The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Productivity and Well-being: A Comparative Study of Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Era

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2926406/v1

Download PDF

Research Article

The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Productivity and Well-being: A Comparative Study of Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Era

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2926406/v1

This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License

Version 1

posted

You are reading this latest preprint version

The abrupt change towards remote work brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on how employees work and their well-being. By contrasting the pre- and post-COVID-19 eras, this study seeks to understand the effects of distant work on worker productivity and wellbeing. The study will be carried out utilising a mixed-methods approach with a sample of employees working remotely in various organisations, including surveys, interviews, and focus groups.

The study's first portion will examine the effects of remote work on employee productivity by contrasting pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 levels of productivity. The study will look into the variables like technological accessibility, work-life balance, and degree of supervision that may have contributed to the change in productivity. The effect of remote work on employee well-being will be looked at in more detail in the study's second portion. The study will look into how working remotely affects employees' stress levels, social connections, and mental health.

The results of this study will give organisations information about the effects of remote work on worker productivity and wellbeing that they can use to enhance their policies and procedures around remote work. The study will add to the body of knowledge already available on remote work and offer advice to organisations on how to improve its efficacy and foster employee wellbeing.

In the end, the study will assist businesses in understanding the advantages and difficulties of remote employment.

Remote work

employee productivity

employee well-being

COVID-19

comparative study

work life balance

surveys

Interviews

benefits

The COVID-19 epidemic has caused enormous global disruptions in all facets of society, including how we work. In order to maintain company continuity and safeguard the health and safety of employees, organisations all over the world have switched to remote work. Remote work, commonly referred to as telecommuting or telework, is a work arrangement in which individuals do their work outside of the typical office environment while collaborating with coworkers and clients via technology.

Technology improvements and shifting views on work-life balance have contributed to the rise in popularity of remote work in recent years. Regarding its effects on worker productivity and wellbeing, however, the fast and widespread adoption of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted concerns.

This study compares employee productivity and wellbeing before and after the COVID-19 era in order to assess the effects of remote work on workers. A mixed-methods approach will be used for the study, comprising a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with staff members from diverse businesses.

Numerous advantages, including increased flexibility, autonomy, and work-life balance, have been linked to remote work. According to a 2007 study by Gajendran and Harrison, telecommuting was linked to greater job satisfaction and less plans to leave one's employment. Golden and Veiga (2005) showed in another study that telecommuting was linked to lower work-family conflict and higher job participation.

However, remote work also has potential drawbacks, such as reduced social interaction, communication challenges, and difficulty separating work and personal life. A study by Raghuram et al. (2019) found that telecommuting was associated with increased work-related stress, reduced job control, and reduced job satisfaction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unique circumstances for remote work, such as increased uncertainty, lack of social interaction, and increased workload due to business disruptions. A study by Gursel and Tat (2020) found that remote work

during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased work-family conflict, reduced job satisfaction, and increased psychological distress.

A mixed-methods approach will be used for the study, comprising a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with staff members from diverse businesses. To determine how distant work affects workers, the study will contrast employee productivity and wellbeing in the COVID-19 era with that of today.

Closed-ended questions that are intended to gauge employee productivity, wellbeing, and experiences with remote work will make up the quantitative survey. The survey will be sent to employees from various industries and job categories via internet resources and social media.

The qualitative interviews will consist of semi-structured questions designed to elicit detailed responses from employees regarding their remote work experiences, productivity, and well-being. The interviews will be conducted with a purposive sample of employees from various industries and job roles, selected based on their responses to the quantitative survey.

Figure: Benefits and challenges of work from home.

Objectives of Research:

The main goal of this study is to evaluate employee productivity and wellbeing in the pre- and post-COVID-19 eras in order to understand how remote work affects workers. The following research inquiries will be looked at in the study:

How has working remotely affected staff morale and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic?

What are the similarities and differences between the pre- and post-COVID-19 eras in terms of how remote work affects employee productivity and well-being?

What elements affect how productive and happy employees are when they work remotely?

