The world has been affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and many companies and organizations have adopted different type of strategies in terms of the workplace in all sectors around the world. Working from home practice has gained prominence as a part of quarantine measures to curb the spread of the disease since the beginning of the outbreak. This abrupt change has a dramatic influence on the business life and employees have been struggling to adapt to their new way of working. Therefore their productivity has changed, too depending on various factors at their new workplace: home. Working from home is only possible with the use of information technology. Information technology makes it possible for the business life to continue owing to its solutions. Owing to the solutions of information technology, employees can communicate with each other and organizations and complete their tasks by sending and receiving written, audio and visual information. It is crucial for everyone’s sake that the employees working in information technology work efficiently, particularly in pandemic times. The key role of their success is played by their managers and coordinators. Therefore, this thesis focuses on IT project managers and coordinators’ productivity. The purpose of this study is to list the factors, as benefits and challenges, influencing the productivity of IT project managers and project coordinators working from home during COVID-19 pandemic and provide recommendations to the project managers and project coordinators and also public and private organizations and companies which prefer to continue working from home to increase their productivity. In this study, qualitative research method and descriptive statistics concerning the selected benefits and challenges are used via a self- administered digital survey responded by 46 project managers/coordinators. It is concluded that working from home due to COVID-19 pandemic has both positive and negative influences on productivity of the IT project managers/project coordinators. Many benefits, such as sleeping longer hours and being able to focus at home without open-office distractions and many challenges, such as being distracted by house chores and being disturbed by family members have been identified as a result of the survey. Respondents contributed to the study further by their valuable recommendations to public and private organizations and also to other IT project managers/coordinators who work from home during the pandemic to increase their productivity. The recommendations to other PM/PC are concerned with routine and discipline, work-life balance, breaks and doing other things, workspace, people around and communication. The recommendations to organizations, on the other hand, are concerned with various types of support, respecting time, flexibility about time, trust, communication and acceptance as family. Both the findings and recommendations may help IT project managers/coordinators and their employers to develop a more comprehensive vision in terms of increasing their productivity while working from home during the pandemic.

I samband med covid-19 pandemin tvingades mängder med scrumteam att arbeta hemifrån vilket ändrade förutsättningarna för deras kommunikation. Omställningen har lett till att det inte varit genomförbart att kommunicera face-to-face i samma utsträckning som tidigare. Kommunikationen spelar en viktig roll för att ett team som arbetar agilt ska lyckas med sin utvecklingsprocess. Scrum är utvecklat för att främja samarbete och en bra kommunikation. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur påtvingat hemarbete påverkat kommunikationen i scrumteam som tidigare arbetat tillsammans på kontor. Studien använde en kvalitativ forskningsansats och data samlades in via semistrukturerade intervjuer och tolkades utifrån Media Synchronicity Theory (MST). Resultatet visar att kroppsspråk och respons har reducerats efter omställningen till hemarbete och att den informella kommunikationen har påverkats på grund av avsaknaden av face-to-face kommunikation. Det har även framkommit indikationer på att kommunikationskanalerna som används i det dagliga scrummötet inte är de mest fördelaktiga utifrån den teoretiska analysen. / The covid-19 pandemic enforced large numbers of scrum teams to work from home, which changed the conditions of their communication. The change has led to it not being possible to communicate face-to-face to the same extent as before. Communication plays an important role for an agile team to succeed in their development process. Scrum is developed to promote good communication and collaboration. The purpose of this study is to investigate how enforced working from home has affected communication in scrum teams that previously worked together in offices. This study used a qualitative research approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and interpreted based on Media Synchronicity Theory (MST). The results show that body language and feedback have been reduced after the transition to enforced working from home and that informal communication has been affected due to the lack of face-to-face communication. There have also been indications that the communication channels used in daily scrum are not the most advantageous based on the theoretical analysis.

