Quality of Working Life of Remote Employees: Methodological Approaches and First Assessments for the EU and Russia

Abstract

The article reviews the theoretical and methodological provisions in the field of the quality of working life, summarizes the experience of foreign and Russian research in this area. Analyzed modern initiatives, approaches and proposals of international organizations. A system of indicators (characteristics) is proposed to describe the components of quality of working life of remote workers, it is concluded that these largely depend on personal circumstances (family situation, the presence of children, the ability to work at home and equipment of the workplace), which means that the characteristics of quality of working life can be supplemented with personal indicators that affect to the general level of quality of working life. Based on survey data in Europe and Russia, the risks of a decrease in the quality of working life of remote employees are shown, due to the blurring of the boundaries between work and personal life. Measures are proposed to organize the work of remote teams (primarily at the company level and in the development of the new legislation on remote work adopted in Russia) aimed at increasing the quality of working life of remote employees and reducing costs and profit growth for the employer. The problem areas are identified that require further research in terms of the development of the concept of the quality of working life.