Distance Matters to Weak Ties

Workers tend to make inferences about one another's commitment and dedication to work depending on what cues are available to them, affecting worker relationships and collaboration outcomes. In this work, we investigate how remote work affects workers' perceptions of their colleagues with different levels of social connectivity, commonly referred to as strong ties and weak ties. When working remotely, workers' perceptions of weak ties may suffer due to the lack of in-person interaction. On the other hand, workers' inferences about their strong ties may also be impacted by losing richer communication cues, even though they had more connections with their strong ties than weak ties. This study explores how remote workers make inferences about engagement levels of and willingness to collaborate with weak ties compared to strong ties. We used a mixed-methods approach involving survey data, experience sampling, and in-depth interviews with 20 workers from different companies in Taiwan. Results showed that workers depended on one-on-one synchronous tools to infer the engagement level of strong ties but used group-based communication tools to infer the engagement level of weak ties. Interestingly, the absence of cues in remote workplaces exacerbated prior impressions formed in the physical office. Furthermore, remote work led workers to develop polarized perceptions of their respective ties. We discuss how characteristics of computer-mediated communication tools and interaction types interplay to affect workers' perceptions of remote colleagues and identify design opportunities for helping remote workers maintain awareness of weak ties.

THE RIGHT OF REMOTE WORKERS TO BE OFFLINE – SOME COMPARATIVE LEGAL REMARKS

The aim of this study is to define the origins and scope of the right to be offline from a European perspective, both with regard to legal regulations and specific sources of labor law in selected European countries and the resolution of the European Parliament adopted on January 21, 2021, calling on the European Commission to regulate the right to disconnect in a separate directive. These considerations are enriched by the analysis of European-level surveys on working conditions of workers using information and communication technologies (ICT) both before and during the pandemic, with particular emphasis on the impact of digital tools on the life and health of remote workers. The analysis of the results of the presented research both from the perspective of technological development and the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, allows to identify significant threats to the safety of remote workers, primarily in the psychosocial sphere, which in turn may lead to the conclusion that it is necessary to regulate the right to be offline at European level.

Features of Remote Work in Ukraine and the European Union: Comparative Legal Aspect

The relevance of the study is based on the development of scientific and technological progress and the expansion of the labor market, including in the framework of international cooperation. Moreover, the introduction of quarantine due to the spread of Covid-19 has led to increased attention to remote work. The aim of the study is to analyze the legal aspects of remote work in accordance with the labor legislation of Ukraine and the European Union, focusing on the concept of remote work, the rights and obligations of remote workers. In our study, we determined that in the European Union, the key points in relation to the rights granted to teleworkers, which the countries parties to the agreement have undertaken to incorporate into their national legislation and collective agreements, are data protection; the voluntary nature of telecommuting; equipment; organization of working time; privacy. The originality of the study is based on more effective ways to improve labor productivity in Ukraine, labor discipline, compliance with labor guarantees for remote work. It is necessary to revise and legislatively regulate the key principles of compliance by employees with labor discipline, providing the employee with proper working conditions, supporting the employer in search of new opportunities to provide employees with work, improving the technical aspects of ensuring the relationship between business and government, responsibility for results and the labor process.

Prospects for cybersecurity to end-2022

Subject Prospects for cybersecurity in 2022. Significance The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified multiple cybersecurity issues that are likely to be salient in 2022 and beyond. Organisations face increased pressure to provide security for remote workers, prevent phishing and ransomware attacks, and deploy new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) systems safely. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions in cyberspace have also intensified, particularly since the damaging cyberattacks against prominent US targets by Russian and Chinese state actors and criminal hackers.

Can remote work during COVID-19 pandemic strengthen the link between workload and workaholism?

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the way of doing work for the relationship between workload and workaholism during COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 668 employees working in different Lithuanian organizations participated in a study. A sample included employees who worked in the workplace (n = 331), as well as those who worked completely from home (n = 337). The levels of workaholism were measured using DUWAS-10 (Schaufeli et al., 2009). Workload was assessed with the help of the Quantitative Workload Inventory (QWI; Spector & Jex, 1998). It was revealed in a study that the higher levels of workload experienced by employees were related to the increased workaholism. It was further found that the positive relationship between workload and worka­holism was stronger in the group of complete remote workers. Overall, the findings support the idea that remote work is an important variable increasing a risk for workaholism especially for those employees who experience a heavy workload. Therefore, the ways of doing work must be considered when addressing well-being of employees.

Not All Remote Workers Are Similar: Technology Acceptance, Remote Work Beliefs, and Wellbeing of Remote Workers during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Although a large part of the world’s workforce engaged in mandatory Work from Home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience was not the same for everyone. This study explores whether different groups of employees, based on their work and organizational characteristics (i.e., organizational size, number of days per week working from home, working in team) and personal characteristics (i.e., remote work experience, having children at home), express different beliefs about working remotely, acceptance of the technology necessary to Work from Home, and well-being. A study was conducted with 163 Italian workers who answered an online questionnaire from November 2020 to January 2021. A cluster analysis revealed that work, organizational, and personal variables distinguish five different types of workers. ANOVA statistics showed that remote workers from big companies who worked remotely several days a week, had experience (because they worked remotely before the national lockdowns), and worked in a team, had more positive beliefs about working remotely, higher technology acceptance, and better coping strategies, compared to the other groups of workers. Practical implications to support institutional and organizational decision-makers and HR managers to promote remote work and employee well-being are presented.