A Study on the Preparedness of IT Employees for Work from Home - (WfH) during the Covid-19 Lockdowns
Abstract
Work from home (WfH) is an option that is increasingly becoming one that organisations offer to their employees, with mutual benefits to both the organisation (in terms of lower office rental costs, maintenance) and the employees (comforts, travel, stress). Work from home (WfH) is increasingly becoming an option that organisations offer to their employees (in terms of better work-life balance). During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, it became essential for several industries to ensure the continuity of their business operations, particularly during lockdown periods and as a result of the restrictions on social and physical distancing that have been imposed by governments to prevent the pandemic from spreading. Because of this, WfH has become the norm in a number of different fields. However, the literature pays very little attention to the willingness of workers to perform their jobs from the comfort of their own homes and a mixed reaction is observed. The goals of this paper are to investigate whether or not workers in the IT business are adequately prepared for working flexible hours and whether or not they are satisfied with WfH. For the purpose of the study, data was collected from a representative sample of 100 workers working in a variety of IT organisations located all over the country through the administration of a structured questionnaire. From March 2020 through June 2021, the lockdowns of the Covid-19 experience is examined and the samples were asked to recall their days of experience during this period. The findings of the study showed that the majority of IT employees had never WfH before the lockdowns, and that the majority of IT employees were not initially fully prepared for WfH. This was especially true for female IT employees in comparison to male IT employees, younger IT employees in comparison to older IT employees, and employees living in rural areas in comparison to employees living in urban areas. The findings of the survey also demonstrated that contentment with processes had the biggest impact on IT employees' overall satisfaction with WFH. This was followed by satisfaction with their work environment (at home) and satisfaction with the training they received during WfH. The IT organisations should place a strong emphasis on processes, the work adjustments (at home), and the new way of work orientation in order to boost employee satisfaction with work-fromhome options.
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