Transcript The Psychology of Remote & Isolated Working The Mad, the Bad, the Glad and the Hardy Craig A.

The Psychology of
Remote & Isolated Working
The Mad, the Bad, the Glad and the Hardy
Craig A. Jackson
Prof. of Occupational Health Psychology
Head of Psychology
Birmingham City University
RIASEC Model of Vocational Choice – Holland 1997
Crawford J, MacCalman L, Jackson CA. In Depth Review: The Health and Wellbeing of
Remote and Mobile Workers. Occup Medicine, 2011; 61: 385-394.
Why is Remote & Isolated Working so Popular?
This Need Not be Remote & Isolated Working…
Sales Executive
Male
52yrs
Mercedes SL500
25,000 miles p/year
Enjoyed job
Driving
Freedom
Radio 3 / Opera fan
Peace and quiet
SatNav
Phone charger
Radar / Road angel
CD
Laptop
Individuals who spend the majority of
their working time away from a home
or work base
Defining Remote & Isolated Working – not so simple
Individuals who spend the majority of their working time away from a home or work
base
A definition may include jobs where tasks may require workers to be absent from their base
or headquarters for the majority of their working time
May also require workers to be absent from their home for a number of days
1. The absence of face-to-face personal contact can be used as a key marker of RIW.
2. This can produce a conservative definition of RIW and would perhaps include those
workers who have fewer than four hours of face-to-face contact with their colleagues
or managers per week.
3. This definition could also include workers who may be isolated from other workers not
necessarily by being geographically remote, eg hospital clean-room workers who work
alone by necessity.
Defining Remote & Isolated Working – not so simple
This can produce a conservative definition of RIW and would perhaps include those
workers who have fewer than four hours of face-to-face contact with their colleagues or
managers per week.
Social workers
Filling stations
Receptionists
Janitors
Shops
Teachers
District nurses
Home workers
Cleaners
Drivers
Security
Engineers
Defining Remote & Isolated Working
Individuals who spend the majority of their working time away from a home or work
base
Estimated that there are 1 million workers in the UK and Ireland working this way
Majority of whom are involved in customer services and software development
What is unknown is the impact that being a remote or mobile worker has on health
and wellbeing
Across the EU-15, it was estimated that the number of multi-locational
eWorkers will increase to 14,332,000 by 2010
Achieved through employment growth and organisational change
(Bates & Huws 2002)
Who’s Doing It?
Functions involved in multi-locational eEmployment in EU (15)
(Huws & O’Regan 2001)
Advantages or Challenges for Remote & Isolated Working
Organisational Level
Individual Level
Advantages
Challenges
Advantages
Challenges
Greater Productivity
Performance Monitoring
More autonomy
Social Isolation
Lower Absenteeism
Performance Measurement
Schedule flexibility
Professional Isolation
Customer Proximity
Managerial Control
Office politics absent
Organisation Culture
Design of specific posts
Synergy
Less travel time
Reduced office influence
Efficient use of space
Informal Interaction
Longer hours
Lower costs
Organisation Culture
Access to resources
Greener improvement
Virtual Culture
Technical savvy
Attractive employer*
Organisation Loyalty
Letting oneself “go”
Availability
Overdoing it
Schedule Maintenance
Pillow emails
Work Coordination
Boundary transgressions
Functions Communication
involved in multi-locational eEmployment in EU (15)
(Huws & O’Regan 2001)
Technology
Guidelines
(Adapted from Kurland & Bailey 1999)
Health Effects of Remote & Isolated Working
Higher prevalence of Lower Back Pain (LBP) and other Musculoskeletal
symptoms
Associated with…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Driving more than 15,000 KM / 9000 miles p/year
Driving more than 20 hours p/week
Driving in an uncomfortable seat
Aged > 45 years
Self-reported stress
Self-reported anxiety
•
•
•
•
High demands
Job insecurity
Low levels of colleague-interaction
Feeling over-worked
Psychological Effects of Remote & Isolated Working
Remote & Isolated working was also associated with…
•
Poor mental well-being
•
Longer working hours p/week
•
Low decision authority
•
Greater conflicts
•
Job insecurity
•
Role ambiguity
•
Role conflicts
Psychological Benefits of Remote & Isolated Working
Better mental health was associated with
• Greater “customer / client time”
• Higher mileage “me time”
Ergonomic Effects of Remote & Isolated Working
Adjustable lumbar supports in vehicles associated with reduced absence
from lower back pain
Shoulder pain associated with
• No steering wheel adjustment
• Lack of headroom in vehicle
• Poor pedal positions
• No backrest-angle adjustment
• Manual handling in-out of vehicle
Further Research of Remote & Isolated Working
• Identify sources and solutions to the high levels of psychological “distress”
identified within this group
• Identify if sources of stress were different across sectors
e.g. sales compared with service industries
• Examination of the impact of fatigue and recovery on remote and mobile workers
• Identification of the impact of this type of work on individuals in less physical jobs
Commuting
“Cattle Truck Syndrome”
Chronic health problems exacerbated
by train travel?