With the unplanned rapid switch to Working from Home (WFH) arrangement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations and their employees were forced to adapt their processes and practices with a huge dependence on digital technologies. When such work reorganization is adopted, all everyday activities including social interactions with colleagues must therefore be taken into account. Existing literature indicates that social interaction with colleagues in the traditional workplace is considered a fundamental feature of employees’ social life and as it shapes their experience of work. Considering that lack of social interaction can lead to social isolation and other negative consequences which in turn affects the whole organization negatively. Currently, little is known about how remote workers engage and maintain social interactions with their colleagues via technology platforms when working remotely. This master’s thesis  study aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge  on remote working by highlighting remote workers’  experiences around digital social interaction with colleagues when working from home(WFH).  An interpretivist approach utilizing qualitative research was employed by the author of this master’s study. Data was collected using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of remote workers who started and are currently working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explored how participants of the study engage in social interactions with their colleagues via technology and how such interactions are embedded in their working lives. The empirical data generated from interviews and observations was subsequently subjected to a thematic analysis for interpretation. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis method; these themes which constituted the empirical findings of this master’s thesis were then analyzed in connection to the research questions and discussed with the literature review as well as with the four constructs of the Normalization Process Theory(NPT) adopted in this master’s thesis. The results of this study show that social interaction via technology takes place before and after meetings and via chat functions as well. The findings of the study also highlight that most participants do not experience issues in relation to digital social interactions as reported in the previous literature. However, participants reported some negative factors that hinder their social interaction when WFH such as increased workload, overwhelming online social events and reduced support for the new team members. The contribution of this master’s thesis study is to highlight that different perceptions and feelings of how work arrangement has changed via technology exists while working remotely. It is suggested that organizations willing to implement the new work models(Hybrid work or WFH) need to be aware of the existence of these differences and act based on the insights provided by this master’s thesis study. Keywords: Remote Working, Working from home, digital Social interaction, Social support, Social isolation, ICT,  Normalization Process Theory

No description available.

Bakgrund: År 2019 drabbades världen av en pandemi som fick namnet Covid-19. Detta har lett till att miljontals anställda i EU och även runt om i världen har fått lov att arbeta hemifrån. Två företag som gick över till distansarbete är Sogeti och CGI. Dessa företag är konsultföretag inom IT, engineering och affärsverksamhet. Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att utforska hur konsulter på företagen Sogeti och CGI upplever de förändrade arbetsförhållanden som uppstått i samband med Covid-19 och jämföra konsulternas upplevelser med tidigare forskning. Implementation & strategi: Strategin för denna studie är att genomföra en intervjustudie. Studien kommer att genomföras med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod. Den kvalitativa metoden innefattar intervjuer med utvalda respondenter. Resultat: Intervjuresultatet visar att 13 av 16 respondenter upplevde en smidig övergång till distansarbete och samtliga 16 respondenter upplever att distansarbetet har fungerat bra. Samtliga respondenter upplever en ökad eller likvärdig individuell produktivitet under distansarbetet. Resultatet visar att 13 av 16 respondenterna har haft en god fysisk arbetsmiljö i hemmet, de respondenter som saknade viss utrustning i hemmet vid övergången till distansarbetet fick bra hjälp från arbetsgivare eller kund med att komplettera det som saknades. Slutsatser: Slutsatsen till varför konsulternas produktivitet kan ha ökat när de jobbat på distans är att de har kunnat arbeta i en miljö med färre distraktioner och därmed haft lättare att hålla fokus under längre perioder. Upp-levelsen gällande distansarbetet har varit varierande beroende på vilken position konsulten har i företaget. Slutsatserna som kan dras utifrån studien är att både chefsrollen och projektledarrollen kräver mer fysisk interaktion. / Background: In 2019, the world was hit by a pandemic named Covid-19. This has led to millions of employees in the EU and around the world being allowed to work from home. Two companies that switched to remote work are Sogeti and CGI. These companies are consulting companies in IT, engineering, and business. Aim: The purpose of this study is to explore how consultants at the companies Sogeti and CGI experience the changed working conditions that have arisen in