CODEofWORC - cognitive demands of flexible work

Our working environment is constantly changing. New technologies, modern media and social developments require companies and their employees to constantly adapt to changes. To achieve this, companies are increasingly relying on more flexible forms of work. In recent years, for example, numerous companies have introduced flexible work arrangements, giving employees more freedom to decide for themselves when and where they work. On the one hand, such work arrangements can increase productivity and work engagement, and facilitate the reconciliation of work and private life. On the other hand, they also bring about new challenges.

Flexible forms of work require employees to plan, structure and coordinate their work more independently. Such requirements can have both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand, they offer the opportunity to use complex skills at work and to acquire new competences. On the other hand, they require a high degree of self-control, self-motivation and mental effort. Based on these considerations, the research project CODEofWORC addresses the following questions:

• How do employees experience the requirements of a flexible work organization?
• Which effects do demands of a flexible work organization have on well-being, work performance and the compatibility of work and private life?
• Which short-term and long-term learning and stress processes are associated with a flexible work organization?
• Which resources (at the individual and the organizational level) strengthen employees in dealing with the demands of a flexible work organization?
• How shall trainings be designed to reduce stress and enhance positive effects of flexible work organization?

In order to answer these questions, various social science research methods are used:

• Self-reports
• Short-term and long-term longitudinal studies
• Observation interviews
• Intervention studies with training of employees

Duration: 03/2017-02/2022

Funding: Austrian Research Fund (FWF)

Principal investigator: Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Bettina Kubicek

Cooperation partner: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christian Korunka (University of Vienna)