Productivity Dynamics Of Work From Home Since The Onset Of The Covid 19 Pandemic

With the introduction of policies to combat COVID-19, far greater numbers of employees across the globe—including those with limited job autonomy—have moved to undertake their entire job at home. Although challenging in the current climate, embracing these flexible modes of work such as working at home, including relevant investment in technology to enable this, will not only deliver potential organizational benefits but also increase the adaptability of the labor market in the short and longer terms. Although perhaps not the central concern of many in the current climate, “good” home-based work is achievable and perhaps even a solution to the current work-based dilemma created by COVID-19 and should be a common goal for individuals, organizations, and society. Research also has shifted to focus on the routines of workers, organizational performance, and well-being of companies and their employees along with reflections on the ways in which these developments may influence and alter the nature of paid work into the post-COVID-19 era. The Handbook of Research on Remote Work and Worker Well-Being in the Post-COVID-19 Era focuses on the rapid expansion of remote working in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts it has had on both employees and businesses. The content of the book progresses understanding and raises awareness of the benefits and challenges faced by large-scale movements to remote working, considering the wide array of different ways in which the large-scale movement to remote working is impacting working lives and the economy. This book covers how different fields of work are responding and implementing remote work along with providing a presentation of how work occurs in digital spaces and the impacts on different topics such as gender dynamics and virtual togetherness. It is an ideal reference book for HR professionals, business managers, executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, students, practitioners, academicians, and business professionals interested in the latest research on remote working and its impacts.

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 7.4, University of Amsterdam, course: Strategic Communication in Organizations, language: English, abstract: How has workplace flexibility during the Covid-19 pandemic affected everyday working life and employee interrelations? Through the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews, this paper aims to analyze and answer the effect of work-from-home on workplace flexibility, and whether the Covid-19 pandemic plays a role in this. Moreover, the paper aims to understand variables such as autonomy within the workplace, colleague dynamics, and identification with the organization. “I like having the choice to [work from home], but I prefer the office.” Although this quotation portrays employees as viewing workplace flexibility in a positive way, this study has found that this is not always the case. Indeed, at the beginning of the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, the world came to a standstill, and humans experienced lockdowns and restrictions globally. This also included employees of organizations worldwide who were legally required to work from home (WFH) to help minimize the risk of infection between coworkers and in their home-life. With employees encouraged to WFH, their new work modes changed, from going to the office daily to working from home through various computer-mediated communication (CMC) resources, with Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, to name a few. This increase in work-from-home during the pandemic has become the new norm around the world. With the introduction of CMC and an increase in workplace flexibility, such factors could influence how an employee feels about working from home, their identification with the company, their motivation, and whether this has an impact on their overall work performance. Numerous academic papers studying the use of workplace flexibility in different workplace settings have been analyzed to understand whether tensions can arise through this method. In the current study, workplace flexibility is defined as the ability and possibility to decide where, when and how one works and encompasses how, as an employee, you are given the opportunity to decide on the time, location and task features of your work in order to create a balance between work- and home-life.

Nations and businesses across the globe have been working through the difficulties of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Industry, academia, NGOs, and governments have been "feverishly" searching for ways to address this deadly virus, which may continue to spread for at least the next year and perhaps beyond (in terms of a resurgence and different strains). From a business standpoint, there have been dramatic effects on logistics and supply chains, economic downfalls, bailouts of major industries and small businesses, and far-reaching calamities from around the world. Even though the COVID-19 story is still in its making, this book focuses on the business of pandemics as applied to COVID-19. The book brings together a global panel of experts across industries and NGOs to help guide business executives and managers through the complex array of issues affecting business in the time of a pandemic. Offering solutions to the business of pandemics as applied to COVID-19, the book is written for organizational decision makers and leaders, as well as those involved in crisis management, public health, and related fields. Its chapters focus on key areas that relate to the business of pandemics, including Lessons learned to date Big data and simulation Logistics and supply-chain management challenges Conducting global business virtually Global economic impact Media and risk communication IT infrastructure and networking Social impact Online learning and educational innovations The new work-from-home environment Re-opening markets and businesses Crisis decision making using analytics and intuition With chapters authored by experts from leading organizations, including the World Health Organization, the RAND Corporation, and various universities throughout the world, The Business of Pandemics: The COVID-19 Story provides high-level guidance and insight for business leaders who must deal with the complexities and challenges presented by this unprecedented crisis.

We examine reported productivity changes of workers over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, which we validate against external metrics. On average, workers report being at least as productive as before the pandemic's onset. However, this average masks substantial heterogeneity, which is linked to job quality, gender, the presence of children, and ease of working from home. As the pandemic progressed, those who previously performed well at home were more likely to remain there. Building on these findings, we estimate factors affecting productivity outcomes across locations controlling for endogenous selection. We find that those in 'good' jobs (with managerial duties and working for large firms) were advantaged specifically in the home environment. More generally we find an effect of key personality traits - agreeableness and conscientiousness - on productivity outcomes across locations.

