Home Offices Research Articles

Geological Association of Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Section Abstracts: Spring Technical Meeting, February 22 and 23, 2021

The Annual Technical Meeting was held virtually on February 22 and 23, 2021 from various home offices, dens, and bedrooms across St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond.This year the meeting kicked off on Monday with a Special Session to pay tribute to R. Frank Blackwood who passed away in the summer of 2020. Frank was a strong supporter of bedrock mapping, mineral exploration, and the mining industry in Newfoundland and Labrador which is reflected in the following abstracts. Tuesday featured a General Session with presentations on a wide range of geoscience topics.As always, this meeting was brought to participants by volunteer efforts and would not have been possible without the time and energy of the executive and other members of the section such as Anne Westhues, Jared Butler, James Conliffe, Shawn Duquet, Sarah Hashmi, Zsuzsanna Magyarosi, Annie Parrell, and Karen Waterman. The organizers are also indebted to their sponsors, particularly the Geological Association of Canada, Department of Earth Sciences (Memorial University of Newfoundland), and the Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Energy, Industry, and Technology.Although the abstracts are modified and edited as necessary for clarity and to conform to Atlantic Geology format and standards, the journal editors do not take responsibility for their content or quality.

Covid‐19 and The Study of Professionals and Professional Work

Covid‐19 and The Study of Professionals and Professional Work

Policies to minimise environmental and rebound effects from telework: A study for Australia

A comparative lifecycle assessment (CLCA) was undertaken to determine the environmental effect or impact of teleworking compared to office-based work in a corporate setting in Australia. Teleworking was demonstrated to have smaller environmental effects than office-based working, but only under certain conditions. Teleworking was more beneficial if an employee travels ≥30 km each workday. The more energy efficient the employer’s buildings are, the lower the environmental value of teleworking. Greater energy efficiency in home offices means greater environmental benefits. If the energy used in the remote (residential) work area increases above 1212 kW h of energy per year, the environmental effects become greater than those from non-teleworking. The greater the use of renewable energy in remote compared with commercial offices, the greater the environmental benefits of teleworking. Rational corporate policy recommendations were developed based on these outcomes.

Aspects of Distance Education in Combination with Home Offices

This article discusses the impact of a lockdown caused by the novel coronavirus disease 2019 on the educational process at a selected faculty of a public university in the Czech Republic focused on economic education. The aim was to capture relevant aspects in the context of impacts on the management of the educational process in the organization. The unique situation brought the possibility of analyzing the flexibility of the organization, its ability to adapt. A questionnaire survey was conducted among academics. We found out how they coped with this situation, their technical equipment, support from the faculty, and whether they encountered any problems. The goal of the article was not to bring an exact evaluation of selected questions, but to show the state of the actual situation, to point out possible problems of users, and to link these things with the approach to the management of the organization. Based on the analysis, we bring suggestions and recommendations for improving the process of transition to online learning as well as distance education management and recommendation to support teaching, regardless of the teacher’s workplace. The basic areas and activities that need to be managed were also identified.

Short term measurements of indoor air quality when using the home office in Norway

In 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 many workers have been sent home to avoid the sickness spread. As a result, rooms that otherwise had domestic use, living rooms or bedrooms, have become offices. This change has happened in many houses without improving the ventilation systems. In many cases, the rooms were overcrowded, and no attention was paid to ventilation. Thus, this study collects measurements of one to two weeks in different home offices. Measurements were taken in home offices used by one or more occupants. These home offices were designed as bedrooms and living rooms with and without separation from the kitchen. During the pandemic they are used as offices during working hours and as designed otherwise. One or more occupants shared the rooms. Natural and mechanically ventilated and older and newer home offices were studied. Winter measurements of CO2, temperature, relative humidity, particulate matter, formaldehyde and TVOC were collected via low-cost sensors. The sensors were placed on the working space in front of the user to map the exposure to pollutants. The results show an analysis of the concentration of pollutants close to the breathed air. Some users were smart, remembering the aeration, whereas others were exposed to high concentrations of CO2 and other pollutants sometimes higher than the health-based thresholds.

Well-known phenomenon, new setting: Digital stress in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

Digital stress caused by the proliferation and omnipresence of digital media has been attracting scientific interest for several years. The physical contact restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have further increased the importance of digital media in people’s professional and private lives. This article investigates the consequences of this new situation for people’s perceptions of digital stress. It applies a lifeworld perspective and considers several individual and situational factors. Our study was based on semi-structured interviews with German adults. Five key findings emerged: (1) during the pandemic, digital stress was predominantly caused by home office work; (2) already-known stressors were amplified in home offices; (3) digital devices contributed to the dissolution of boundaries between work and private life; (4) people experienced multiple stressors simultaneously, both digital and analog; (5) the private use of digital media was not associated with stress but perceived as saving social connections. Furthermore, the results show that the experience of digital stress is highly dependent on situational contexts and individual lifestyles.

