Remote work during the COVID-19 Pandemic: - Problems and Solutions on the example of Vidzeme region in Latvia

The aim of the research was to study the experience of companies in the transition to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The development of information and communication technologies in the 21st century has transformed everyday work and life, and it was expected that, over time, teleworking would become a common practice in most companies. However, it was slower than initially expected due to various social and organizational factors. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to forced remote work, creating problems and challenges for both employers and employees. This proves that new approaches and solutions are not only possible, but also useful and necessary. In order to find out what challenges employers have faced in the transition to remote work and what experience they have gained in order to solve them, two focus group discussions were organized with employers of Vidzeme region from different sectors. In order to compare the experience of employers and employees, a survey of 495 remote-working respondents was conducted between September and October 2020. The research data were collected in the framework of the National Research Programme project “Life with COVID-19", during the first wave of the pandemic. The study reveals that the main challenges were to adapt business processes to the constraints of the emergency and the work organization of remote work, which requires new knowledge and skills such as how to sell, communicate, motivate, teach remotely and ICT skills. Teleworking during the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges such as occupational safety risks, health risks, separating work from leisure time and acquiring new knowledge and skills in a short time.