Is working from home the new workplace panacea? Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for the future world of work [Scholarly Article - SAJIP, June 2021]

Title:

Is working from home the new workplace panacea? Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for the future world of work

 

Authors:

Jeremias J. de Klerk, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Bellville, South Africa 

Mandi Joubert, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Bellville, South Africa 

&

Hendrikjan F. Mosca, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of Stellenbosch Business School, Bellville, South Africa

 

Published:

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, Volume 47, a1883, 21 June 2021

https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1883

 

Abstract:

Orientation: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of employees to work from home as governments implemented lockdowns.  

 

Research purpose: This study examined the impact of working exclusively from home on employee engagement and experience, and determined beneficial and distracting factors.  

 

Motivation for the study: Remote working trends have risen steeply since the onset of COVID-19 and are unlikely to taper off soon. Organisations need to understand the impact of remote work when reconsidering working arrangements.  

 

Research approach/design and method: A dual-approach qualitative design was followed. The sample comprised 25 employees (N = 25) who were forced to work exclusively from home during COVID-19. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews.  

 

Main findings: Working from home for protracted periods rendered paradoxical outcomes. Employees could work effectively with improved employee engagement and experience, but there were challenges rendering adverse effects. The experienced benefits of working from home created expectations that this practice would continue in future, along with some office work.  

 

Practical/managerial implications: Organisations need to continue, though not exclusively, with work-from-home arrangements. The ideal ratio of remote work to office work was seen as two to three days per week. However, support and cultural practices would have to be put in place.  

 

Contribution/value-add: The COVID-19 lockdown provided a unique environment to study remote work. For the first time, employees and organisations were placed in a situation where they could experience working from home in a stark and compulsory form, devoid of idealistic fantasies or romanticism. 

Analysis of news media reports of suicides and attempted suicides during the COVID-19 lockdown in India [Scholarly Article - International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 3 December 2020]

Title:

Analysis of news media reports of suicides and attempted suicides during the COVID-19 lockdown in India 

 

Authors:

Soumitra Pathare, Lakshmi Vijayakumar, Tanya Nicole Fernandes, Manisha Shastri, Arjun Kapoor, Deepa Pandit, Isha Lohumi, Somidha Ray, Arti Kulkarni & Palak Korde  

 

Published:

International Journal of Mental Health Systems, volume 14, Article number: 88 (3 December 2020)

https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-020-00422-2

 

Abstract:
Background 

Based on previous experience there is justifiable concern about suicidal behaviour and news media reporting of it during COVID-19 pandemic.  

 

Methods 

This study used a systematic search of online news media reports (versions of newspapers, magazine and other digital publications) of suicidal behaviour during India’s COVID-19 lockdown and compared it to corresponding dates in 2019. Data was gathered using a uniform search strategy from 56 online news media publications 24 March to 3 May for the years 2019 and 2020 using keywords, suicide, attempted suicide, hangs self and kills self. Demographic variables and methods used for suicide were compared for suicide and attempts between the 2 years using chi-squared tests (χ2).  

 

Results 

There were online news media reports of 369 cases of suicides and attempted suicides during COVID lockdown vs 220 reports in 2019, a 67.7% increase in online news media reports of suicidal behaviour. Compared to 2019, suicides reported during lockdown were significantly older (30 vs 50 years, p < 0.05), men (71.2% vs 58.7%; p < 0.01), married (77.7% vs 49%; p < 0.01) and employed (82.9% vs 59.5%; p < 0.01). During the lockdown, significantly more suicides were by hanging (64.4% vs 42%), while poisoning (8.5% vs 21.5%) and jumping in front of a train (2% vs 9.4%) (p < 0.05) were significantly reduced. Comparison of COVID and non-COVID groups showed that online news media reports of COVID cases of suicide and attempted suicide were significantly more likely to be men (84.7% vs 60.4%; p < 0.01), older (31–50 years 52.9% vs 25.8%; p < 0.01) employed (91.5% vs 64.3%; p < 0.01), had poor mental (40.1% vs 20.8%; p < 0.01) and poor physical health (24.8% vs 7.9%;11.8, p < 0.01).  

 

Conclusion 

 Increase in online news media reports of suicides and attempts during COVID-19 lockdown may indicate an increase in journalists’ awareness about suicide or more sensational media reporting or may be a proxy indicator of a real community increase in suicidal behaviour. It is difficult to attribute changes in demographic profile and methods used only to changes in journalists’ reporting behaviour and should be further explored. We therefore call upon the Government of India to urgently release national suicide data to help devise a comprehensive suicide prevention strategy to address COVID-19 suicidal behaviour.

Note:

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Crise alimentaire : cinq pistes pour fluidifier les approvisionnements en Afrique [Food crisis: five avenues to streamline supplies in Africa]

Titre [Title]:
Crise alimentaire : cinq pistes pour fluidifier les approvisionnements en Afrique
[Food crisis: five avenues to streamline supplies in Africa]

Par [By]:
Gaëlle Balineau, Économiste du développement, Agence française de développement (AFD)
&
Nicole Madariaga, Économiste du développement, Agence française de développement (AFD)

Publié [Published]:
The Conversation, 14 June 2020
https://theconversation.com/crise-alimentaire-cinq-pistes-pour-fluidifier-les-approvisionnements-en-afrique-140447

Extrait de l'article [From the article]:

* En pleine crise du Covid-19, la nourriture à prix abordable ne manque pas, comme le martèle l’économiste en chef de l’Organisation pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO).
[In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, there is no shortage of affordable food, as the chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) insists.]

