile workers and enriches existing research by highlighting the importance of the study of individual aspirations to advance understanding of the complex dynamics of mobile work.

This paper aims to present the findings from a European study on the digital skills gaps in tourism and hospitality companies.

Mixed methods research was adopted. The sample includes 1,668 respondents (1,404 survey respondents and 264 interviewees) in 5 tourism sectors (accommodation establishments, tour operators and travel agents, food and beverage, visitor attractions and destination management organisations) in 8 European countries (UK, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands and Bulgaria).

The most important future digital skills include online marketing and communication skills, social media skills, MS Office skills, operating systems use skills and skills to monitor online reviews. The largest gaps between the current and the future skill levels were identified for artificial intelligence and robotics skills and augmented reality and virtual reality skills, but these skills, together with computer programming skills, were considered also as the least important digital skills. Three clusters were identified on the basis of their reported gaps between the current level and the future needs of digital skills. The country of registration, sector and size shape respondents’ answers regarding the current and future skills levels and the skills gap between them.

The paper discusses the digital skills gap of tourism and hospitality employees and identifies the most important digital skills they would need in the future.

The purpose of this study is to better understand technology adoption and working from home (WFH) behaviour of micro and small enterprises (MSE) with 4 to 49 employees during the first (2020) and second (2021) COVID-19 lockdowns in Switzerland.

This study uses two data sets gathered using computer-assisted telephone interviewing surveys conducted with 503 managing directors of Swiss MSEs after the first and 506 MDs after the second COVID-19 lockdown period.

The study revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, WFH arrangements are related to the adoption of technology by Swiss industry groups. Furthermore, industry characteristics and technology adoption strategies are also associated with the long-term prospect of WFH. The overall result confirms the predominant role of technology pioneers.

The study focuses on MSEs in Switzerland during a specific period. The data set includes mainly quantitative data. Future studies could investigate larger enterprises in international contexts, integrating employees’ viewpoints founded on long-term gathered qualitative data. The implications of this study include predictions about future WFH behaviour in Swiss MSEs.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study collecting data in Swiss MSEs after the two COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. As a result, this study offers a unique perspective on a specific business segment, which accounts for around 70% of global employment.

OCLC Research conducted a global survey focusing on libraries’ strategic goals that incorporate five of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where libraries could have the greatest impact. More than 1,700 library staff completed the survey and identified how they were integrating these five SDGs [Quality Education (SDG 4), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Reduced Inequality (SDG 10), Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16), and Working in Partnership to Achieve the Goals (SDG 17)] in their strategic framework and the activities that staff undertook as part of their overall mission.

Results from the survey combined with other projects provide examples of how the SDGs inform library strategic planning and how the library staff’s activities impact sustainable development in their communities. Quality education (SDG 4) was the top goal that respondents believe libraries can impact through community training and classes. Public libraries also often are the main source of credible information and facts in a community.

This commitment to quality education and credible information is demonstrated in the role libraries play in helping community members to access legal information. This chapter describes several different partnerships where libraries are important connectors to legal information which often can be life changing to the community, such as providing information on how to expunge a criminal record to obtain employment.

New ways of working have rapidly increased in organizations, promising employees a better control over their work time, space, and more autonomy. The present study analyzes the relationship between new ways of working and employee engagement and productivity.

A survey was conducted to evaluate organizational practices developed based on flexible schemes and the relevance of employee engagement for better productivity based on digital tools. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

New ways of work requires an integration of workspaces' design, social interaction, and individual wellness. Organizations need to recognize how employees' trust, commitment, and passion are fundamental to face current and future changes. Flexibility in time and space and digital tools for work are critical.

A personalization of organizational practices to support individual well-being and flexible and hybrid schemes of work are needed. Developing policies collaboratively to work together respectfully in a hybrid environment is necessary.

Hybrid work format is allowing women to balance career and childcare, reducing the wage gap with men. The green imperative has also played a role reducing the amount of carbon monoxide produced via commuter.

The present study exposes how organizational practices must ensure employee well-being and autonomy to perform their tasks. In this regard, employees need to be recognized as individuals, physically and mentally. Attempting to force a one-size-fit-all solution can have detrimental effects on the workforce, particularly on women, people of lower socioeconomic status, and people in less advanced economies. Personalization requests empowerment and democratization at work.

Digital technologies have been transforming the traditional workplace and reshaping how work is designed, performed and managed in organizations. This makes understanding digital work and its impact on job performance critically important. This study investigates the impact of digital work on job performance in organizations from the perspective of technology affordance.

A comprehensive review of the related literature has been conducted, leading to the development of a conceptual model for exploring the impact of digital work on job performance from the perspective of technology affordance. Such a model is then tested and validated using structural equation modelling on the survey data collected in Australia.

The study shows that the use of digital technologies significantly improves coordination and knowledge sharing between individuals, leading to better work–life balance and improved job performance. Furthermore, the study reveals that the use of digital technologies that can enhance communication and decision-making does not significantly influence work–life balance and job performance in digital work.

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the impact of digital work on job performance in organizations from the perspective of technology affordance. It explores the changing role of digital work in transforming existing working practices in organizations, and how different technology affordances in digital work can be actualized for improving work–life balance and job performance in a digitalized working environment.

The purpose of this study is to describe a comparative study of the perceptions of users and non-users of an early contact tracing application helping to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented incidence of this disease warrants investigating theoretically the use of mobile contact tracing applications as a promising approach to curtail its transmission.

A consumption value-based model of the adoption and use of a contact tracing mobile application was built and tested through a cross-sectional survey conducted with 2 samples (of 309 already users and 306 non-users) in the Province of Alberta, Canada.

Utilitarian and social values together with health information seeking and perceived critical mass drive the use of the application while perceived privacy risk is an obstacle to usage for both users and non-users.

Study participants self-assessed their risk category of potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus, and this was a subjective measure including an emotional component.

No major differences in the approaches targeting users and non-users of a mobile contact tracing application to encourage its adoption and use are necessary.

Additional efforts are required to convey to people information on the benefits and current rate of use of such an application and to mitigate privacy risk concerns.

Overall, the study offers theoretical and practical contributions that may help improve the adoption and usage of contact tracing applications addressing the COVID-19 pandemic or other possible public health crises.