connection with Covid-19 and to compare the consultants' experiences with previous research. Implementation & strategy: The strategy for this study is to conduct an interview study. The study will be conducted using a qualitative method. The qualitative method includes interviews with selected respondents. Results: The interview results show that 13 out of 16 respondents experienced a smooth transition to remote work and all 16 respondents experience that the remote work has worked well. All respondents experience increased or equivalent individual productivity during teleworking. The results show that 13 of the 16 respondents had a good physical work environment at home, the respondents who lacked certain equipment in the home during the transition to remote work received adequate help from employers or customers to supplement what was missing. Conclusions: The conclusion as to why the consultants' productivity may have increased when they worked remotely is that they have been able to work in an environment with fewer distractions and thus found it easier to stay focused for longer periods. The experience regarding remote work has varied depending on the position of the consultant in the company. The conclusions that can be drawn from the study are that both the managerial role and the project manager role require more physical interaction.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant a sudden adjustment for many Swedish employees which resulted in them being forced to work remotely. The purpose of this qualitative, interview-based study was to investigate, from a sociological perspective, how collaboration between colleagues changed when working from home began and what significance it has for the perceived effectiveness, both for the individual and for the work group. As many employees wish to work more from home in the future, knowledge about how the collaboration with colleagues is changing and how the individual is affected by this change is important. Using interaction rituals and individualization, the respondents' descriptions of their working days have been analyzed. It's harder to connect with colleagues when the unfocused interaction is no longer there. It is also difficult to know when a colleague is available when you no longer visually see the colleague. The respondents also describe what they do to become more efficient by avoiding interactions with colleagues and thus can work undisturbed. There are signs of individualization among the respondents and collective thinking has decreased.

Both companies and individuals have observed positive effects after implementing working from home (WFH) practices as digital technology expands collaborative possibilities. As a result, the hybrid workplace has emerged as a sustainable possibility for future workplace solutions. In a hybrid workplace, the workforce is distributed between a co-located office and WFH to different extents, naturally inferring an intense use of collaborative technology in daily operations. However, despite reports of aforementioned positive effects, research show that the feeling of professional isolation (PI) is a reoccurring issue for knowledge workers WFH. And although the spread of the issue appears to be severe in literature, little is known about the effects that the collaborative technology actually has on the level of experienced PI.  Within the interdisciplinary research field of CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work), collaborative information technology systems are studied from both technological and social perspectives. Thus, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of professional isolation in relation to the use of collaborative information technology systems, this study aims to explore how knowledge workers currently WFH experience and perceive the support of CSCW systems for communication in relation to PI.  Based on a qualitative, focused ethnographic approach, nine knowledge workers from different companies and positions currently WFH were interviewed about their perceptions of CSCW systems for communication support in relation to PI. The empirical data that the interviews generated was subjected to a thematic analysis, from which five themes emerged and constituted the empirical findings. These themes were then analyzed in the light of the research questions and discussed with the concepts in the literature review as well as with a symbolic interactionist perspective.  The results of this master’s thesis research show that most of the participants do not experience professional isolation as defined in literature, however, they display a loss of connectedness to co-workers when using the CSCW systems for communication support when working from home. The connectedness in question is achieved with ‘social interaction’, however, the research findings of this master’s thesis illustrate that ‘social interaction’ is not symbolically connected to any of the CSCW systems for communication support for the participants. Based on these research findings, it is proposed that ‘social interaction’ is not included in the concept of ‘communication’ within the field of CSCW. Furthermore, it is suggested that organizations aspiring to implement working from home (WFH), or hybrid workplace practices may want to re-evaluate current and future social activities within the CSCW systems for communication support based on the insights provided by the master’s thesis research study.