Cumulative impact theory:
Increased B.P, Anxiety,
Chronic Heart Conditions
Over-crowded trains / buses
Straining public transport system
Lack of control
“People develop a constant internal anger
on crowded trains that they cannot easily
45 minutes seems “key”
displace…an individual's immune system
could also be suppressed by stress,
making passengers more susceptible to
illnesses”
Home Visits
Special training required
• personal safety
• walking [mobility in adverse weather]
• driver training
Consideration must be given to both routine work and
foreseeable emergencies that may impose additional
physical and psychological burdens on the worker
Employers need to consider sending qualified staff to
conduct risk assessments at premises regularly
used/visited by employees
Employers also need to be aware of any specific laws
applicable to their industry that may affect lone or isolated
workers (eg transportation of explosives or fumigation
work)
Psychological Boundary Issues: Illness
A potential problem of RIW may involve setting the boundaries between home and
work for both workers and managers
This can arise when homeworkers take sick
leave. This can be a sensitive area.
It may appear legitimate in certain
circumstances to believe that someone can
manage a couple of hours working from home
when they certainly would be unfit for a whole
day of working.
It has to be accepted that it is the employee’s
decision and that it would not be appropriate
for managers to pressurise someone who is ill
into working.
Psychological Boundary Issues: Privacy
Staff who work from home have rights to out-of-hours privacy, and should be enabled
to separate their working and home life.
Times when they can or cannot be contacted on work-related matters should be
established and agreed, and the installation of separate business phone lines should
be considered.
Home visits to the worker should be arranged at times acceptable to the worker.
Undue intrusion should be kept to a minimum.
Laws governing teleworking can be complicated, and a European framework
agreement on teleworking has been developed in the UK (voluntary guide only)
Psychological Boundary Issues: Working hours
The “Pillow email”
Behavioural Yellow Flag
Emails consistently sent:
• Late at night
• Early morning
Current VW email experiment
Managing a Dispersed Workforce
Organisations need to carefully develop and implement a remote working policy
Some local authorities in the UK have openly published their policies
Key points of such policies often include the following
•
HR, IT and facilities management need to be brought together
•
Employers should consider financing suitable, ergonomically acceptable home
office equipment and devices
•
Interaction between managers and remote workers should be sustained
•
Regular welfare checks and visits are the most suitable means of monitoring
hazards
•
Remote workers should take regular breaks, avoid long working hours and antisocial hours
Managing a Dispersed Workforce: On the Roads
Driving one of biggest duties undertaken by Remote & isolated Workers
A good safety climate is a good predictor of driver safety
1.Communication and procedures.
2.Work pressures.
3.Relationships.
4.Safety rules.
5.Driver training.
6.Management commitment.
Who are the offending drivers?
Behavioural Profile of the Unsafe Remote / Isolated Driver
Look for a British citizen with an average IQ, although it could be substantially higher
or lower than average.
