In early March following the outbreak of COVID-19, homeworking swept the country to reduce the spread. Three months later, many employees across the UK remain at home, experiencing the highs of a reduced commute as well as dealing with the stresses of dropped video calls and childcare. In our upcoming mini-series on remote working which draws on cutting edge-research and extensive employee interviews, PrOPEL Hub partners and friends explore how the experience has been for employees and managers, lessons learned and what the experience tells us about the future of work.

Monday 13 July

Article: Remote working for many white-collar workers and managers became a sudden reality three months ago as UK workplaces went into lockdown. What has the experience for these remote employees been like, how long do they think it will last and what does the experience tell us about the future of work? During June 2020 Jonathan Morris of Cardiff Business School and John Hassard of Manchester University interviewed employees from a variety of large organisations to find out.

Tuesday 14 July

Blog: In this blog, Darja Reuschke of the University of Southampton and Alan Felstead of Cardiff University discuss findings of their new report “The Effect of the Great Lockdown on Homeworking in the United Kingdom”. Based upon data collected from approximately 7,000 people, the report focusses on the effect of the Coronavirus lockdown in the UK on both the extent and intensity of homeworking, its relationship with mental well-being and how these effects have varied between ‘new’ and ‘established’ homeworkers.

Wednesday 15 July

Video: Rebecca Lewis Smith from Fountain and Dr Helen Fitzhugh of Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, discuss wellbeing and performance while working remotely, exploring:
• What to think about when managing remote workers for the first time
• The stresses and strains of isolated and confined working
• Ways to mitigate issues arising from isolated and confined working
• The shift of mindset that helps managers offer strong support to their workers
• The need to listen to workers to find out if your vision and good intentions are translating into positive lived experiences on the ground.

Thursday 16 July

Infographic: Professor Kevin Daniels and Dr Helen Fitzhugh of Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, share their findings on the negative impacts of working in isolated and confined conditions in the longer-term and how to mitigate against these