WinWin4WorkLife

At ERIS we got a chance to interview Theun Pieter and ask him 2 questions: What is WinWin4WorkLife about ? and Why is WinWin4WorkLife important for VUB?

What is WinWin4WorkLife about ? 

What do you understand under social, economic and spatial impacts as a result of Remote Working Arrangements (RWA)?
Theun Pieter: “Employers were often optimistic about RWA at the start of the pandemic, but now-at least in some places-they show a renewed interest in in-person work. Employees, on the other hand, often prefer remote work. Such differences between employers and employees highlight uncertainties about the future of work. 
Thus, in order to better understand changing work environment and needs, the WinWin4WorkLife project aims to predict social , economic, spatial and environmental impacts of Remote Working Arrangements (RWA) for a selection of 5 urban, rural and cross-border areas by developing forecasting models.

Practically speaking, as an example, during the pandemic, there were relevant signs that RWA could have significant spatial effects. Some employers revised their workspace capacity needs and decided to downsize the main office in combination with setting-up new satellite office locations. Remote workers changed their daily activity and travel patterns  and some decided to move further away from their employer. However, the extent of these spatial changes, as well as the opportunities and threats for urban, rural and cross-border areas are not yet fully grasped. 
Having a good understanding of all these impacts is imperative as EU countries also seek to foster inclusive and sustainable growth, making sure to increase the number of employees, employers and communities benefitting from RWA. In addition, the EU countries also simultaneously endeavour for one thing to reduce populations who run the risk of losing out and for another thing to limit negative spatial and environmental impacts.  That is why WinWin4WorkLife wants to combine employer - and employee surveys with time use diaries and in-depth interviews to look into a ‘new multilevel data structure’ outcome.”

Why is WinWin4WorkLife important for VUB?

Theun Pieter: “The VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) will contribute to the design of the employer survey given their experience with large scale inter-university survey projects combining questionnaires with app-based data collection. The VUB will take the lead in analyzing the impacts of the intensity of RWA on work-life balance and quality of time.   
The research knowledge used for this project is the sociologic study of time, daily routines in human behaviour, social rhythms and mental health, gender inequality. Hereto the VUB will also work with hbits a spin-off from the VUB.  They manage the MOTUS platform which has been used in several studies of time use in the context of daily life. It offers valuable insights into individuals’ behaviour within its space-time context. Work-life balance and quality of time will be assessed in terms of fragmentation, contamination and multitasking as well as in terms of context such as the presence of others. Sequencing, clustering and multivariate techniques will be applied for this purpose.”

AIM

WinWin4Worklife envisions to enable healthy, inclusive and sustainable Remote Working Arrangements (RWA) in Europe by combining employer and employee perspectives into a single framework. 
The project has five key objectives and outcomes: 
1) To gain an interdisciplinary understanding of how the private and work spheres interact when working remotely; 2) To assess which living and working conditions ensure a healthy work-life balance in RWA for both men and women living in urban, rural, and cross-border areas; 3) To develop forecasting models of the impacts of different scenarios of RWA on mobility, land use, air quality, noise, and health; 4) To enhance knowledge on the role of culture, regional context and welfare systems in the uptake of RWA by employees and employers; and 5) To develop a comprehensive set of evidence-based spatial policies for a sustainable implementation of RWA, based on cocreation processes with stakeholders and citizens.

METHODOLOGY

To do so, WinWin4WorkLife will collect novel and comprehensive data in 5 European countries (DE, FI, LU, PT, SK), selected to represent different welfare systems, housing and labour markets, and cultural norms towards remote work. Data collection consists of an employer survey focused on organizational support for RWA, impacts on skills retention and productivity, and intentions to relocate; and an employee survey complemented by interviews and a covering employee circumstances, gendered RWA experiences, impacts on work-life balance and mental health, as well as residential or job relocation, and social security and taxation issues.

IMPACT

This quantitative and qualitative data will feed custom-made spatial forecasting models to assess wider urban/rural regeneration, environmental and health impacts. Close and continuous engagement with planning, policy, business, and institutional stakeholders will ensure concrete and context-sensitive policy actions and measures for the sustainable uptake of RWA in Europe.