‘It’s all about flexibility!’ A case study on telework in a Portuguese company after the COVID-19 pandemic
This study aims to understand how teleworking practices are implemented and developed in a Portuguese company after the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to assess their gender dimension when balancing professional and family dynamics. Based on a case study, including 11 semi-structured interviews with the institution’s managers, four themes emerged: The company’s approach to telework; Telework: From COVID-19 to the ‘new normal’; The cultural conservatism of mistrust; Hybrid regime, matching interests. These results are accompanied by gender inequalities with impacts on women’s well-being due to the added tasks of housework or caregiving. To conclude, telework is here to stay with improvements towards flexwork.
Authors
- Cátia Pontedeira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4116-8750)
- Conceição Nogueira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9152-754X)
- Ana Luísa Patrão (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2027-5461)
- Ana R. Pinho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9190-8094)
- Rita Grave (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5659-9556)
- Liliana Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6900-9634)
- Sara Magalhães (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2924-3714)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR)
- Universidade do Porto (PT)
- Instituto Superior da Maia (PT)
- University of Minho (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05013-5
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.20