Survey among thousands of homeworkers charts effects of coronacrisis

Survey among thousands of homeworkers charts effects of  coronacrisis

As a result of the current corona measures, a large part of the Netherlands works at home. The current situation offers an unexpected opportunity for scientists. Knowledge Center for People and Buildings (CfPB) in Delft together with Aestate / Ontrafelexperts, Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology are currently investigating the effects of working from home. The interest in participating in the study is high.

The Netherlands is a country where people regularly work from home every now and then. However, due to the corona crisis, this is currently happening on an unprecedented scale. The CfPB, together with Aestate, TU Delft and TU Eindhoven, uses the current situation to accurately map the positive and negative aspects of working from home. Currently, a large number of homeworkers, working for various organizations, fill in short questionnaires every week. All civil servants of the Central Government will soon start completing the questionnaires.

Questions that are discussed in the scientific research "We work at home" relate to the effectiveness of (communication) technology, the management of employees and the perception of social cohesion. “The ultimate goal of this large-scale study is to offer organizations and employees practical tools,” says Wim Pullen, director of the CfPB. "We want to share knowledge about the best way to implement working from home." Monique Arkesteijn, researcher at the MBE department of the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft, is participating in the research. She is curious whether a new and better balance between working from home and working in the office, if we are allowed to return 100% to our workplace in the office or university”. The lessons from this research will help. The current situation offers the opportunity to develop and share scientifically validated and useful knowledge.

Because the research is currently in full swing, no final results can be reported yet. The researchers do occasionally publish "flash reports" on a special "We work from home" web platform, which is accessible by password to all participants in the study. The reports already describe some trends. Among other things, it is reported here that participants miss contact moments with colleagues the most. Perhaps the most striking preliminary finding is that there is some light between managers' views on the extent to which matters related to working from home are arranged and the perception of their employees. Where about 80 percent of managers indicate that there are clear guidelines in this area, the percentage among employees is much lower.

For more information about the project; see We Werken Thuis of www.cfpb.nl

For more information about the involved TU Delft researcher Monique Arkesteijn.