HETEROTOPIA WORK. Correlation between the domestic built environment and home offices during COVID-19 confinement

The new COVID-19 context has transported work to a domestic setting. These new locations, heterotopic, do not always adequately respond to user needs.This paper explores the relationship between the domestic built environment and certain elements that shape it, the perception, emotional state and productivity of the users.A pilot case study was carried out with 11 volunteers who evaluated their home offices for seven work days using physical environment tools, two tests -fixed data and daily evaluation-. Also, environmental parameters of the territory were monitored.Among the main findings, we observed that the perception of size does not relate to actual size; a balcony is associated with happiness and calm. We have verified how biophilic elements promote well-being. Happiness and calm are related to hight and low levels of lux. There is a tendency of happiness associated with collaborative tasks, and calm with individual ones. This article opens up a path for exploratory research on resilient situations in which physical barriers force people to seek creative solutions and offers tools to empower users. Current trends in data-driven design and teleworking support research proposals like this one, with a focus on well-being, productivity.

Experiences of Mental Health Clinicians and Staff in Rapidly Converting to Full-Time Telemental Health and Work from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The mitigation strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic pushed much of the mental health workforce to rapidly convert to full-time telemental health (TMH). For many people, this occurred in the context of working from makeshift home offices with novel distractions. We describe the results of an online survey of mental health clinicians and staff regarding their experiences in rapidly converting to full-time TMH and work from home (WFH) during COVID-19. Methods: Fourteen clinicians and 11 administrative staff from two outpatient mental health clinics in a large academic medical center completed the survey in May 2020. Results: More than 85% of participants rated the experience of providing or supporting full-time TMH care as "somewhat better" or "much better than expected." Clinicians and administrative staff reported perceptions that most clients were satisfied with TMH services. Identified TMH challenges included difficulty providing clinical forms and difficulties with technology. Identified benefits of WFH included lack of commute, time with loved ones, opportunities for self-care, and increased flexibility. Maintaining team cohesion and communication while working remotely, and setting boundaries between work and nonwork hours were identified as challenges. Nearly all respondents indicated a preference to continue some TMH from home in the future. Conclusions: Findings suggest that rapidly adopting TMH and WFH during a pandemic were well accepted. Should the progression of the pandemic require agile movement in and out of TMH and WFH, overcommunication and extra attention to supporting employee connection and morale are especially important.

Investigation of natural aeration in home offices during the heating season – case study

Buildings are more and more airtight in order to meet the energy performance requirements of national regulations. To provide appropriate air quality for occupants’ energy conscious ventilation systems are installed. However, in residential buildings natural ventilation methods are widely used. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic lots of people working initially in offices suddenly started to perform their activities at home, so they worked in so called home-office regime. Thus, rooms without mechanical ventilation were transformed from one day to other in offices. However, appropriate indoor air quality has to be provided since the human performance strongly depends by the CO2 concentration in the air. The aim of this research was to analyse and compare different natural aeration methods which can be adopted in this cases from energy point of view. A residential building built in 2014 was taken as an example, having gas filled triple glazed windows Class 3. The air change rates were determined at different temperatures having the window fully opened or tilted. Measurements were performed with and without occupants in the room in order to validate the results obtained from CO2 balance equation. The energy demand for heating up the fresh air was analysed. It was shown that up to 18% energy saving may be obtained choosing properly the aeration strategy. The paper draws the attention of stakeholders on the fact that changing the function of a room can lead to significant increase of energy consumption, which can be mitigated controlling properly the aeration process.

Vocal Self-Perception of Home Office Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ObjectiveTo investigate the self-perception of vocal fatigue symptoms and musculoskeletal pain in home office workers before and during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.Materials and methodsA total of 424 individuals participated in this cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study; they were stratified into the experimental group (EG), consisting of 235 individuals working from home office during the COVID-19 pandemic; and the control group (CG), with 189 individuals who continued to work in person during this period. All participants answered the vocal fatigue index and the musculoskeletal pain investigation questionnaires. The data were analyzed in a descriptive and inferential manner.ResultsParticipants in the EG reported more vocal fatigue symptoms and musculoskeletal pain than those in the CG before the pandemic. However, during the pandemic, the EG presented a higher frequency of pain in the posterior of the neck, shoulder, upper back, and temporal and masseter muscles, while the CG presented a higher frequency of pain in the larynx. With regard to vocal fatigue, during the pandemic, EG had an increase in scores to factors such as tiredness and voice impairment, avoidance of voice use, and total scores. No such differences were noted in the CG.ConclusionWorkers who migrated to home offices during the COVID-19 pandemic are at risk of developing vocal disorders.

