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Mostrando entradas de septiembre, 2010

Work flexibility and identity

Work flexibility may have an impact on workers' identity. The FAME project (Vocational Identity, Flexibility and Mobility in the European Labour Market) studied this subject between 2000 and 2003.  Their briefing paper number 54 is specially interesting. An excerpt: Three dominant modes of ‘strategic action’ taken by employees in forming their work-related identities have been identified:       In all of the occupational groups investigated, employees were found with an affiliation towards classical types of occupational identities with a high level of identification either with their occupation, the employer, the product or the daily work tasks. For this group of employees, changes at work present a great challenge, particularly for those who do not have the means or personal resources to adjust flexibly to new demands. In this case employees typically develop a ‘retreat’ strategy by holding on to traditional forms of identification with work aimed at conserving as much as po

Pursuing workplace flexibility in the US

Started in 2003, the National Workplace Flexibility Initiative is a collaborative effort  designed to position workplace flexibility as a compelling national issue - providing an essential step toward the long-term goal of making workplace flexibility the standard way of working in America.  Is is mainly funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Some outsprings of this initiative: When work works Workplace flexibility 2010

Robotic telepresence

Thanks to Jordi Conesa for telling me about the Special report on telepresence in IEEE Spectrum. This special report explores the recent advances in robotic telepresence and their impact on society. Telepresence is a very special form of telework. According to Wikipedia , it "refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect, via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location."