Challenges for Workplace Risk Assessment in Home Offices—Results from a Qualitative Descriptive Study on Working Life during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Telework in Latvia
1.2. Main Workplace Hazards in Distant Workplaces
1.3. Workplace Risk Assessment for Teleworkplaces
1.4. Awareness and Knowledge of Teleworkers on Ergonomics
1.5. Risk Assessment of Teleworkplaces in Latvia
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Recruitment of the Participants
2.2. Procedure of the Focus Group Discussion
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
“No, we were just thinking [about workplace risk assessment], but we did not provide one”An internal occupational safety and health expert
“We did not have a risk assessment for distant workplaces. Telework was relative—we worked 50:50 [50% of the time in the premises of the employer, 50% of the time—at home]”An internal occupational safety and health expert
“I think, if the second wave [of the COVID-19 pandemic] will come, we will more focus on workplace risk factors at home”A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“Everything is so unclear…Even now [four months after the end of the first emergency state]…”An external occupational safety and health expert
“As for me, it is still unclear how these questions [on workplace risk assessment in telework] are regulated in our country. From July, telework is covered by occupational health and safety legal acts, but it is not clear, how companies can perform it and what exactly should be done”A large company from Kurzeme/Zemgale
“…and also—workplace risk assessment should be left to be done by the worker himself and not by the company”A large company from Latgale
“I can’t step into the privacy and request to send a photo; I can’t visit his kitchen or wherever he works. It is a very general question”A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“We started to think on telework, and digitalization in general, already some time ago. All workstations were equipped with laptops, big monitors, so, transition to telework was rather smooth…Actually, we were more ready”A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“In one IT company, where everyone could telework, a special person was employed which visited each worker at home. This company had elaborated an internal checklist listing all requirements for the workplace. If something was missing, it was provided by the company, however, if there was not a special room for the home office, the worker was not allowed to telework and he had to work from the employer’s office. It was a good example—they provided computer, table, chair and so on”An external occupational safety and health expert
“We organized an employee survey…and it contained also questions that allowed them to assess their workplaces—e.g., do you have enough fresh air, do you have enough space, we asked for square meters…So, they answered “Yes” or “No”…”An internal occupational safety and health expert
“I elaborated a checklist, I based it on that good material [developed by the public authorities]. I sent the checklist out, invited to fill it in, and if there were problems or some tiny things to be improved, then I or someone from the Human Resource department got in touch and discussed the situation. I am not sure if legally this is a risk assessment, but it was effective”An external occupational safety and health expert
“Workers also sent in photos from their workplace or short videos with a request—can you tell what else I can do to improve my working conditions?”A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“We asked our employees about the working conditions and used the material [developed by the public authorities]”A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“An essential thing is training, I made an e-learning course on how to better work from home, how to have a comfortable workplace…”A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“We immediately sent out information on how to arrange the workplace at home, how to manage these risks…in order not to have back pain after three months”An internal occupational safety and health expert
“What I do—I call it the slow dropping. I add some more information every day—a very small droplet. Then they read, look at the pictures, start to think, but it is a long work”A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“Workers were very active in giving answers when we got in touch with them, they took items [they needed from offices] to their homes…and everything worked”A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“I have to say that I think that it [workplace risk assessment for telework] is very much linked with activation of personal responsibility because workers often think they don’t need anything from the employer, but others clearly know what exactly they need”A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
“Some workers were compensated costs if they needed, but all of them could take everything from office to their homes…”A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Period | Status of Epidemiologic Situation | In Total (15–74) | Age Groups | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15–34 | 35–44 | 45–54 | 55–74 | |||
2nd quarter of 2020 | 1st emergency state (12 March and 9 June 2020) | 18.3 | 12.4 | 21.7 | 19.7 | 20.1 |
3rd quarter of 2020 | - | 8.9 | 8.4 | 12.6 | 8.6 | 6.3 |
4th quarter of 2020 | 2nd emergency state (9 November 2020 and 6 April 2021) | 18.0 | 20.0 | 21.9 | 17.9 | 11.9 |
1st quarter of 2021 | 22.6 | 27.0 | 25.1 | 22.0 | 15.8 |
Supporting Quotes | Reference to the Author of the Quote |
---|---|
| |
“But those workers who have chosen telework, no, their working conditions were not checked” | A large company from Latgale |
“Well, it seems, we are an example of how not to do anything related to this topic. We did not have enough time for all this” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
No, we did not keep track [if the worker has adequate working conditions]” | A large company from Vidzeme |
“No, we were just thinking [about workplace risk assessment], but we did not provide one” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
“Currently [four months after the end of the first emergency state due to COVID-19] risks for telework are not assessed. We will do it, but we started with providing laptops, signed agreements between the employer and worker that the workers must be available via phone and email” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“About the workplaces…I will be honest, nobody was specifically checking these working conditions, but everybody tried to adjust. I was teleworking and, yes, I used an ironing desk and was sitting on a sofa” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
| |