* Les travaux de recherche post-2008 ont réaffirmé que les crises alimentaires ne sont pas toujours liées à des chutes de production, mais aussi à la pauvreté des consommateurs ou à des barrières commerciales.
[Post-2008 research as affirmed that food crisis are not always linked to falls in production, but also to consumer poverty or trade barriers.]

* Ce qui fait défaut ensuite, c’est l’infrastructure logistique pour acheminer les denrées alimentaires du port, ou du champ, jusqu’aux consommateurs : les circuits d’échanges internationaux ne sont pas rompus, mais les circuits d’approvisionnement et de distribution nationaux et intra-africains, eux, sont beaucoup moins robustes et résilients (Soudan, Angola, République démocratique du Congo…).
[What is missing next is the logistics infrastructure to transport food from the port, or from the field, to consumers: the international trade channels are not broken, but the supply and distribution circuits national and intra-African, they are much less robust and resilient (Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo ...).]

* On le voit actuellement : c’est en partie à cause des difficultés de circulation des transporteurs et des commerçants, des couvre-feux, des congestions aux frontières et des interdictions de déplacements que les opportunités économiques et les emplois disparaissent.
[We are seeing it now: it is partly because of the difficulties of transport for transporters and traders, curfews, border congestion and travel bans that economic opportunities and jobs are disappearing.]

University of the Free State (UFS), 18 June 2020 - Loss of income due to COVID-19 significantly affects nutrition and hunger in the home

Title:
Loss of income due to COVID-19 significantly affects nutrition and hunger in the home

Author:
Dr Chantell Witten

Published:
University of the Free State (UFS), 18 June 2020
https://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item/campus-news/2020/june/loss-of-income-due-to-covid-19-significantly-affects-nutrition-and-hunger-in-the-home

From the article:
On 26 March 2020, the President declared a national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it started to emerge in South Africa. Since then and several weeks into the lockdown, Statistics South Africa (2020) has provided evidence which many intuitively knew would be more devastating to households than the coronavirus itself – loss of income and the negative effects that follow hunger. Stats SA reported that the percentage of respondents receiving no income increased from 5,2% before the lockdown to 15,4% by the sixth week of the national lockdown. Given that the majority of South Africans depend on the informal labour market, such as informal traders and casual workers, this lack of income would hit millions of households. Furthermore, Stats SA also reported a decrease in formal wage/salary earners for the same period, from 76,6% before the national lockdown to 66,7% by the sixth week of national lockdown.

While South Africa is food secure at national level, millions of households are food insecure. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) 1996 definition of food security, this simply means that there is not enough food at all times for all the people in a household to have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.  In short, people are hungry and at greater risk for ill health – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  A hungry man is an angry man. Likewise, a hungry nation is an angry nation.

University of Ghana, 5 May 2020 - Centre for Ageing Studies Presents Relief Items to Elderly Groups with Support from Ministry Of Finance

Title:
Centre for Ageing Studies Presents Relief Items to Elderly Groups with Support from Ministry Of Finance

Published:
University of Ghana, 5 May 2020

From the article:
"The Centre for Ageing Studies has received food items from the Ministry of Finance as part of efforts to support elderly citizens during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation comprising 1,470 food packages were received following a request from the Centre to the Ministry."

To read this article (photos included):
https://www.ug.edu.gh/news/centre-ageing-studies-presents-relief-items-elderly-groups-support-ministry-finance

SOUTH AFRICA - ANALYSIS | What we have learnt in 21 days of lockdown

Title:
ANALYSIS | What we have learnt in 21 days of lockdown

Author:
Azarrah Karrim

Published:
News24, 17 April 2020

From the article:
"It's been three weeks since the country embarked on a lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19.  

Initially, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the lockdown would end on 16 April. However, that was extended for two weeks until 30 April.

While this is daunting, it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on what we have learnt about Covid-19 and the country's response to the pandemic over the past 21 days."

To read the article:
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/analysis-what-we-have-learnt-in-21-days-of-lockdown-20200417

Discussion by staff of the University of the Witwatersrand - South Africa needs to end the lockdown: here’s a blueprint for its replacement

Title:
South Africa needs to end the lockdown: here’s a blueprint for its replacement

Authors:
Shabir Madhi, Alex van den Heever, David Francis, Imraan Valodia, Martin Veller & Michael Sachs

Published:
The Conversation, 9 April 2020

From the article:
"The public debate on strategies to tackle COVID-19 often unhelpfully positions health and economic considerations in a diametric fashion – as trade-offs. In fact, economic policy has health consequences. And health policy has economic consequences. The two need to be seen as parts of a coherent whole.  

In the case of South Africa, the country currently faces three interrelated problems. These are the public health threat from the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic and health effects of the lockdown, and a range of intractable economic problems not directly due to the current pandemic. These include high unemployment, low economic growth and falling per capita income."

To read this article:
https://theconversation.com/south-africa-needs-to-end-the-lockdown-heres-a-blueprint-for-its-replacement-136080

BBC News Article - Coronavirus: Could gaming be good for you during lockdown?

Title:
Coronavirus: Could gaming be good for you during lockdown?

Published:
BBC News, 12 April 2020

From the article:
"For gamers around the country, lockdown might appear to be an ideal opportunity to hone your skills in pretty much every waking moment. But how much should we be playing online? And could it offer some benefits at a time of social isolation?"

To read this article:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-52230082?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology&link_location=live-reporting-story

A Touching Story - Family Recreates Supermarket for Grandmother with Dementia and Alzheimer's (video)

Title of video:
Family Recreates Supermarket for Grandmother with Dementia and Alzheimer's 

Published:
NowThis News, 12 April 2020

Focus:
This family set up a grocery store in their home to maintain a normal routine for their grandmother with dementia and Alzheimer’s during COVID-19.

To watch this video (3:13):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5kwHv-Y2xM