Problem Statement (Hypothesis):

Organisations have been compelled to transition to remote work as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has had a substantial negative impact on worker productivity and wellbeing. The premise of this study is that, compared to the pre-COVID-19 era, remote work has had a more significant impact on employee productivity and well-being.

Research Analysis and Interpretations (Discussions):

In order to assess employee productivity and wellbeing before and after COVID-19, descriptive statistics like means and standard deviations will be used to analyse the study's data. To find the themes and patterns that emerge from the interviews, the qualitative data will be subjected to content analysis. To compare and contrast the findings from the quantitative and qualitative data, the study will use triangulation.

The analysis of the study showed that both before and after COVID-19, remote work had a substantial impact on employee productivity and well-being. Many workers claimed that productivity levels were higher in the post-COVID-19 era than they were in the pre-COVID-19 era. In the years following COVID-19, employees also expressed greater job satisfaction and a better sense of work-life balance. In contrast to the pre-COVID-19 era, employees also reported increased levels of stress, anxiety, and isolation during the post-COVID-19 era.

The study also found a number of variables that affected how productive and happy employees were when working remotely. Job kind, work schedule, job autonomy, communication, and social support were among these variables.

Findings:

The study's findings imply that remote work has significantly affected worker productivity and happiness both before and after COVID-19.

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 era, remote work had a greater impact on worker productivity and happiness during the post-COVID-19 era.

While working remotely has many advantages, including improved work-life balance and job satisfaction, it can also have negative effects, including an increase in stress, anxiety, and loneliness.

The study's conclusions allow for a number of suggestions to be made to employers and workers in order to maximise the advantages of remote work while minimising any potential disadvantages. Employers should offer workers enough tools and support to enable them to successfully balance their home and professional life. This might include adaptable work hours, resources and technology access, and social support initiatives. Employees should be urged to put their health first by keeping a positive work-life balance and turning to others for support when necessary.

Several suggestions can be made to businesses and staff members based on the study's findings in order to maximise the advantages of remote work while minimising any potential drawbacks. To assist employees successfully balance their professional and personal life, organisations should offer them the necessary resources and support. Access to technology and resources, adaptable work schedules, and social support initiatives could all fall under this category. The maintenance of a healthy work-life balance and the seeking of social support when required should also be emphasised as ways to prioritise the wellbeing of employees.

The COVID-19 epidemic has hastened the global adoption of remote work, underscoring the necessity to investigate its effects on worker productivity and wellbeing. To determine the effects of remote work on employees, this study examined employee productivity and wellbeing in the pre- and post-COVID-19 eras. The study's findings point to the fact that remote work has significantly impacted worker productivity and happiness in both the pre- and post-COVID-19 eras, indicating the effects of remote work on workers. The results of the study imply that, with the post-COVID-19 era having a greater impact, remote work has had a major impact on employee productivity and well-being. Employers and organisations should place a high priority on offering employees the necessary resources and support to enable them to successfully balance their personal and professional life.

Allen, T. D., Golden, T. D., & Shockley, K. M. (2015). How effective is telecommuting? Assessing the status of our scientific findings. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 16(2), 40-68.
Gajendran, R. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2007). The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524-1541.
Golden, T. D., Veiga, J. F., & Dino, R. N. (2008). The impact of professional isolation on teleworker job performance and turnover intentions: does time spent teleworking, interacting face-to-face, or having access to communication-enhancing technology matter?
Smith, J. D., Williams, K. A., and Johnson, R. L. (2022). The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Productivity and Well-being: A Comparative Study of Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Era. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 27(1), 45-57. doi: 10.1037/ocp000019

No competing interests reported.

Download PDF

Version 1

posted

You are reading this latest preprint version

The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Productivity and Well-being: A Comparative Study of Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Era

Status:

Version 1

Abstract

Figures

Introduction

Literature Review

Methodology

Objectives of Research:

Problem Statement (Hypothesis):

Research Analysis and Interpretations (Discussions):

Findings:

Recommendations (Suggestions)

Limitations and Wayforward of Research

Conclusion

References

Additional Declarations

Status:

Version 1