Challenges of teleworking during the Covid-19 pandemic
Keywords:
working remotely, leadership, social isolation, work-life conflict
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to determine how companies in the South-East European countries responded to the crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic and work from home challenges, and what could be done in the future to overcome obstacles of working remotely. Forced by the pandemic to change the working style, companies needed to find the best possible solutions to ensure a sufficient level of working activities. Since such a challenge was faced for the first time in modern human history, not many companies were prepared for it. A quantitative approach was taken, using an online survey for the research. The findings are discussed and presented with reference to the relevant theories. The study reveals and points out the main concerns and problems related to working separately from the rest of the organization. The study analyzes how certain factors of working remotely such as lack of traditional leadership, physical workspace, isolation, etc. affected the life and work of employees during the crisis. The study is novel as these were the circumstances we had not faced before. The paper contributes to a better understanding of all of the aspects of teleworking, with an emphasis on social isolation and working under lockdown.
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Stich, J.-F., Tarafdar, M., Stacey, P., & Cooper, C. (2019). "E-mail load, workload stress and desired e-mail load: a cybernetic approach". Information Technology & People, 32(2), 430-452. doi:10.1108/ITP-10-2017-0321
Suh, A., & Lee, J. (2017). "Understanding teleworkers’ technostress and its influence on job satisfaction". Internet Research, 27(1), 140-159. doi:10.1108/IntR-06-2015-0181
Tseng, L. M., & Wu, J. Y. (2017). "How can financial organizations improve employee loyalty? The effects of ethical leadership, psychological contract fulfillment and organizational identification". