Adjusting to epidemic-induced telework: empirical insights from teleworkers in France

The covid-19 pandemic crisis presents unprecedented challenges and has profound implications for the way people live and work. Information and communication technologies have been playing a crucial role in ensuring business continuity as lockdown measures have suddenly forced employees from across the globe to telework, often leaving them unprepared and ill-equipped. This paper develops an epidemic-induced telework adjustment model derived from the theory of Work Adjustment and the Interactional Model of Individual Adjustment. It is tested on a sample of 1574 teleworkers in France. The results demonstrate the superiority of the influence of crisis-specific variables that are professional isolation, telework environment, work increase and stress. Implications for research are discussed while concrete and actionable recommendations for organisations are provided.

Automated summary

This paper develops an epidemic-induced telework adjustment model tested on a sample of 1574 teleworkers in France, showing the significant influence of crisis-specific variables such as professional isolation, telework environment, work increase, and stress. Implications for research are discussed, along with concrete and actionable recommendations for organizations.