Under Covid-19-pandemin har organisationer fått ändra sina arbetssätt och allt fler anställda har fått arbeta hemifrån. Detta innebär även att nyanställda påbörjar sin anställning och introduceras till organisationen på distans, dvs. de genomgår onboardingprocessen på distans. Då pandemin startade för ungefär ett år sedan finns det begränsat med kunskap kring hur onboardingprocessen har påverkats och upplevts när den har genomförts på distans. Studiens syfte har varit att skapa kunskap kring hur introduktionen av nyanställda har påverkats och förändrats av distansarbete. Detta har skapats genom att undersöka hur nyanställda och introduktionsansvariga har påverkats av att introduktionen sker på distans. För att specificera syftet fokuserade frågeställningarna på att det var anställda från samma organisation som hade arbetat majoriteten av sin arbetstid på distans. Teorin bestod av tidigare forskning kring onboardingaktiviteter, organisations-kultur, socialisering och distansarbete. En fallstudiedesign valdes för den här studien. Urvalet baserades på ett antal kriterier som innebar att respondenterna befann sig i samma organisation och att de nyanställda hade arbetat minst tre månader och högst ett år i samma organisation. För att få en förståelse för upplevelsen av onboardingprocessen genomfördes kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta respondenter, varav tre var onboardingansvariga och fem var nyanställda i en organisation. Efter intervjuerna transkriberades materialet som sedan blev till empiri för studien. Empirin från dessa intervjuer visade att när arbetet var på distans var det som nyanställd framförallt en utmaning att lära känna sina kollegor. Det var även svårt för de nyanställda att få en förståelse för organisationskulturen, vilket också stöds av teorin som menar att det kan ta lång tid att förstå organisationskulturen. Dessutom hade endast två av fem nyanställda fått en mentor från början av sin anställning och det visade sig att en mentor hade varit önskad. En analysmodell användes som grundade sig på en tidigaremodell av Bauer (2010) som kallas “The Four C’s” bestående av fyra nivåer som en framgångsrik onboardingprocess bör innehålla för nyanställda. Utifrån denna modell uppnådde organisationen den första nivån som innebar att de informerade om regler, lagar och policys, medan resterande nivåer endast delvis uppnåddes. Studien visar att tidigare använda onboardingaktiviteter fortfarande är aktuella, samt att mentorskap och den sociala delen är extra viktiga när onboardingprocessen sker på distans. / During the Covid-19 Pandemic, organizations have had to change the way they work, and more employees have had to work from home. This means that even new employees commence their employment remotely and are introduced to the organization remotely, meaning they go through the onboarding process remotely. Since the pandemic started approximately one year ago, there is limited research on how the onboarding process has been impacted and how the remote onboarding process has been experienced. This study’s purpose has been to create knowledge about how the onboarding of newemployees has been affected or changed during remote work. This has been created byexamining how new employees and those responsible for the onboarding have beenaffected by the onboarding process taking place remotely. To specify the purpose, the research questions were focused on employees from the same organization and who had worked the majority of their working hours remotely. The theory consisted of previous research around onboarding activities, organizational culture, socialization, and remote work. A case study design was chosen for this study. The selection of respondents was chosen through specific criteria’s, which included being from one organization, and the new employees had been working in the organization for a minimum of three months and not more than a year. To create an understanding of the experience of the onboardingprocess, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight respondents, where three were in charge of the onboarding process, while the remaining five were new employees in the same organization. After the interviews, the material was transcribed and later became the empiricism for the study. The empiricism from these interviews showed above all that it was a challenge for the new employees to get to know their coworkers while working remotely. It was also difficult for the new employees to get an understanding of the organizational culture, this is supported by the theory as it shows that it can take a long time to understand the organizational culture. Additionally, there were only two out of five new employees who had a mentor from the start of the employment, and it was shown that a mentor would have been wanted. An analysis model was used, which was based on a previous model from Bauer (2010) called “The Four C’s” that consisted of four levels of what a successful onboarding process should consist of for new employees. Based on this model the organization reached the first level, which consisted of informing about rules, laws, and policies, while the remaining levels were partially achieved. The study shows that previous onboarding activities are still relevant, as well as mentorship, and the social aspect is extra important when the onboardingprocess is remote.

