Working from home during lockdown: the association between rest breaks and well-being

PublikationArtikel (med peer review)
Linda Weidenstedt

Sammanfattning

One of the challenges with working from home (WFH) is the question of its effect on health and well-being. The impact of home working on health has so far not been studied extensively. We address this gap by investigating the association between internal recovery, operationalised as rest break frequency (low, medium, and high) during the working day, on self-reported musculoskeletal pain, and post-work recovery symptoms in WFH knowledge workers (n = 382). The analysis showed that failing to take frequent breaks was associated with a dose-response increased risk of reporting headaches. For post-work recovery symptoms, failing to take rest breaks throughout the day was associated with an increased risk of reporting psychological fatigue, physical fatigue, and sleep problems, and a decreased risk of psychologically detaching from work and experiencing adequate rest. Our findings emphasise the importance of remote workers taking recovery breaks from work demands in the maintenance of health and well-being.

Cropley, M., Weidenstedt, L., Leick, B., & Sütterlin, S. (2022). Working from home during lockdown: the association between rest breaks and well-being. Ergonomics, 1-11.


Liknande innehåll

Betwixt and between: Triple liminality and liminal agency in the Swedish gig economy. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space.
Artikel (med peer review)Publikation
Weidenstedt, L., Geissinger, A., Leick, B., & Nazeer, N.
Publiceringsår

2023

Publicerat i

Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X231172984

Sammanfattning

In this paper, we identify when and why migrant gig workers experience liminality in the socio-spatial context of food delivery in the Swedish gig economy. We analyse qualitative interviews and informal conversations with food delivery workers in Stockholm through the lens of the territory-place-scale-network (TPSN) framework as developed by Bob Jessop, Neil Brenner and Martin Jones. We find that workers are challenged to deal with triple liminality regarding their work identities, workplaces and work organisation through platforms. Focusing on liminality as a central aspect of gig work, we further find that despite having little worker agency, some of the study participants engage in what we call liminal agency, that is actively pursuing possibilities for progress in uncertain states of in-betweenness. By unpacking the liminal dynamics that especially migrant food delivery riders are confronted with in their daily working lives, this study contributes to the debate on the migrant gig economy, the spatial turn in organisation studies and efforts from human geography to understand agency in precarious gig work.

Managers on balancing employment protection and what’s good for the company: Intended and unintended consequences of a semi-coercive institution
Artikel (in press)Publikation
Stern, C., & Weidenstedt, L.
Publiceringsår

2022

Publicerat i

Economic and Industrial Democracy.

Sammanfattning

Sweden’s institutionalized employment protection legislation, ‘LAS’, is interesting theoretically because parts of it are semi-coercive. The semi-coerciveness makes it possible for firms and unions under collective agreements to negotiate departures from the law. Thus, the law is more flexible than the legal text suggests. The present study explores intended and unintended consequences of LAS as experienced by managers of smaller manufacturing companies. The results suggest that managers support the idea of employment protection in principle but face a difficult balancing act in dealing with LAS. From their point of view, the legislation’s institutional legitimacy is low, producing local cultures of hypocrisy and pretense. The article gives insights into how institutions aimed at specific, intended behavior sometimes end up producing unintended consequences fostering the opposite.

The article in total can be read here.

Working Paper No. 357: Managing Work from Anywhere: Six Points to Consider for HR Professionals
Working paperPublikation
Allstrin, S., Grafström, J., Stern, C. & Weidenstedt, L.
Publiceringsår

2022

Publicerat i

Ratio Working Paper.

Sammanfattning

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assist human resource practitioners, leaders, and managers in their decision-making processes regarding the future of remote work by contributing with insights into, and synthesis of, existing research regarding working from home and working from anywhere.
Design/methodology/approach: We conducted a general review of the international literature in the fields of remote work, work from home, and work from anywhere with the aim to inductively discern themes research hitherto has dealt with.
Findings: We identified three larger themes: (1) productivity and efficiency, (2) remote leadership, and (3) work environment and work-life balance, each incorporating subthemes that contribute to a greater understanding of relevant topics in the context of remote work. In order to provide relevant information regarding the research front and guidance towards worthwhile considerations for HR professionals, leaders, and managers, we summarize our results in six concise points, each suggesting relevant questions to assess in relation to the future of remote work.
Originality: Companies will be forced to determine how to approach the post-Covid era and establish a new status quo regarding the future of office work that, ideally, will be mutually beneficial for employers and employees—whether it incorporates office, remote, or hybrid work. To the best of our knowledge a general review of the literature on remote work with specific, evidence-based, points to consider for HR professionals has not yet been undertaken.

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