The unsafe driver will be a male or possibly female, who may be married or unmarried, divorced or widowed.
He or she may drive a decent car, but it may also be low-end of the market.
The unsafe driver will have a good job, although s/he may working voluntarily or even
self-employed.
They will definitely be driving something with at least two wheels
Eating on the Road: drive-thru field observations
672 vehicles observed
402 drive-thru
(59.8%)
270 eat-in
(40.2%)
Eating
Drinking
Using phone
No seatbelt
No signals
Entering traffic badly
23%
6.0%
2.0%
11%
71%
10.6%
“Unsafe driving” score
1.25 (±0.7)
0.82 (±0.6)
0.00
“Unsafe driving”
“Unsafe driving”*
85%
46%
70.7%
14%
0.00
0.00
*ignoring “no signals” misdemeanor
0.3%
0.0%
2.0%
7.0%
65%
6.6%
P-value
0.00
0.00
1.00
0.08
0.08
0.07
Eating on the Road: drive-thru field observations
672 vehicles observed
417 Male
(62%)
255 Female
(38%)
Eating
Drinking
Using phone
No seatbelt
No signals
Entering traffic badly
11.9%
3.5%
1.9%
11.7%
75%
9.5%
“Unsafe driving” score
1.25 (±0.7)
0.82 (±0.6)
0.00
“Unsafe driving”
“Unsafe driving”*
83%
34%
72%
32%
0.00
0.50
*ignoring “no signals” misdemeanor
17.2%
3.5%
2.3%
5.4%
60%
8.2%
P-value
0.05
1.00
0.90
0.00
0.00
0.55
Roadside Recovery Remote Staff Management System
Roadside Recovery Remote Staff Management System
Computer Keyboards
Tendonitis
Repetitive Strain Injury
Low Back Pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Cumulative Trauma Disorders
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Sick Building Syndrome: let’s not blame the vehicles…
Air quality
Chemical pollutants
Air con
Ventilation
Dust
Tobacco
Space
Crowding
Isolation
Equipment
Printers
PC’s
Noise
Equipment
Telephones
Others
Lighting
Artificial
Glare
Control
Job content
vdu’s
Monotony
Overload
Organisation
Control, communication, feedback
Non-Stop Communication
A good sign or a bad sign?
Hi. Can you meet
me first thing on
Monday? It’s
important. Have a
good w/e - Boss
Personality type
Optimism vs Pessimism
Negative Affectivity
Hardiness
Vocal Hygiene and Remote & Isolated Workers
Golden Age of Communication
Most Isolated & Remote jobs have
increased vocal use
Vocal load “unaware”
Equipment modifications required
Exacerbated by stress, alcohol, exposure
Remote & Isolated Workers – Offending Spaces
Service in USAF
ADT home security installer
(1980s)
Graduate Kansas State University
(Computer science)
Scout Leader
(1980s 1990s)
Church Minister
City compliance officer
(1990s)
Work-Related & Work-Place Suicides
• Suicide complex end-stage behaviour in those feeling hopeless
• 1 million suicidal deaths worldwide p/year (WHO) (10-20 million attempts)
• 6,500 suicides in UK in 2011
• Greatest “at-risk” group is white, male, aged 45-60 (2012)
• Remote & Isolated working allows “Suicide Space” in those who need it
• Away from others
• Freedom
• Seclusion
• Managers need to pay more attention to welfare of RIWs on the road
Key points of Remote & Isolated Working
• Musculoskeletal symptoms appear to be an issue associated with longer
time periods within vehicles / behind the wheel
• Better design of vehicles and personal adjustment within vehicles needed
• Ensuring adequate breaks when driving for long periods
• Psychosocial factors associated with musculoskeletal symptom reporting
and demands & control
• Currently unclear whether individuals can access occupational health,
human resources or training easily when working remotely
• Managers need further guidance in managing workers and building trust for
those working away from the normal workplace