Den globala pandemin har förändrat hela världssituationen och lämnar troligen ingen oberörd. Den största förändringen för både organisationer och dess involverade aktörer är den förändrade arbetssituationen till följd av kraven på social distansering. Distansarbete uppmanas i största möjliga mån vilket har resulterat i drastiska förändringar av människors livssituationer och företags styrning och arbetssätt. Nyckeln till att lyckas med det distansbaserade arbetet anses vara utökandet av digitala verktyg och teknologiska arbetssätt, som enligt flertalet forskare behöver implementeras på ett hållbart sätt och dess effekter analyseras. Det sociala samarbetet är viktigt inom revision och påverkas av fysisk distans och rätt digitala lösningar krävs för att bibehålla effektivitet och kvalitet i arbetet. Genom denna studie syftade därför författarna till att undersöka hur en plötslig kris påverkat en organisation i revisionsbranschen, med fokus på styrningen mot ett distansbaserat arbetssätt och introducering av nya digitala lösningar. Syftet var att skapa en djupare förståelse för vilka organisatoriska effekter detta kan medföra genom att med hjälp av Normalisation Process Theory identifiera och analysera organisationens specifika förutsättningar för implementering av det nya arbetssättet. Detta gjordes genom kvalitativa intervjuer och resulterade i synliggörande av de mest påtagliga komponenterna i organisationens omställningsprocess men gav också ljus till potentiella problem relevanta att undersöka vidare inom organisationen. Drabbandet av denna kris bedöms ha resulterat i mestadels positiva eller neutrala effekter medförbättring av digitala arbetssätt och effektivare rutiner. Den mest påtagliga negativa effekten gäller den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, medarbetarnas samarbete och styrningens effektivitet. Studien ger ett bidrag som kunskapsunderlag för omställningsarbete på grund av kris och en avspegling till vad som anses bli det nya normala i en organisation av denna typ. Vidare forskning krävs för att skapa en större förståelse för de långvariga effekterna av en global arbetssituation med distansarbete och digitala arbetsprocesser. / The global pandemic has changed the whole world situation and probably leaves no one unaffected. The biggest change for both organizations and the involved actors is the changed work situation as a result of the requirements for social distancing. Teleworking is encouraged to the extent possible, which has resulted in drastic changes in people's life situations and companies' governance and working methods. The key to success with distance-based work is considered to be the expansion of digital tools and technological working methods, which according to most researchers needs to be implemented sustainably and its effects analyzed. Social cooperation is important in auditing and is affected by physical distance, the right digital solutions are required to maintain efficiency and quality of the work. Through this study, the authors therefore aimed to investigate how a sudden unexpected crisis has affected an organization in the auditing industry, with focus on the management towards a distance-based approach and the introduction of new digital solutions. The purpose was to create a deeper understanding of what organizational effects this can entail by using Normalization Process Theory to identify and analyze the organization's specific conditions for implementing the new way of working. This was done through qualitative interviews and resulted in the visibility of the most obvious components in the organization's change process, but also shed light on potential problems relevant to investigate further within the organization. The impact of this crisis is judged to have resulted in mostly positive or neutral effects with the improvement of digital working methods and more efficient routines. The most obvious negative effect concerns the psychosocial work environment, the employees' cooperation and the effectiveness of management. The study contributes to the knowledge base for adjustment work due to crisis and a contribution to what is considered to be the new normal. Further research is needed to create a greater understanding of the long-term effects of a global work situation with distance-based work and digital work processes.

