TELEWORK AND THE POST-COVID-19 FUTURE: THE PORTUGUESE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE CASE STUDY

Miguel Lopes Romão; Pedro Miguel Alves Ribeiro Correia

Miguel Lopes Romão Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa - FDULL
Pedro Miguel Alves Ribeiro Correia Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra - FDUC https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3111-9843

Keywords: Telework. Portuguese Ministry of Justice. COVID-19. Future. Perceptions.

Abstract

This article aims to summarize the principal results obtained from a study of Portuguese Ministry of Justice employees (including courts employees) regarding telework. Employees’ perceptions were assessed concerning both the COVID-19 confinement (started at the end of March 2020) and post-COVID-19 scenarios. A quantitative approach was used and data was collected by the Directorate General for Justice Policy (DGPJ), Ministry of Justice, Portugal, through questionnaires applied online, between the 23rd and 30th of April 2020. It was possible to obtain 2,373 answers, from workers of 11 different entities (including courts workers). The authors explore the assessment of the transition into telework, the perception of quality and intensity of work performance (telework versus in person), the willingness to continue teleworking after the COVID-19 pandemic for employees already teleworking and the willingness to start teleworking after the COVID-19 pandemic for employees currently not teleworking. Results show the potential for more permanent change, beyond the COVID-19 crisis management. The authors encourage both the academic and praxis justice international communities to conduct, collect and share similar research both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in order to amass a data historic that might be useful in the next crisis and inform a host of current debates.

Author Biographies

Miguel Lopes Romão, Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa - FDULL

Licenciado, Mestre e Doutor em Direito pela Faculdade de Direito da Universodade de Lisboa, Portugal. Investigador do Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar (Iuris). Professor da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa (FDUL), Portugal. Pesquisador da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso - Brasil (NUPEDIA-UFMT).

Pedro Miguel Alves Ribeiro Correia, Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra - FDUC

Doutor em Ciências Sociais (Especialidade em Administração Pública) pela Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal. Licenciado em Estatística e Gestão de Informação pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal. Licenciado em Direito pela Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. Professor e investigador da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Coimbra (FDUC), Portugal. Consultor da Direção-Geral da Política de Justiça, Ministério da Justiça de Portugal. Editor-Chefe da Revista Ciências e Políticas Públicas. Vice-Presidente e Investigador Integrado do Centro de Administração e Políticas Públicas (CAPP), Portugal. Pesquisador na Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso - Brasil (NUPEDIA-UFMT).

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