“We did not have a risk assessment for distant workplaces. Telework was relative—we worked 50:50 [50% of the time in the premises of the employer, 50% of the time—at home]” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
“I think, if the second wave [of the COVID-19 pandemic] will come, we will more focus on workplace risk factors at home” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
Lack of information, confusion, unclear legal acts | |
“With workplace risk assessments… Yes, I felt very confused—do I really have to visit everyone at home?” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“Anyway, this is the big question—how to organize risk assessment process?” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“Everything is so unclear…Even now [four months after the end of the first emergency state]…” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“What should we do? Do we need safety instructions, how should we assess risks—I received so many questions on all these topics” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“As for me, it is still unclear how these questions [on workplace risk assessment in telework] are regulated in our country. From July, telework is covered by occupational health and safety legal acts, but it is not clear, how companies can perform it and what exactly should be done” | A large company from Kurzeme/Zemgale |
“There is a too high bureaucracy in the Labour Protection Law, especially concerning workplace risk assessment for distant workplaces” | A large company from Latgale |
“…and also—workplace risk assessment should be left to be done by the worker himself and not by the company” | A large company from Latgale |
“The employer cannot be responsible for the working environment in the home of the workers” | A large company from Latgale |
“Usually, everything is solved after the first court decision. By now, there is no such decision...” | A large company from Kurzeme/Zemgale |
Privacy issues | |
“Risk assessment for work from home—we did not do it. Firstly, this very much related to GDPR” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“I can’t step into the privacy and request to send a photo; I can’t visit his kitchen or wherever he works. It is a very general question” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“About the risk assessment—the current situation is so that checklists, personalized surveys are effective now, but workers do not want to send these photos or videos. Some of them are interested, but most of them want to keep their personal space as a private one” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
| |
“I had already started to do something [on workplace risk assessment already before COVID-19], but March [of 2020] promoted this rapidly” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
“We started to think on telework, and digitalization in general, already some time ago. All workstations were equipped with laptops, big monitors, so, transition to telework was rather smooth…Actually, we were more ready” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
| |
Surveys and checklists | |
“We organized an employee survey…and it contained also questions that allowed them to assess their workplaces—e.g., do you have enough fresh air, do you have enough space, we asked for square meters…So, they answered “Yes” or “No”…” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
“About workplace risk assessment—no, I did not visit anybody at home, but I had a special checklist based on those pictures [of the material developed by the public authorities]. Workers filled in, and then we agreed what else they should do in their home offices” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“I elaborated a checklist, I based it on that good material [developed by the public authorities]. I sent the checklist out, invited to fill it in, and if there were problems or some tiny things to be improved, then I or someone from the Human Resource department got in touch and discussed the situation. I am not sure if legally this is a risk assessment, but it was effective” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“...and then we started with workplace risk assessment. Workers had distance training, how this self-assessment for teleworking workplaces should be done. We worked individually with all workers on this workplace risk assessment and we assisted if something was needed” | A large company from Kurzeme/Zemgale |
“In that checklist, we have questions which were assessed by our legal department [due to the privacy issues]. Then we have online training, where we discuss these questions one by one. And then we sign the agreement with workers explaining that it is his/her responsibility to work in that particular workplace. Basically, with the self-assessment, we want to be sure that he/she has at least one healthy and safe workplace” | A large company from Kurzeme/Zemgale |
“We made kind of survey with the checklist, where the workers themselves did risk assessment...” | A small/medium company from Kurzeme/Zemgale |
Photos, videos, phone calls | |
“With risk assessment, it was rather similar—we allowed to take chairs home, but of course we asked to send photos afterward” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“We have provided all office workers with recommendations on arrangement of the home office, we sent them also pictures from that popular material [prepared by the state authorities]” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“[Workers] informed us with photos, they showed how they manage [to work] from home” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“Workers also sent in photos from their workplace or short videos with a request—can you tell what else I can do to improve my working conditions?” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“We assessed risks for telework in general, but it is difficult to do it at the individual level. You can assess them only when the worker sends you a photo or you can visit them, but it is only voluntarily” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“…. and we have recommendations how such [distant] workplaces should be arranged. We have elaborated a new approach which we tested in some companies—we asked questions either by emails or by phone, but did not inspect any workplace. It was more by phone or questionnaires” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“I assessed risk for telework by phone” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
Materials prepared by the public authorities | |
“We asked our employees about the working conditions and used the material [developed by the public authorities]” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“From time to time, I reminded the workers on the existence of the checklist [prepared by the public authorities] as the illustration of the home office was very obvious and precise. It was very useful for work with employees!” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“We sent out that picture [prepared by the public authorities]” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
