Remote Work Realities: Impact of Work-from-Home Policies on Employee Productivity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53983/ijmds.v14n5.002Keywords:
Work-from-Home, Productivity, IT Sector, Manufacturing Sector, Regression AnalysisAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the global work landscape, prompting organizations across sectors to adopt Work-from-Home (WFH) policies as a necessity. As this model evolves into a long-term strategy, it becomes imperative to evaluate its impact on employee productivity across different sectors. This study investigates the effect of WFH policy perceptions on employee productivity, with a comparative analysis of two contrasting sectors: Information Technology (IT) and Manufacturing. A structured questionnaire was administered to 276 employees focusing on key dimensions such as policy clarity, managerial support, communication, work-life balance, and resource availability. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency distribution, and regression analysis to assess the relationship between WFH policy scores and productivity scores. The findings reveal that demographic factors such as gender, age, education, and job level significantly influence WFH experiences. Frequency analysis indicated that while task completion and resource availability were positively rated, challenges remained around work-life balance and focus. Sector-wise regression analysis showed a significant negative relationship between WFH policy and productivity in the IT sector, likely due to digital fatigue and stress. In contrast, the Manufacturing sector exhibited a positive and significant relationship, suggesting that structured WFH frameworks enhance performance in administrative roles. The study concludes that while WFH can be productive, its success is highly sector-dependent. These insights are valuable for organizations aiming to develop effective hybrid work models and employee well-being strategies.
Downloads
References
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. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100615593273
Afonso, P., Fonseca, M., & Teodoro, T. (2021). Evaluation of remote work impacts on productivity during COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(5), 2539. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052539
Bhattacharya, S., & Sharma, R. (2022). The role of leadership in effective remote working: An Indian perspective. International Journal of Management Studies, 9(1), 45–59.
Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., & Ying, Z. J. (2021). Does working from home work? Evidence from a Chinese experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(1), 165–218. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjz032
Choudhury, P., Foroughi, C., & Larson, B. Z. (2020). Work-from-anywhere: The productivity effects of geographic flexibility. Strategic Management Journal, 41(3), 399–420. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3251
Donnelly, R., & Johns, J. (2021). Recontextualising remote working and its HRM in the digital economy: An integrated framework for theory and practice. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(1), 84–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1739874
Eurofound. (2021). Telework and ICT-based mobile work: Flexible working in the digital age. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Felstead, A., & Henseke, G. (2017). Assessing the growth of remote working and its consequences for effort, well-being and work-life balance. New Technology, Work and Employment, 32(3), 195–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12097
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. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1524
Ghosh, S., Sinha, S., & Mitra, D. (2022). Educational qualification and productivity in remote work: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Business and Management, 24(3), 121–130.
Iqbal, M. Z., Ahmad, M. S., & Ahmad, N. (2021). Effects of remote working on employee productivity and wellbeing in manufacturing firms. Industrial Engineering Journal, 50(2), 25–32.
Jain, A., & Kapoor, R. (2022). Work-from-home practices and employee performance in India: An empirical study. Journal of Contemporary Management Research, 16(2), 87–99.
Kaushik, M., & Guleria, N. (2020). The impact of pandemic COVID-19 in workplace. European Journal of Business and Management, 12(15), 1–10.
Koopmans, L., Bernaards, C. M., Hildebrandt, V. H., van Buuren, S., van der Beek, A. J., & de Vet, H. C. (2014). Improving the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire using Rasch analysis. Journal of Applied Measurement, 15(2), 160–175.
Kumar, R., & Choudhury, A. (2022). Remote work burnout: Causes and coping strategies among Indian IT professionals. Asian Journal of Business Ethics, 11(1), 37–49.
Morikawa, M. (2020). Productivity of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from an employee survey. Review of Economic and Business Studies, 13(2), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1515/rebs-2020-0104
Narayan, D., Pillai, S., & Rani, S. (2021). Remote work performance across job types: Evidence from post-pandemic Indian workforce. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 57(1), 89–103.
Raghuram, S., Tuertscher, P., & Garud, R. (2019). Researching the virtual work phenomenon: Tips from the field. Information and Organization, 29(4), 100282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2019.100282
Roy, P., Mukherjee, A., & Sinha, M. (2021). Employee experience and productivity in remote work: Evidence from hybrid teams in India. South Asian Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(2), 167–183.
Savić, D. (2020). COVID-19 and work from home: Digital transformation of the workforce. Grey Journal (TGJ), 16(2), 101–104.
Singh, A., & Tiwari, P. (2021). Age diversity and digital transformation: Productivity outcomes in remote settings. International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals, 12(3), 14–27.
Singh, R., & Kumar, P. (2022). Post-pandemic work culture and productivity: A critical review. Asian Journal of Management, 13(1), 65–73.
Verma, S. (2023). Hybrid work models and future of employee engagement in India. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 39(1), 45–56.