Trenden är tydlig, vi arbetar flexiblare nu för tiden och det verkar vara början på en strukturomvandling av arbetsmarknaden, det har blivit extra tydligt under Covid-19 pandemin. De absolut flesta som arbetar på distans arbetar hemifrån och våra hem måste anpassas till dessa flexibla arbetsformer. Den vanligaste lösningen på problemet är att ta med kontoret hem. Arbetsgivare erbjuder ofta de anställda att ta med stolen eller skrivbordet hem men storleken och estetiken på kontorsmöbler passar inte in i hemmiljön. Vi vill inte ha ett kontor som ser ut som ett hem, inte heller ett hem som ser ut som ett kontor. I det här arbetet undersöker jag estetiken och hur förutsättningarna för distansarbete hemifrån kan förbättras. Ett tidigare projekt kallat Home, som behandlade distansarbete ligger till bakgrund för mitt examensarbete och är en anledning till att jag valt att djupare syna ämnet. Jag har lärt känna problematiken och behoven genom en litteraturstudie där jag granskat olika rapporter och vetenskapliga artiklar för att förstå distansarbete och dess för- och nackdelar. Användarstudier har också genomförts för att lära känna användarna och förstå deras behov, samt samtalat med experter för att fånga in detaljkunskap inom området. Det har lagt grunden för den kreativa fasen bestående av idégenerering och prototyparbete. Det resulterade i ett designförslag som heter Pop, ett flexibelt och kompakt skrivbord för deltidsdistansarbete med platsbrist i hemmet. / There is a distinct trend that we work more flexible nowadays and it seems to be the beginning of a structural transformation of the labour market. This has become clear during the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of remote workers are stationed in their homes. Therefor our homes must adapt to the change in favor for these flexible working conditions. The quick solution is often to bring the office home, but the size and the aesthetics of office furniture does not fit in the environment of the home. We do not want to have an office that looks like home, or a home that looks like an office. In this essay I investigate the aesthetics and how the conditions for remote work from home can be improved.  An earlier concept called Home, a project about remote work has laid the foundation for my bachelor’s degree essay and is one of the reasons I wanted to explore the subject further.  By studying reports and scientific research I have deeply got to know the conditions for remote work, user’s needs, and the associated problems.  I have also interviewed users as well as professionals, to gather expertise. This has laid the base for my creative work – generating ideas and prototyping. This resulted in a design proposal called Pop, a flexible and compact desk for part-time remote workers who has a lack of space.

Background – Digitalization has enabled multiple opportunities, where one opportunity is working remotely. Remote work is a concept used to describe working conditions performed outside of the traditional office walls. It has been used for many years to enable flexibility in terms of work, and thus allow workers to do their job while, for example, traveling or caring for their sick child. COVID-19 virus impacted the world in many different ways. Organizations faced forced lockdown as a recommendation, and the employees had to shift their daily routine to working primarily from home. The shift to remote work meant a decrease in physical, social interactions and less networking amongst employees. Organizational culture is a concept used to describe the fundamental values, artifacts, and internal language of an organization and one key pillar in organizational culture is the people and the social interactions within a workplace. The shift to remote work has thus created multiple gaps in research, where there is a need to understand the impact on organizations and their organizational culture.   Purpose – This thesis aims to understand the impact on organizational culture as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and shift to remote work.   Method – Empirical data was collected from a single-case interview study with employees from Jönköping International Business School. The interviewees have experienced the shift from office to remote work from home the past year, and hence contributed with valuable insights that were then used to understand the impact on the organizations’ culture. The data was analyzed using the Gioia method and hence allowed for categorization of the data.   Findings – The findings of this thesis showed that the employees experienced a digital and virtual fatigue from working virtually and remotely at home. The fatigue is based on not being able to catch smaller breaks which are engraved in the foundational culture at Jönköping International Business School, in combination with an unclear communication strategy. Furthermore, with the removal of physical presence and interactions in the employee’s daily activities, the internal relationships within Jönköping International Business School has started to fade away, and the attitude on nurturing them has also been impacted. Many attempts by the organization have been made to keep together the employees and the culture, although what is evident in the findings is that by duplicating all activities from the physical office activities to the virtual world, the experience does not give the same response virtually. In fact, it can be even more damaging to the attitude of the organization and the internal network.