| |
Online training | |
“Internal e-training…covered topics related to ergonomic workplaces, how to do exercises, how to reduce stress level and so on” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“An essential thing is training, I made an e-learning course on how to better work from home, how to have a comfortable workplace…” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“I organized online training for everyone. I prepared a presentation with tricks and tips—how can you improve working conditions in your home office, e.g., by using ironing desk, etc.” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
Sending out information on safe and healthy telework | |
“We immediately sent out information on how to arrange the workplace at home, how to manage these risks…in order not to have back pain after three months” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
“I elaborated guidelines for my companies, I sent them out, and of course, I wrote the occupational health and safety instruction for distance work. It is so popular!” | An external occupational safety and health expert |
“The employer supported by sending out information on [the teleworking conditions]” | A small/medium company from Vidzeme |
“What I do—I call it the slow dropping. I every day add some more information—a very small droplet. Then they read, look at the pictures, start to think, but it is a long work” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
| |
“We had colleagues which asked us [occupational safety and health experts] to check the workplaces—they sent in photos and we provided advice on what to do and how to improve the workplace” | An internal occupational safety and health expert |
“Workers were very active in giving answers when we got in touch with them, they took items [they needed from offices] to their homes…and everything worked” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“I want to support [another participant of the focus group discussions] on the personal responsibility. It is a hard and long task to achieve that the workers understand the consequences. It can’t be achieved in one day” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“I have to say that I think that it [workplace risk assessment for telework] is very much linked with activation of personal responsibility because workers often think they don’t need anything from the employer, but others clearly know what exactly they need” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
| |
“Some workers were compensated costs if they needed, but all of them could take everything from office to their homes, e.g., chairs from offices, adjustable office desks, mice, ergonomic keyboards, lamps…everything what they need” | A small/medium company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“[The employer] offered to take home things what the workers need. Other costs were not compensated” | A large company from Latgale |
“We paid for the internet which was used through hot-spots on mobile phones. There were also workers who brought home monitors, office chairs. This was the way to create an ergonomic workplace” | A large company from Riga, suburbs of Riga |
“Workers could take the equipment from the office” | A small company from Latgale |
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Main Category | Subcategory | Employers (n = 65) | OSH * Experts (n = 24) | In Total (n = 89) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Methods used to identify/assess working conditions in home offices | A questionnaire/checklist was sent out to be filled in by the worker himself/herself | n = 8 | n = 6 | n = 14 |
Feedback with suggested improvements was provided by the employer/occupational safety and health expert (after receiving information from workers) | n = 5 | n = 3 | n = 8 | |
Material elaborated by the public authorities was used | n = 4 | n = 3 | n = 7 | |
Workers sent in a photo or a video from the home office | n = 5 | n = 1 | n = 6 | |
Personal visits to home offices were available | n = 2 | n = 1 | n = 3 | |
Unstructured telephone interviews with workers were held | - | n = 2 | n = 2 | |
Supportive factors for workplace risk assessment | Teleworking experience in the company before the COVID-19 pandemic | n = 6 | n = 2 | n = 8 |
Good occupational safety and health performance (including well-trained workers in occupational safety and health) in the company before the COVID-19 pandemic | n = 3 | n = 2 | n = 5 | |
Reasons for not doing workplace risk assessment during the 1st wave of COVID-19 pandemic | No telework, part-time telework, low percentage of teleworkers | n = 7 | n = 4 | n = 11 |
Unclear/complicated/overexaggerated legal requirement | n = 3 | n = 3 | n = 6 | |
GDPR, privacy issues | n = 5 | - | n = 5 | |
“Let’s wait” strategy | n = 3 | n = 1 | n = 4 | |
Lack of time | n = 2 | - | n = 2 | |
Risk assessment was already done before COVID-19 | n = 2 | - | n = 2 | |
Delayed deliveries (impossible to implement identified preventive measures) | n = 1 | - | n = 1 | |
Other methods to improve working conditions in home offices | Online training for workers on arrangement of home office | n = 7 | n = 4 | n = 11 |
Written teleworking guidelines/instructions with ideas to improve teleworking conditions | n = 3 | n = 3 | n = 6 | |
Involvement of workers | Importance of personal responsibility of the worker | n = 6 | - | n = 6 |
Invitation of workers to request needed improvements | n = 3 | n = 3 | n = 6 | |
Compensation of costs to improve working conditions | Compensation of costs related to internet and electricity | n = 2 | n = 2 | n = 4 |
Permission to take equipment from office to home office (as alternative to compensation of costs) | n = 7 | n = 2 | n = 9 |
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Share and Cite
Matisāne, L.; Paegle, L.; Akūlova, L.; Vanadziņš, I. Challenges for Workplace Risk Assessment in Home Offices—Results from a Qualitative Descriptive Study on Working Life during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 10876. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010876
Matisāne L, Paegle L, Akūlova L, Vanadziņš I. Challenges for Workplace Risk Assessment in Home Offices—Results from a Qualitative Descriptive Study on Working Life during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(20):10876. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010876
Chicago/Turabian StyleMatisāne, Linda, Linda Paegle, Lāsma Akūlova, and Ivars Vanadziņš. 2021. "Challenges for Workplace Risk Assessment in Home Offices—Results from a Qualitative Descriptive Study on Working Life during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 20: 10876. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010876