This forward-thinking book examines the potential impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on productivity. Productivity and the Pandemic features 21 chapters authored by 46 experts, examining different aspects of how the pandemic is likely to impact on the economy, society and governance in the medium- and long-term. Drawing on a range of empirical evidence, analytical arguments and new conceptual insights, the book challenges our thinking on many dimensions. With a keen focus on place, firms, production factors and institutions, the chapters highlight how the pre-existing challenges to productivity have been variously exacerbated and mitigated by the pandemic and points out ways forward for appropriate policy thinking in response to the crisis.

‘What you can do matters more than where you are. If you have the tools and resources to stay connected to your world you still can make a big difference.’ ** Every positive component of liberty that accompanies WFH also has engulfed complications. For example, when working from home, you have the freedom to establish your schedule. This freedom can be challenging because there is a possibility that your performance is not as satisfying as it should be, or as your employer expects, simply because of the unlimited freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want. Whether you like to play, relax or work, it is in your control. Challenges are inevitable because WFH does not come with the traditional workplace cultural reinforcement that is essential for a smooth mental transition. You can enjoy a less stressful morning and evening because there is no daily commute involved. Yet that lack of daily commute can cause the mental transition into work mode to be harder. This transition is the crucial factor that keeps you working till late and finding the motivation to start your day. ** ** Creating boundaries is the only solution for every challenge stemming from unrestrained freedom. If this sounds restrictive to you than you have not yet realised that the beauty of these boundaries is that you are the creator of them. Neither this book nor I, at any point, are going to tell you when you should start working and when you should end your working day. Instead, we both will explore the opportunities to achieve high productivity from your working from home day. But, in the end, you are in control, and you will need to think about these boundaries and how to implement them. I would recommend that you create these boundaries like the highway rules. You might be thinking, why should these boundaries be like the rules of the road? Following road rules allow drivers to reach their destination safely, and in the same way, boundaries for working from home will help you to stay focused and productive. It will also help you to avoid the pitfalls of indefinite freedom. ** ** For better productivity, work must stay in the Workspace, and everything else must remain outside of the Workspace. I understand that everyone has a different amount of space and budget available in their homes, and, especially for those who share their home with others, it may be difficult to designate an entirely separate room or area as a Workplace, but it is not impossible. First, we must consider what is essential for setting up an ideal Workplace, and then we can work on individual budget and space constraints. ** **A successful entrepreneur and Working From Home dad, Jeffrey Hamilton who lives in a two-bedroom apartment with his wife and two little girls, tells the secret of his WFH success. ‘When I started my Business consultancy service from home, I invested in a desk that could be closed at the end of each working day. There was a strong reason to have such desk as it prevented me from putting my personal items in it when I was not working and to ensure my clients’ private and confidential information was not compromised. The greatest advantage of having this desk, however, was that it created a clear boundary between work and family time— when the desk was open it meant I was at work. My wife and daughters knew that when I was at work, they should not call me unless there was an emergency. They always waited patiently and supported my working environment. I also was extremely strict with my personal calls and only answered my phone outside of the desk’s opening hours.’ ** Download or get a paperback to read Jeffrey's story and other success stories of Working From Home Mums and dads....

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,7, Otto Beisheim School of Management Vallendar, language: English, abstract: This thesis provides some best practices and other principles to help overcome the challenges and disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. This thesis discusses these eleven best practices and other principles in the later chapters, and will help leaders realize possible challenges and how to overcome them. If teams fail to overcome them and adjust to the virtual environment, they will not be able to work effectively any more and could cause potential damage and losses to the organization by not completing their tasks and goals. These practical implications can help leaders and remote teams adjust to a virtual environment and are why this thesis is very relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic and also post-pandemic, as these are helpful guidelines for remote leaders. Essential principles for remote leadership are the following in no particular order: • Provision of technology • Frequent and well communication • Sequencing of tasks • Provision of emotional and social support. • Maintenance of productivity and engagement • Promotion of a work-life balance • Acquisition of mentoring quality • Reinforcement of trustworthiness • Encouragement of shared leadership • Establishment of norms • Digital leadership Covid-19 has disrupted many workplaces, changed the working environment, and shifted most workplaces to a remote work setting, meaning most people had to start working from home. As the Covid-19 pandemic was rapidly advancing, working from the office was no longer possible in most workplaces. Many companies implemented a 'new normal' in the form of virtual teams and remote work. With this disruption and change, many difficulties and issues arose. Virtual teams and, therefore, also remote leadership face different challenges than face-to-face leadership and teams do. These new challenges came quickly and somewhat unexpectedly, and now leaders and organizations have to face them. Coping with these challenges is crucial for the Covid-19 era and post-pandemic age, when workspaces will most likely stay remote to some extent. Therefore, this topic is significant in the present and will also remain important for the future.