The WeLaR webinar on remote work brought together over 30 participants to discuss how this new and increasingly prevalent work arrangement affects workplace well-being, mental health, skills demand, and the resilience of local labour markets.
The webinar “From Home to Office: The Complexities and Benefits of Remote Work” was organised on 27 November 2024 by WeLaR partner LISER.
The session began with a presentation by Ludivine Martin (LISER), who shared WeLaR research co-authored with Laetitia Hauret. Their study examined how telework and digitalisation impact remote workers’ stress, workload, and mental health. The findings revealed that while new technologies can ease work intensity, digitalisation generally has a negative effect on well-being. Interestingly, ICT adoption had no measurable impact on mental health, while automation and AI were found to reduce feelings of emotional exhaustion. See the presentation here.
Next, Sarra Ben Yahmed (University of East Anglia) presented a study she conducted with Francesco Berlingieri (European Commission) and Eduard Brüll (ZEW) on the role of digital capital and remote work potential in shaping local employment resilience in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. She showed that regions with higher digital capital had greater labour market resilience, particularly in areas previously lacking digital infrastructure, as digital tools increased organisational flexibility, helping businesses adapt to disruptions. See the presentation here.
Espen Olsen (UiS School of Business and Law) presented findings from a project conducted with Aldijana Bunjak (UiS), Maria Therese Jensen (UiS) and Yusheng Fu (Nottingham Trent University) on the relationship between remote work and personality traits. The study found that remote work can reduce workplace bullying but also increases feelings of loneliness. Additionally, it decreased work engagement among both extroverts and introverts. The presentation is available here.
In the last presentation of the day, Christina Langer (Stanford Digital Economy Lab) discussed the impact of remote work on labour markets and skills demand in Germany. Her research, co-authored with Jean-Victor Alipour (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), revealed that the proportion of job postings offering remote work surged from 3.5% in 2019 to 17.5% in 2023. Employers increasingly prioritise skills such as independence, attention to detail, and self-management.
