As the COVID-19 continues its spread globally, several regions are placed on lockdowns and people are advised to stay at home and keep social distancing. As a result, several companies around the world are encouraging their employees to work remotely. Although the digital age we live in provides employees with several technologies and tools to fulfill their jobs without being present in the company, it remains to be quite challenging for certain people to work and collaborate with their colleagues from remote working environments.
The Eurofound Research Report “Telework and ICT-based mobile work: Flexible working in the digital age” is very relevant to the current situation of intensified remote work, which will possibly last long and change how we work even after the crisis is over. Key findings of the report suggest that although telework and ICT-based mobile work (TICTM) have benefits for flexible organization of work and people’s work-private-life balance, it might also lead to intensified workload or even health problems (such as stress, anxiety and headaches).
In this context, while upskilling employees and employers for the future of work, training programs should focus not only on topics of digital skills, virtual work, virtual team management; but also on guidelines and principles to ensure digital well-being of employees and responsible application of TICTM.