This research was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. In an attempt to bridge a knowledge gap, a phenomenological study was carried out to answer the question “What is shared between people’s experiences of doing home-based telework during the Covid-19 pandemic?”. Four people who were currently working from home participated in the study of which three were women. A method of empirical psychological phenomenology or EPP was used in both research process and analysis. The results were that a digital adjustment had been made and digital communication was used in place of regular social interactions. These interactions were not as satisfactory as regular social interactions. The work was more flexible which lead to blurred boundaries and a greater ability to structure the workday after personal needs. A reduced work motivation and personal impact of Covid-19 was found. Also, there were new insights on the viability of telework and digital solutions going forward. This study contributed to a gap in research by providing insight into what the experience of teleworking during the Covid-19 pandemic may look like, which was an unexplored field.

<p>The increase of women’s labor force participation, the diversity of family constellations, many men’s increased participation in childcare, and the development of flexible working arrangements have stimulated research on the relationship between work and non-work. In this thesis, the interaction between work and non-work is examined in the case of home-based telework, an example of flexible working arrangement. Because of the disappearance or blurring of the traditional boundaries in time and space, the consequences of these working conditions for individuals need to be analyzed. The overall aim of this thesis is to study the interaction between work and non-work in home-based telework and to analyze the following issues:</p><p>- conflict versus facilitation as related to the segmentation and integration of work/non-work domains</p><p>- the nature and role of boundaries</p><p>- the physical and mental aspects of work activities within the domains</p><p>The thesis is based on quantitative as well as qualitative data. In general, the results show that the domains of work and non-work do interact with each other in various ways and dimensions. The employees reported some degree of overlap spatially, temporally, and mentally, and limited overlap was preferred by the majority. The results show the importance of boundaries, as they are needed in order to bring structure and legitimacy to the work (carried out in the home/private domain) and to detach from work. The teleworking women reported less effective restoration than the non-teleworking women, while the teleworking men reported slightly more effective restoration than the non-teleworking men. Generally, the results showed that work tended to intrude more on family and non-work than vice versa. Individuals who experienced conflict between the domains of work and non-work also reported a lower degree of life satisfaction. Significant associations were found between facilitation (positive spillover) and life satisfaction and recovery.</p>

The increase of women’s labor force participation, the diversity of family constellations, many men’s increased participation in childcare, and the development of flexible working arrangements have stimulated research on the relationship between work and non-work. In this thesis, the interaction between work and non-work is examined in the case of home-based telework, an example of flexible working arrangement. Because of the disappearance or blurring of the traditional boundaries in time and space, the consequences of these working conditions for individuals need to be analyzed. The overall aim of this thesis is to study the interaction between work and non-work in home-based telework and to analyze the following issues: - conflict versus facilitation as related to the segmentation and integration of work/non-work domains - the nature and role of boundaries - the physical and mental aspects of work activities within the domains The thesis is based on quantitative as well as qualitative data. In general, the results show that the domains of work and non-work do interact with each other in various ways and dimensions. The employees reported some degree of overlap spatially, temporally, and mentally, and limited overlap was preferred by the majority. The results show the importance of boundaries, as they are needed in order to bring structure and legitimacy to the work (carried out in the home/private domain) and to detach from work. The teleworking women reported less effective restoration than the non-teleworking women, while the teleworking men reported slightly more effective restoration than the non-teleworking men. Generally, the results showed that work tended to intrude more on family and non-work than vice versa. Individuals who experienced conflict between the domains of work and non-work also reported a lower degree of life satisfaction. Significant associations were found between facilitation (positive spillover) and life satisfaction and recovery.

Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för hur snabb omställning till distansarbete i samband med pandemin har påverkat kommunikation och samarbete inom en organisation. I studien kommer medarbetarnas upplevelser av den informella och formella kommunikationen samt samarbeten att undersökas, för att se om det finns några skillnader före och under pandemin. Teorin Communicative constitution of organisation (CCO) och McPhee och Zaugs fyra-flödesmodell har använts för att skapa en djupare förståelse för kommunikationens betydelse inom organisationen. Modellen lyfter fram begrepp som informell och formell kommunikation samt samarbete, dessa utgör tre viktiga byggstenar för en organisation. I studien används ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt och det empiriska materialet samlas in genom sju semistrukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna i studien är individer som under pandemin varit tvungna att ställa om till distansarbete hemifrån och som inte hade tidigare erfarenhet av distansarbete. Resultatet i studien visar hur viktig kommunikationen inom en organisation är för både enskilda medarbetare och arbetsgrupper. Den informella kommunikationen har minskat, däremot har respondenterna hittat sätt för att behålla en del av det informella. Resultatet visar även att antalet formella möten har ökat samt blivit mer effektiva. När det kommer till samarbeten är upplevelsen hos respondenterna att det blivit svårare digitalt men att de fått en bättre struktur och högre grad av flexibilitet.

I samband med Covid-19-pandemin har en snabb omställning skett i det svenska arbetslivet och många har övergått från arbete på kontor till arbete hemifrån enligt restriktioner (Folkhälsomyndigheten 2020). Studiens syftet är att öka förståelsen för offentligt anställdas upplevelse av hemarbete i relation till psykosocial hälsa och utifrån det belysa vad som kan tas i beaktning vid arbetsorganisering efter pandemin. Således utgår studien ifrån två frågeställningar där den första berör upplevelsen av hemarbete medan den andra berör en tänkbar framtid i arbetets utformning. Studiens empiri har formats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer, vidare bygger studien på ett fenomenologiskt förhållningssätt där intervjuerna väglett den teori som lyfts upp. Empirin har vidare analyserats med hjälp av olika teorier och begrepp som främst antar ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv. Resultatet visar att upplevelserna av hemarbete är både positiva och negativa i förhållande till den psykosociala hälsan. Upplevelserna är i stora drag entydiga även om viss variation beroende av individuella faktorer återfinns. Avsaknaden av sociala relationer för både arbetet och välbefinnandet tillsammans med ökad integrering av arbete och fritid har varit de tyngre betonade resultaten. Samtidigt har självständiga arbetsuppgifter visat sig fungera bättre i hemmiljö och medarbetarna upplever en ökad effektivitet och minskad restid som två starka fördelar. / Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the working life has changed dramatically in Sweden where people are restricted to work in their original workplace and instead instructed to work from home (Folkhälsomyndigheten 2020). Through semi structured interviews this study aims to understand employees' experience of home based telework in the public sector, mainly in relation to their psychosocial health, and based on that shed light on how work could be organized post Covid-19. The study utilizes two questions to answer the purpose, where the first one focuses on the employees' experience of home based telework while the second one focuses on how future work could be organized. The empiric is based on a phenomenological approach where the interviews have guided the theory, and it has been further analyzed with the help of different social psychological perspectives. The main result shows that the experience of home based telework has both positive and negative characteristics relative to psychosocial health. The experience is broadly unambiguous although some variation depending on individual factors have been found. The absence of social relations for both work and wellbeing together with an increased integration of work and leisure have been the most strongly emphasized results. Simultaneously, independent work tasks have proven to operate better in the home environment and employees experience increased efficiency and reduced travel time as two major benefits.