Research question: Is adopting flextime, remote work, and four-day workweeks advantageous to employees and organizations?  Purpose: Advances in technology and the changing nature of work have led to organizations adopting remote work, flextime, and a four-day workweek. The aim is to comprehend how these could affect employees and organizations, then advise organizations on whether to implement them. Employee productivity, satisfaction and well-being are assessed, as well as potential benefits and challenges. The result demonstrates an understanding of advantages, disadvantages, personal interests and critiques, followed by recommendations on facing emerging challenges and suggestions for further research.  Method: The research development is of an inductive nature. A mixed-method technique is used, with 7 respondents contributing to the qualitative research and 120 participants to the quantitative. Most respondents are dispersed around Sweden, but a few from foreign nations are also included to get a global viewpoint. The results are evaluated and contrasted with theoretical data from prior research.  Conclusion: The concepts have proven to be of great interest to employees, with a minority being against some. Many employees feel burned out and unsatisfied with a traditional 5-day workweek, and thus support a 4-day one that would allow more quality time for themselves and to socialize. A vast majority are interested in companies that grant the flexibility to work remotely and schedule their own hours, over those that do not. Trials of the concepts have resulted in increased productivity, and efficiency, better mental and physical health, higher job satisfaction, equality, work-life balance, as well as reduced turnover, burnout, stress and resentment towards management. The concepts would not work for every business or location, but they are highly advantageous to employees and organizations where they suit.

Submitted by (edna.saturno@ufrpe.br) on 2016-05-31T14:18:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Ferreira de Lima.pdf: 3099288 bytes, checksum: 938917c0a1215a5bf98ca2fde04e65c2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-31T14:18:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Ferreira de Lima.pdf: 3099288 bytes, checksum: 938917c0a1215a5bf98ca2fde04e65c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-15 / The cultivation of sugarcane plays an important role in Brazilian agribusiness and at the same time, displays great social and economic importance to the state of Pernambuco, with a harvest of 19,530,950 tonnes of the product in 2007/2008. In spite of the technological advancements made in several stages of its productive process, this activity is frequently associated with environmental contamination, due to the prior burning of the straw for manual and/or mechanized cutting. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the sugarcane harvesting process practiced in Pernambuco’s Zona da Mata Norte and identify the difficulties for the adoption of the practice of raw sugarcane cutting. The research is founded on recent works about the need for practices of sustainable management of the land with the subsequent preservation of its fertility and its biological balance, of fundamental importance not only for this region – where soil and climatic conditions are less favourable – but also to meet the principles of sustainable management, conomically profitable, ecologically correct and socially just. To reach the objectives proposed, the research methodology adopted was of interviews with the representatives of the different segments involved in the process: producers, cane cutters and spokesmen of environmental organs, as well as, through comparative analysis between production costs in the modalities burnt cane and raw cane in a five year period. After analysis of the compiled data, a conclusion was reached about the advantages in the adoption of raw sugarcane harvesting and suggesting the expansion of the sample through new research which offers data for private investors and public administrators, aiming for the adoption of an attitude which reconciles increased productivity, socio-environmental security and respect for citizenship. / A cultura da cana-de-açúcar desempenha um papel relevante no agronegócio brasileiro e,paralelamente, revela grande importância econômica e social no Estado de Pernambuco, que colheu na safra 2007/2008 19.530.950 toneladas desse produto. Apesar dos avanços tecnológicos alcançados em diversas etapas de seu processo produtivo, essa atividade é freqüentemente associada à contaminação ambiental, devido à queima prévia da palha para posterior corte manual e/ou mecanizado. O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar o processo de colheita da cana-de-açúcar praticado na Zona da Mata de Pernambuco e identificar as dificuldades para a adoção da prática do corte da cana crua. A pesquisa está fundamentada em trabalhos recentes sobre a necessidade de práticas de manejo sustentável do solo com a conseqüente preservação de sua fertilidade natural e de seu equilíbrio biológico, de fundamental importância não só para esta região - onde as condições edafoclimáticas para o cultivo da lavoura são menos favoráveis – como também para atender aos princípios da sustentabilidade: economicamente rentável, ecologicamente correta e socialmente justa. Para alcançar os objetivos propostos, a metodologia de pesquisa adotada foi a de entrevistas aos representantes dos diferentes segmentos envolvidos no processo: produtores, cortadores de cana e porta-vozes dos órgãos ambientais, como também, por meio de análise comparativa entre os custos de produção nas modalidades cana queimada e cana crua, no período de cinco anos. Após análise dos dados compilados, conclui-se sobre as vantagens da adoção da colheita da cana crua e sugere-se a ampliação da amostragem através de novas pesquisas que ofereçam subsídios às decisões tanto de investidores particulares como de gestores públicos, visando à adoção de uma atitude investidora que concilie ganhos de produtividade, segurança sócio-ambiental e respeito à cidadania.

The master's thesis deals with the design of a press, which will be part of a robotic workplace. This workplace is designed for a company operating as a subcontractor for the automotive industry, for which automation is one of the most important processes of development and increasing labor productivity. The robotized cell is part of a line for heat treatment of plastic tube semi-finished products. The cell itself is used to press the conical extension of the pipe ends using a steel mandrel. In order to manipulate the parts, the corresponding end effectors of robots are designed in the work, which safely load and remove parts from the automated press. Design and control calculations are supplemented by finite element strength analysis in Solidworks. A drawing documentation is also made in this program. The work is performed with regard to the requirements of technologists and the quality department.