Background: Telework has become a frequent form of work for a large part of the workforce. However, research regarding public health aspects is lacking in this area. The purpose of this study was to examine how physical active teleworkers are and if they achieve WHO guidelines. A second aim of the study was to investigate relationships between telework and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and musculoskeletal pain/discomfort. Method: A cross-sectional survey was performed in Sweden. In total 375 individuals were included in the sample. Logistic regressions were performed to determine association between telework and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and musculoskeletal pain/discomfort (current and during the last 12 months). Results: 83 % of teleworkers reported physical activity levels that met the WHO guidelines. The results showed no significant relationships between telework and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, or musculoskeletal pain/discomfort. Conclusion: A large part of the studied sample of teleworkers reported achieving the WHO recommendation for physical activity. As no associations could be found between telework, and physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and musculoskeletal issues, telework could be deemed to be as safe as any other work form. However, as this was not a prospective study, with a random sample, further studies are required to investigate whether teleworking has an impact on public health. / <p>Betyg i Ladok 210603.</p>

The abrupt transition to remote work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has put considerable pressure on both companies and their employees. With no means to avoid the crisis, many companies have transitioned to remote work, conducting their business predominantly on digital platforms. This has created a situation where the employees are disconnected from the collective of the office at the same time as they face a completely new situation. To our attention, research is lacking in the area of organizational resilience in remote settings. Thus, we have conducted a qualitative case study where we have examined how organizational and individual resilience has influenced a company during the change to remote work and how adequate communication can facilitate a strengthened resilience. Our findings suggest that the social aspects of a sustainable resilience are hard to replicate in a digital environment and that communication might be the primary driver of organizational resilience in all resilience streams.

Omställningen till påtvingat distribuerat arbete har resulterat i påföljder, bland annat att anställda tvingats jobba hemifrån. Det har utgjort positiva såväl som negativa faktorer, vilket är undersökningens utgångspunkt. Studiens syfte är att studera hur mjuka och hårda faktorer påverkats under systemutvecklares omställning till arbete hemifrån under Coronapandemin. Fokus ligger primärt på att undersöka samband mellan faktorer som påverkats under det påtvingat distribuerade arbete. Även undersöka hur omställningen till påtvingat arbete upplevs ha fungerat och en sia om hur framtida arbetsveckor kan komma att se ut. Där mjuka faktorer syftar till mänskliga faktorer, som självdisciplin, kommunikation m.fl. och hårda faktorer innebär mer systemnära faktorer och behandling av data- och informationssäkerhet, versionshanteringssystem m.fl. Fokus ligger primärt på att undersöka samband mellan faktorer som påverkats under omställningen till påtvingat distribuerat arbete under Coronapandemin. I studien studeras hur systemutvecklare upplever omställningen vid påtvingat distribuerat arbete. I studien används kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod i form av intervjuer med 5 anställda systemutvecklare på ett produktbolag i Västsverige. Intervjuerna var semistrukturerade och togs fram genom målstyrt urval. Frågorna i intervjuguiden utgick ifrån mjuka, mänskliga faktorer och hårda mer systemnära faktorer för att återspegla litteraturöversiktens analysmodell där faktorer delats upp i två övergripande teman. Undersökningsfrågorna i studien lyder: Hur har hårda och mjuka faktorer påverkats under omställningen till påtvingat distribuerat arbete? Hur upplevs omställningen till arbete hemifrån fungerat? Hur kan framtida arbetsveckor se ut? Resultat från studien visar på att mjuka faktorer är de faktorer som påverkats mest av omställningen till påtvingat distribuerat arbete, men att både mjuka och hårda faktorer samverkar vid omställningen. Några av slutsatserna som föreliggande studie har identifierat är att omställningen på ”Anonym” överlag fungerat bra att systemutvecklare och teorier nämner att framtida arbetsveckor kan bli annorlunda efter Coronapandemin och att hårda och mjuka faktorer enligt respondenterna påverkats under omställningen till påtvingat distribuerat arbete under Coronapandemin, men att de mjuka påverkats mer än de hårda.

The way we work has changed rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. Remote work and telecommuting have become the new norm, a trend many of us have not asked or wished for. In this sense, this research is a reassessment of how IT companies in Sweden approached and managed the sudden transition to working remotely. With the support of previous literature on the topics of crisis management, organizational routine dynamics, and telecommuting, a set of seven semi-structured interviews were conducted to better understand the long-term challenges companies face during a crisis-induced shift into remote work. Our research reveals that organizations manage to quickly adapt the core business routines and operations, while social interactions and communication issues seem to be the biggest bottleneck when moving entirely remote. This leads to a perceived loss in overall productivity and the suffering of the work-life balance among all our respondents and their teams.

