Social and emotional skills to regulate the mental effects of remote working and promote work satisfaction

<< Background >>The REMOTEMO project was launched in response to the widespread shift to teleworking triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Recognised for sustaining employment during the crisis, remote working posed several challenges due to its rapid and widespread adoption. A Eurofound study in 2020 revealed that 48% of workers transitioned to working from home during the pandemic, a significant increase from 15% prior to it. This shift highlighted issues such as inadequate workspaces and the blending of work and home life, emphasizing the need for strategies to address the emotional and mental impacts of teleworking. The project sought to tackle these challenges by developing tools and training to support remote workers and their managers, ensuring mental and emotional well-being alongside maintaining performance and job satisfaction.<< Objectives >>The REMOTEMO project was envisaged to address the emergent needs of remote workers by fostering better management of teleworking conditions. Emphasising both intrapersonal (stress, anxiety, uncertainty) and interpersonal (social and familial relationships) management aspects, the project aimed to introduce smart working as a progressive model. This model integrates teleworking with new technologies, offering employees autonomy over their work locations and schedules, thus potentially enhancing work-family balance. The project's specific goals were to raise awareness of the mental effects of teleworking, promote emotional management, understand teleworking's implications, and ultimately increase job satisfaction in remote working settings.<< Implementation >>The project was structured around two main pillars: the development of three Project Results (PR) and transversal work packages to support project execution and international team coordination. Key activities included general project management led by HeurekaNet, the establishment of an online project management tool, a comprehensive sharing and promotion strategy under Eduforma, and project monitoring, control, and evaluation by WSEI. These efforts aimed to ensure effective communication, file storage, work tracking, and visibility at both national and European levels<< Results >>The tangible outcomes of the REMOTEMO project include a training programme for managers and HR leaders with 18 podcasts with guidelines, a self-assessment tool for employees, a toolkit with 30 practical tools and a corpus of 18 case studies in video format that meticulously address the essential skills for remote working environments: Work-life balance, self-efficacy, effective communication, responsibility, problem solving and digital communication. In addition, the project organised multiplier events and a training activity, and produced various management, quality, evaluation and promotional materials. Intangible direct results were achieved through the improved knowledge and skills of stakeholders, managers, HR managers, adult educators and employees.