Participant Information Sheet for online survey

Click anywhere on this line to access the survey and be a part of our project

Study title: Designing inclusive remote and hybrid working to support disabled workers

You are being invited to take part in a research project. Before you decide if you wish to take part, it is important you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take your time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. Please contact the project team at inclusive-hybrid-working@lancaster.ac.uk if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take your time to decide whether or not you wish to take part.

We are a research team from Lancaster University, Manchester Metropolitan University and Universal Inclusion. We are inviting you to take part in an online survey on disabled workers’ experiences of homeworking (or remote working) and hybrid working. The study has been funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

What is the study about?

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many desk-based workers are still working remotely (including from home) for all or part of their working week. Studies of homeworking during the pandemic reported largely positive experiences of homeworking from both employees and employers, but the homeworking experiences of disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions were largely unexplored. In addition, little is known about the experiences of disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions who work in a ‘hybrid’ way, where staff work some days remotely/at home and some in their office.

Our study will explore the experiences of disabled workers’ experiences of homeworking and hybrid working, focusing on:

  • the challenges and opportunities that remote/homeworking and hybrid working pose for their recruitment, job retention, progression, productivity, work and personal relationships and health.
  • managing a disability or long-term health condition while working remotely or from home, and when hybrid working;
  • experiences of requesting workplace adjustments for homeworking/hybrid working;
  • factors supporting inclusive remote/homeworking and hybrid working, including use of digital technologies;
  • unmet needs, such as equipment and support.

We hope that this information will ensure disabled workers and workers with long-term health conditions will be better supported while working remotely/from home or when hybrid working.

Why have I been approached?

We would like to recruit workers who self-identify as disabled or who have a long-term health condition, who are in paid employment and have experience of remote/homeworking and hybrid working. We are asking them to complete an online survey about these experiences.

What will I be asked to do if I take part?

If you decide you would like to take part, we would like you to complete an online survey. It should take around 30 minutes to complete. Please click on the link to the online survey and read the instructions on the first page. Proceeding to the next page of the survey indicates your consent to participate in the study.

Do I have to take part?

No. It’s completely up to you to decide whether or not you take part in the survey. There will be no negative repercussions for not participating in this study. If you change your mind before you have completed the survey you can withdraw by closing the link to the survey. However, we won’t be able to withdraw your data once you have completed and submitted the survey as your contribution is anonymous and your data will not be identifiable.

Will my data be identifiable?

Your participation and the information which is collected about you will be kept strictly confidential:

  • Your survey answers will be stored securely in a password-protected electronic format at Qualtrics. Qualtrics does not collect identifying information such as your name, email address, or IP address. Therefore, your responses will remain anonymous. No one will be able to identify you or your answers, and no one will know whether or not you participated in the study.
  • At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you are interested in participating in an interview, either online via Microsoft Teams, by phone or in person (depending on your personal preference). If you wish to participate in an interview you will be asked to provide your phone number or email address so we can contact you. There is an option to enter your contact details via a separate link at the end of the survey, to keep this information separate from your survey responses. For those not choosing this option, or those completing the survey via one of the two accessible Word versions, although this means your survey responses will no longer be anonymous to the research team, we will pool all survey responses together in the analysis and no names or identifying information will be included in any publications or presentations based on these data: your responses to this survey will remain confidential.
  • Once the survey has closed, the data will be downloaded from Qualtrics and stored securely on Lancaster University’s secure server and analysed by the researchers on password-protected computers. Data will be kept securely at Lancaster University for up to ten years following publication.
  • The anonymised and pooled survey data will be archived at the UK Data Archive in order to make them available to other researchers in line with current data- sharing practices (see here).

What will happen to the results?

Your data will be combined with other participants’ data and analysed and reported in academic articles and a ‘Good Practice Guide to Inclusive Homeworking and Hybrid Working’ for disabled workers, employers and policy-makers. Participants and their organisations will not be identifiable in either the dataset or in our publications.

Are there any risks?

There are no anticipated risks with participating in this study. However, if you experience any distress following participation you are encouraged to make use of the resources provided at the end of this sheet.

Are there any benefits to taking part?

Although you may find participating interesting, there are no direct benefits in taking part. However, we hope the study findings will help improve workplace support for disabled workers when they are homeworking or hybrid working.

Who has reviewed the project?

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Faculty of Health and Medicine Research Ethics Committee at Lancaster University.

Where can I access the survey?

Click anywhere on this line to access the survey and be a part of our project

Where can I obtain further information about the study if I need it?

If you have any questions about the study, please contact the primary researcher:

Dr Paula Holland: p.j.holland@lancaster.ac.uk Division of Health Research, Lancaster University.

Complaints

If you wish to make a complaint or raise concerns about any aspect of this study and do not want to speak to the research team, you can contact:

Professor Nancy Preston

Associate Dean for Research; n.j.preston@lancaster.ac.uk

Faculty of Health and Medicine

Lancaster University, LA1 4YG.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information sheet.

Resources in the event of distress: There are no anticipated risks for taking part in this study but should you feel distressed either as a result of taking part, or in the future, the following may be of assistance:

  • The mental health charity Mind offers advice, support and information to people experiencing a mental health difficulty and their family and friends. mind.org.uk InfoLine: 0300 123 3393 to call, or text 86463. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm (except bank holidays).
  • Scope provides information, advice and support on disability issues. Their national helpline offers free, independent and impartial information and support on the issues that matter to disabled people and families. National Helpline: 0808 800 3333 (free to call from landlines and mobile phones within the UK).