The Advantages and Disadvantages of E-working: An Examination using an ALDINE Analysis

Objectives: Working remotely comes with significant pros and cons with different demands for individuals or teams. E-working has been the object of much interest, but there has been little research on the statistical difference between its advantages and disadvantages. Research Question: Is there a significant statistical difference between them? Methods: The present research, however, goes one step further and identifies the statistical difference between them. Firstly, we evaluated the positive and negative aspects with a meta-analysis of 20 studies and, secondly, we used a non-parametric test, namely the Wilcoxon Rank Test, for further analysis across pros and cons. Findings: We found that e-working provides more positive than negative ones. A binomial test showed that most studies (more than 50%) mention flexibility, productivity and efficiency, satisfaction and WLB as benefits. Novelty/improvement:E-working is a triple win option. There are many advantages to working remotely, but this method of work does not suit everyone. Our results provide building blocks for a more complete theoretical and practical treatment of e-working for the future. But COVID-19, technology advancement and a connected global world show clearly that e-working will play a crucial role in the future of the workplace. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-SPER-02 Full Text: PD

Teletrabajo en época de COVID-19.

La flexibilidad permite a las empresas ser más ágiles ante los cambios, pero también es una característica buscada por los empleados. El teletrabajo es una de las medidas de flexibilidad más utilizada, aunque el teletrabajo en España no está generalizado. En 2019 había en España un 8,3% de empleados trabajando en remoto, sin embargo, la crisis ocasionada por el COVID-19 ha dado un giro a las cifras. Algunas encuestas apuntan a que durante el estado de alarma en España había hasta un 34% de los empleados teletrabajando. Esto ha supuesto un gran reto para las empresas, que han debido desplegar el teletrabajo en la organización, sin planificación y en tiempo récord.El objetivo de este trabajo es observar las percepciones y voluntad de continuar teletrabajando desde el punto de vista de los empleados y de la organización, en una empresa española que se ha visto obligada a desplegar el teletrabajo durante la crisis sanitaria. Para ello se propone realizar un estudio, a través de dos cuestionarios destinados a una muestra de empleados y responsables en una empresa familiar española del sector del transporte.Los resultados del estudio sugieren que las características de los individuos han perdido importancia en la voluntad de teletrabajar. Además, se han percibido más beneficios del teletrabajo por parte de los empleados que por parte de la organización, aunque la mayoría tanto de empleados como de responsables querrían dejar implementado el teletrabajo de forma definitiva.Este trabajo aporta a la literatura existente nuevos datos sobre el teletrabajo con relación a sus beneficios e inconvenientes y a los factores que influyen sobre el teletrabajo durante la crisis de la COVID-19. Estos hallazgos pueden ayudar a otras empresas similares a implantar el teletrabajo con éxito.<br /

The impact of the ILO: fragmented policy networks and the battle for Labour standards in Czechia and Slovakia

World politics is characterised by challenges to effective multilateralism with repercussions across several areas such as trade, the environment and nuclear proliferation. This research investigates the impact of international organisations under contemporary conditions of globalisation and does so using the International Labour Organization (ILO) as an instance of this wider issue. Economic integration can result in negative social externalities, the responsibility of which cuts across state lines and requires cooperation at the international level. However, states are often reluctant to assign organisations concerned with human rights the necessary authority to fulfil their mandates. For the ILO, this has meant a reliance on powers of persuasion to achieve its goals; because compliance rates vary and because the organisation is without legal or economic means of enforcement, it has gained a reputation for being irrelevant and toothless. As a result, observers tend explain variation in labour standards across states as being caused solely by differences in their domestic politics. This thesis seeks to refine the domestic politics argument and to challenge the conventional wisdom on enforcement. In doing so, it illustrates not only whether and how the ILO makes an impact but draws attention to the fragmented policy environment in which it must operate. Here, some organisations work in support of the ILO e.g. global trade unions; but the norms diffused from others such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) often challenge it. Using the comparative case of Czechia and Slovakia, the proceeding chapters will argue that the ILO does make an impact and does so via its ability to provide monitoring, supervision and technical/legal assistance. However, the research further finds that the extent to which the ILO is successful in this regard depends to some degree on the ways in which competing configurations of domestic and international actors impede or facilitate its work