New opportunities amid the challenges of the pandemic

The challenges of the novel coronavirus pandemic are evident all around us. But out of these challenges come substantial new opportunities. Who knew we could participate in an American Chemical Society national meeting from our home offices, work offices, the beach, or wherever we are? Chemists are learning to master communication tools that were used much less frequently, if at all, only 9 months ago, and we are increasingly using social media to share information and stay connected with one another. Through it all, ACS has been providing accurate and reliable information through its various channels, including C&EN, the Education Division, and weekly ACS webinars. The society has also adapted many of its programs , such as ACS Project SEED , to a virtual platform and has provided its local sections, divisions, committees, student chapters, and other groups with Zoom accounts so they can continue running their programs virtually. Not

Dysphonia and Vocal Tract Discomfort While Working From Home During COVID-19

ObjectiveDuring COVID-19, government measures to prevent disease spread included advice to work from home. In addition to occupational risk factors, the increased use of telecommunication and changed work environment may contribute to voice and vocal tract discomfort (VTD). This study established the prevalence, incidence, characteristics and impact of self-perceived dysphonia and VTD in those working from home during COVID-19.MethodsA cross-sectional, observational study using an online survey recruited 1575 participants. It captured information about dysphonia and VTD presence, onset, and severity. Those with dysphonia completed the voice-related quality of life to measure impact. Regression analyses identified risk factors for voice and vocal tract problems.ResultsDysphonia and VTD prevalence rates were 33% and 68%, respectively, incidences were 28% and 50%. Perceived dysphonia severity was mild in 72% of cases. Dry throat was the most common VTD symptom at 66%. Mean voice-related quality of life score was 82.4 (standard deviation ± 13.2). Raising or straining the voice while working predicted new onset dysphonia and VTD. Increasing telecommunication use was associated with worse dysphonia and VTD onset.ConclusionThose working from home have seen a rise in dysphonia and VTD, which were associated with communication modality and change in environment. If home offices become the ‘new normal’ post-COVID, workplaces should consider voice training for employees to limit potential difficulties.

The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the digital transformation of work

PurposeThis study investigates whether the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an acceleration of the digital transformation in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on a survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to April 2020 on the crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk.FindingsThe findings show an increase of people working from home offices and that many people believe that digital transformation of work has accelerated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. People who noted this acceleration can imagine working digitally exclusively in the future. Moreover, the importance of traditional jobs as a secure source of income has decreased, and digital forms of work as a secure source of income have increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers believe that digital work will play a more important role as a secure source of income in the future than traditional jobs.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the survey was conducted online, respondents may have had a certain affinity for digital work.Originality/valueThis study assesses the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the future of work, showing that changes in the perception of digital transformation and the willingness to work exclusively in a digital manner have arisen as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To estimate the long-term consequences of the pandemic on the digitisation of work, research that includes macroeconomic consequences in its forecast is necessary.

Pandemic programming

ContextAs a novel coronavirus swept the world in early 2020, thousands of software developers began working from home. Many did so on short notice, under difficult and stressful conditions.ObjectiveThis study investigates the effects of the pandemic on developers’ wellbeing and productivity.MethodA questionnaire survey was created mainly from existing, validated scales and translated into 12 languages. The data was analyzed using non-parametric inferential statistics and structural equation modeling.ResultsThe questionnaire received 2225 usable responses from 53 countries. Factor analysis supported the validity of the scales and the structural model achieved a good fit (CFI = 0.961, RMSEA = 0.051, SRMR = 0.067). Confirmatory results include: (1) the pandemic has had a negative effect on developers’ wellbeing and productivity; (2) productivity and wellbeing are closely related; (3) disaster preparedness, fear related to the pandemic and home office ergonomics all affect wellbeing or productivity. Exploratory analysis suggests that: (1) women, parents and people with disabilities may be disproportionately affected; (2) different people need different kinds of support.ConclusionsTo improve employee productivity, software companies should focus on maximizing employee wellbeing and improving the ergonomics of employees’ home offices. Women, parents and disabled persons may require extra support.

ACS hosts Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

From the comfort of their home offices, or, in fact, anywhere they wanted, more than 6,400 people attended the & Expo, which was held Aug. 17–20. The meeting, originally scheduled to take place in ...

