DIGYLID

PID2020-116742RB-I00

ABSTRACT

This research proposal addresses challenge 6 from the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2017-2020 (Social Sciences and Humanities and Science with and for Society). Our research addresses the increasing concerns in Europe about the capacity of our societies, companies, and workers to respond to the increasing process of digitalization and the use of new work arrangements such as telework. We contribute to this social challenge through a problem-focused intervention research that aims to develop and evaluate a web- and app-based training program to improve leadership competencies for telework. Our ultimate goal is the improvement of the performance and well-being of teleworkers.

Telework is estimated to increase in Europe in the next years to three to four times more than before the Covid-19 pandemic. This situation is challenging the leadership function and urging the development of adequate competencies to face it. Different reports point out the need to improve digitalization skills and the soft skills related to them to make our societies more competitive and improve the quality of working life. Research has also pointed out the existence of a digital gender gap and different effects of digitalization and telework on women and men. These requires the development of evidence-based and cost-effective interventions that promote leadership skills for telework and contribute to the improvement of well-being and performance.  Moreover, this challenge must be approached from a gender perspective.

This project will employ a design with 2 intervention groups and a control group that will allow to test the effectiveness of different types of training. The final design will be developed through a participative process that will allow different stakeholders to take part to better achieve the societal challenges related to telework. The research will be conducted in several work units where work is totally or partially developed remotely (at least 2 days per week). The interventions will be based on sound theoretical approaches about leadership development, occupational health psychology, and web-based training design and will be focused on the development of 5 competencies for telework: effective communication and feedback, planning and negotiation, autonomy, diversity, and stress management. The training will be delivered through 5 modules of 1hour and a half. We will also develop an app-based to improve the transfer to the job situation the considered competencies. A gender perspective will be adopted in in the study of leadership and telework at the different levels (development of research questions, formulation of hypothesis, inclusion of relevant stakeholders in the design, implementation, and research).  A mixed-methods approach will be implemented to evaluate the intervention. Pre- and post-design questionnaires will be applied at three-time points (pre-, two weeks after the intervention, and 3 months after the intervention). Also, interviews will be conducted during the pilot study to evaluate the implementation process. The results of our research will contribute to the improvement of the well-being and performance of teleworkers through the development of evidence-based cost-effective training to develop leadership soft skills for telework. This way we aim to contribute to the Spanish strategic action in digital economy and society and to the European strategy for shaping Europe’s digital future

Proyect website

GOALS

- Develop an intervention to improve the well-being and performance of remote workers through the development of leadership competencies for working remotely

- Analyze qualitatively the contextual factors that might facilitate or hinder the implementation of the intervention

- Carry out a comparative study between two types of interventions with distinct levels of experiential realism.

- Evaluate the efficacy of the training program to develop remote working skills in leaders and improve workers’ well-being and performance

- Evaluate both intervention programs in terms of cost-benefits and cost-effectiveness of complex interventions.

- Analyze the impact of leadership interventions from a gender perspective

Universidad Jaume I (Castellón): Micaela Moro Ipola

Universitat Internacional Valenciana: Esther Villajos Girona

Unviersitat de València: Guido Martinolli

• Ministeri de Ciència i Innovació