Die Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie ist eine der größten Herausforderungen und gleichzeitig Gelingensbedingung für Geschlechtergerechtigkeit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt und im familiären Bereich. Die vorliegende Dissertation verdeutlicht in drei empirischen Papieren die Relevanz von Sorgearbeit für die Arbeitsmarktpartizipation von Frauen und Männern, sowie die Rolle von Unternehmen für das Unterfangen, berufliche und familiäre Aufgaben zu vereinbaren. Im ersten Papier fragt diese Dissertation nach der Rolle von Haus- und Sorgearbeit sowie ihrer Verteilung im Paar für die Arbeitsmarktpartizipation von Frauen und Männern. Für die Analyse werden Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) der Jahre 2001-2017 herangezogen. Um sich bestmöglich einer kausalen Identifikation anzunähern, werden First- Difference Instrumentalvariablen-Regressionen (FD-IV) geschätzt. Das zweite Papier betrachtet die Gründe von Vätern gegen eine (längere) Elternzeitnahme. Anhand eines Mixed-Methods Forschungsdesigns wird untersucht, welche betrieblichen Determinanten eine (längere) Elternzeitnutzung erklären. Darüber hinaus wird analysiert, ob und in welchem Unternehmenskontext Männer und Frauen Karriereeinbußen nach Elternzeitnutzung erfahren. Die Datenbasis sind qualitative und quantitative Daten einer Zusatzbefragung zum AID:A II Survey. Das dritte Papier untersucht die Frage nach dem Zusammenhang von Homeoffice-Nutzung und Work-Family Conflicts. Konkret wird analysiert, ob es Unterschiede nach Unternehmenskultur gibt. Auf Grundlage des LPP-ADIAB werden Multilevel-Regressionen mit fixen Effekten für Berufe separat für Männer und Frauen geschätzt. Zusammengefasst belegt die Dissertation geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede in der Herausforderung, Erwerbstätigkeit und private Verpflichtungen in Einklang zu bringen. Darüber hinaus wird die Notwendigkeit von politischen Reformen und der Handlungsbedarf, aber auch die Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten von Unternehmen verdeutlicht. / Reconciling work and family is one of the greatest challenges and, simultaneously, a precondition for gender equality both in the labor market and in the domestic sphere. In three empirical chapters, this dissertation illustrates the relevance of care work for the labor market participation of women and men, as well as the role of companies in the effort to reconcile work and family responsibilities. In the first paper, this dissertation asks about the role of housework and care and its distribution in the couple for the labor market participation of women and men. The analysis uses data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 2001-2017 on time use for various household chores as well as childcare and eldercare. First-difference instrumental variable regressions (FD-IV) are estimated to best approximate a causal identification. The second paper examines fathers’ reasons against taking (longer) parental leave. Building on this, a mixed-methods research design is used to investigate which firm-level determinants explain (longer) parental leave use by men and women. Furthermore, it analyzes whether, and in which company contexts, men and women experience perceived career setbacks after taking parental leave. The database is qualitative and quantitative data from a supplementary survey to the AID:A II. The third paper investigates the question of the relationship between working from home and work-family conflicts. Specifically, it analyzes whether there are differences according to corporate culture. Based on the LPP-ADIAB, multilevel regressions with occupation fixed effects are estimated separately for men and women. Overall, the dissertation demonstrates gender-specific differences in the challenge of reconciling gainful employment and private obligations. In addition, it points out the necessity of political reforms and the need for action, but also the potential for companies to shape these changes.

Person-Organization Fit (POF) bezeichnet die Kompatibilität von Personen und Organisationen, wobei häufig Werte als Beurteilungsgrundlage dienen. Forschungsergebnisse zeigen, dass ein hoher POF zwischen Arbeitgebern und -nehmern nicht nur positive Auswirkungen auf die Arbeitszufriedenheit hat, auch sind für Arbeitsuchende solche Organisationen attraktiv, mit denen sie eine hohe Passung unterstellen. Die Arbeit widmet sich im Spiegel der Theorie des POF theoretisch und empirisch dem Einfluss von flexiblen Arbeitsformen (zur Ermöglichung von Zeit- und Ortsunabhängigkeit bei der Arbeit) auf die Wahrnehmung der Arbeitgeberattraktivität. Es wird untersucht, inwiefern POF als Erklärungsmechanismus für Arbeitgeberattraktivität dienen kann, in Abhängigkeit der verschiedenen Ausprägungen flexibler Arbeitsformen – u.a. werden allgemein flexibilitätsbezogene Angebote sowie die spezifische flexible Arbeitsform Telearbeit betrachtet, ebenfalls werden Effekte der Nichtverfügbarkeit flexibler Arbeitsformen in den Blick genommen. Neben POF wird auch der Einfluss von AOS (Anticipated Organizational Support) für den Effekt auf Arbeitgeberattraktivität untersucht. Darüber hinaus analysiert diese Arbeit die Rolle der Persönlichkeitsdisposition Work Locus of Control im Zusammenhang mit dem Person-Organization Fit. Die Ergebnisse erweitern nicht nur den wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand, auch liefern sie Impulse für die Praxis des Employer Branding.