Up with data, down with siloes how businesses can connect ERP capabilities to better outcomes for their projects, their employees and their customers

PurposeEmployees are being forced to retreat to their home offices for remote working during the Covid-19 crisis, while employers are left wondering what the scattering of their workforces would do to collaboration, accountability and visibility across their organizations and whether it would give rise to the operational siloes and data fiefdoms that they had been bent on dismantling? At the epicenter of the pandemic, just the opposite was happening in the unlikeliest of places: a health-care operation in New York City. In a profession known for monolithic silos, at least one company was demonstrating how eliminating siloes can heighten collaboration, increase efficiency and ultimately yield better outcomes.Design/methodology/approachBusinesses can promote visibility, the free flow of information and collaboration across an enterprise, while keeping siloes from creeping back into the organization looking at resource management, assessment of the quality of your data, along with ERP capabilities and alignment around project-specific and overarching strategic goals.FindingsFour steps include defining the KPIs that will help drive your strategy – project-based and enterprise/portfolio-wide – using both internal and external benchmarks, looking for trends in the data and diving deeper. Once these practices and processes become the norm across an organization, the siloes that erode productivity and efficiency should start to crumble, and your real-world outcomes should begin to look a lot more like the ideal-world outcomes that you have been striving for. Then you will know your ERP upgrade has been worthwhile.Originality/valueTo select the right integrated tool for your organization, there are seven questions to ask, such as what is the architecture of the software? Is the software company you are buying from customer-focused? Will using the system properly yield cost savings for the organization?

The Home Office: Ergonomic Lessons From the “New Normal”

Millions of workers have been uprooted by COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and been thrown into a “new normal” of working from home offices. To further complicate things, many individuals were provided with only a laptop and little, if any, education on setting up an ergonomically correct workstation. As a result, many home office–based workers potentially face suboptimal working conditions. Based on 41 home office ergonomic evaluations, most ergonomic concerns related to laptop usage, nonadjustable chairs without armrests, low monitor heights, and hard desk surfaces. If home-based office work continues, people need to understand the ramifications of poor workstation.

The pope’s man in London: Anglo-Vatican relations, the nuncio question and Irish concerns, 1938-82

Although a British mission to the Holy See was established in 1914, the diplomatic relationship was not on a basis of reciprocity. From 1938 the pope was represented in London not by a nuncio (the Vatican equivalent of an ambassador) but by an apostolic delegate whose mission was to the hierarchy alone and not the British government. The evolution of the nuncio question sheds light on the nature of Anglo-Vatican relations, the place of Catholicism in British public life, inter-church rapprochement and British foreign policy considerations. This article assesses the divergent positions of the Foreign and Home Offices. The former was sympathetic to a change of status, whereas the latter was cautious due to the opposition of the archbishop of Canterbury and concerns about anti-Catholicism. The nuncio question was also of great interest to the Irish government. It feared that a nuncio in London would exert jurisdiction over Northern Ireland and undermine the all-island unity of the Irish Catholic Church. The Northern Ireland Troubles and the support displayed by the apostolic delegate for British policy hastened the restoration of full ambassadorial relations between London and the Holy See in 1982, ending a diplomatic breach that had existed for more than four centuries. It paved the way for Pope John Paul II’s historic pastoral visit to Britain which helped to consolidate the position of Roman Catholicism in British national life.

Pass the Remote: Why We Can't All Work From Home

In recent years, there has been a trend towards greater incidence of homeworking. This has been driven by enhanced technological possibilities, but also by supply and demand factors. There is some evidence that homeworking can boost productivity, but not all workers are suited to work and some might find the isolation problematic. Headline totals of full-time workers are misleading. The bulk of those classified are self-employed, and only a minority corresponds to the popular image of workers in home offices in front of a computer screen. Regular workers are a relatively privileged group, many in professional and managerial roles. They are older than the average member of the workforce and better paid. The current lockdown means more will be working at home, but it seems unlikely that more than 15% of healthy workers confined to will be able to work productively for their employer or their business. Those who cannot work productively include many younger workers who are normally employed in bars, restaurants, hotels and retail outlets, but also include self-employed skilled workers who normally go out to serve clients and customers from a base. The requirement for a substantial period of isolation is a more serious matter for these groups, both in terms of current incomes and future prospects, than it is for the journalists, politicians, academics, and think-tankers who dominate public discourse.

How an academic library worked during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this paper, we will investigate how an academic library, the University of Bergen Library in Norway, handled the challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic when the University of Bergen closed the campus on short notice and the Library immediately had to go fully digital in all its services to academics and students. The academics and students were helped by more and automated access to electronic books and services, and we show the numbers of usage. The e-mail and chat-functions were expanded, with librarians working from home. As for the Library staff, having to start working from home offices with less than ideal infrastructure, the main issues were missing their colleagues. How did the Library return to (almost) normal services?