On March 18, 2020, colleges and universities closed as a measure to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus, and thus both teachers and students were quickly notified that lecture would be carried out at a distance. One year later, telework is still a fact, the rapid readjustment has become a protracted crisis. This study aims to investigate how job satisfaction among teachers has been affected as a result of working remotely. The study aims to contribute with an insight into how an extensive crisis as well as forced telework affects employees. The study hopes to shed some light on what leaders within the University need to offer, to maintain job satisfaction during telework as well as in a crisis. The study was conducted using a qualitative method, with 18 semi-structured interviews, with teachers at the University of Borås and Jönköping. The collected material has then been analyzed and structured using a thematic content analysis. The study's results indicate that distance work has both positive and negative effects. The positive effects are described, among other things, as reduced commuting and increased insight into digital tools, which may facilitate and improve traditional teaching. The results further show that the main negative effect is social isolation, which arises as an effect of the physical distance. Social isolation leads to lack of social contact with colleagues and students. Furthermore, the social isolation entails an increased workload, the work itself is described as boring in comparison to the traditional working environment. The interaction with students is reduced when the lectures are carried out digitally, which is reported to have a negative effect on some learning elements. The telework in its forced shape, leads to an increase in requested emotional support than in studies who have studied the effect of voluntary telework. The results also show that job satisfaction is currently relatively unchanged, however, this is considered to be due to the fact that the situation is still seen as temporary. The teachers point out that if they thought that teleworking was the new normal, their job satisfaction as well as motivation would have decreased. The study concludes that the lack of social contact with both colleagues and students has led to teachers experiencing increased fatigue. Thus, the study shows that teachers are in need of recovery, as well as increased support, regardless if the education returns to campus during the fall or not. / Den 18:e mars 2020 stängde högskolor och universitet som en åtgärd för att minska smittspridningen. Undervisningen ställdes snabbt om från fysisk till distans, 1 år senare är distansundervisningen fortfarande ett faktum, en snabb omställning har blivit en långdragen krissituation. Studien syftar att utifrån ett medarbetarperspektiv undersöka hur arbetstillfredsställelsen hos lärare inom Högskolan har påverkats till följderna av distansarbetet. På så sätt syftar studien till att bidra med insikt i hur en omfattande krissituation, såväl som ett påtvingat distansarbete påverkar lärare inom Högskolan. Studien har använt sig av en kvalitativ metod, med 18 semistrukturerade intervjuer med lärare vid Högskolan i Borås och Jönköping. Det insamlade materialet har analyserats samt struktureras med hjälp av en tematisk innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visar att distansarbetet medfört såväl positiva som negativa effekter. Det positiva effekterna beskrivs bland annat vara minskad pendling samt ökad insikt i digitala verktyg, vilket kan komma att underlätta och förbättra den traditionella undervisningen. Resultatet visar vidare att den främsta negativa effekten är den sociala isolationen, vilket är en effekt av den fysiska distansen. Den sociala isolationen resulterar i brist på kontakt med kollegor och studenter. Vidare har distansarbetet medfört en ökad arbetsbelastning, att arbetet upplevs tråkigare samt att interaktionen med studenterna går förlorad, vilket anses påverka läromomentet. Det påtvingade distansarbetet har visat sig leda till att ett emotionellt stöd efterfrågas i högre utsträckning än vid ett frivilligt distansarbete. Resultatet visar vidare att att arbetstillfredsställelse i dagsläget är relativt oförändrad, dock anses det bero på att situationen fortfarande ses som tillfällig. Lärarna poängterar att om de trodde att distansarbetet var det nya normala hade deras arbetstillfredsställelse såväl som motivation minskat. Studiens slutsats poängterar att bristen på social kontakt med såväl kollegor som studenter har lett till att lärarna upplever en ökad trötthet. Därmed påvisar studien att lärarna är i behov av återhämtning, såväl som ökat stöd - oavsett om undervisningen går tillbaka till campus i höst eller inte.

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.