The pandemic has disrupted nearly every aspect of our lives, including tasks as fundamental as going to work. The change has brought with it both opportunities and challenges. The use of digital services to hold meetings, webinars and conferences has increased at an avalanche-like pace. Before the pandemic took hold, there was a more traditional view of work - with the general perception that work tasks should be performed in the office. As a stark contrast to this more traditional view of work, nearly 75 percent of Swedish workplaces was forced to switch to working remotely in a short time and many believe that this will lead to permanent changes in how Swedish offices are designed. There are numerous indications that most people want to continue working in offices in the future as well. On the other hand, the working life of the future is characterized by an increased demand for flexible solutions. Research exhibited that most organizational and work variables were considerably related with the outcome measures productivity and work satisfaction, while individual and household variables were significantly less corelated. For organizations, this is vastly beneficial, since organizational and work-related characteristic variables are far easier influenced by procedures and HR policies rather than individual work style and household factors. The work-from-home trial period induced by the pandemic has evidently unveiled the vast number of organizations who have the capabilities to implement remote work on a permanent basis and that employees highly regard the opportunity to do so. Conversely, it correspondingly exhibited how imperative the office is for colleague interaction as well as collaboration and how immensely this have been longed for the past year. This study exhibits that the East Link Project in Stockholm, Sweden would save 182 000 SEK annually per employee working remotely 2 days per week due to reduced real estate, absenteeism, turnover, emissions, continuity of operations, and increased productivity. Further, it exhibited that the average project member would save 7 260 SEK annually due to fewer expenses, 128 hours due to reduced commuting and would sleep 59 hours more per year. / Pandemin har haft verkan på nästintill samtliga aspekter av våra liv, inklusive uppgifter så fundamentala som att gå till jobbet. Omställningen har medfört både möjligheter och utmaningar. Tillämpningen av digitala tjänster för att hålla möten, webinarier och konferenser har ökat i en lavinliknande takt. Innan pandemin tog fäste förekom det en mer traditionell syn på arbete - med den allmänna uppfattningen att arbetsuppgifter bör utföras på kontoret. Som en skarp kontrast till denna mer traditionella syn på arbete tvingades nästan 75 procent av de svenska arbetsplatserna att på kort tid gå över till att arbeta på distans och många tror att detta kommer att leda till permanenta förändringar i hur svenska kontor är utformade. Mycket tyder på att de flesta också vill fortsätta arbeta på kontor i framtiden. Samtidigt som framtidens arbetsliv präglas av en ökad efterfrågan på flexibla lösningar. Tidigare studier visade att de flesta organisations- och arbetsvariabler var betydligt relaterade till produktivitet och arbetsnöjdhet, medan individuella och hushållsvariabler var betydligt mindre korrelerade. För organisationer är detta mycket fördelaktigt, eftersom organisatoriska och arbetsrelaterade karakteristiska variabler påverkas mycket lättare av procedurer och HR-policyer snarare än individuell arbetsstil och hushållsfaktorer. Försöksperioden av hemarbete som förorsakats av pandemin har tydligt uppdagat det stora antalet organisationer som har förmågan att implementera distansarbete på permanent basis och att medarbetare i hög grad uppskattar möjligheten att göra det. Samtidigt exponerade det på motsvarande sätt hur essentiellt kontoret är för såväl kollegors interaktion som för samarbete. Denna studie visar att projekt Ostlänken i Stockholm, Sverige skulle spara 182 000 kronor per år och per anställd som arbetar på distans två dagar per vecka till följd av minskad frånvaro, omsättning, utsläpp, kontorsyta, kontinuitet i verksamheten och ökad produktivitet. Slutligen visade studien att den genomsnittliga projektmedlemmen skulle spara 7 260 kronor och 128 timmar årligen till följd av minskade kostnader och minskad pendling samt skulle sova 59 timmar mer per år.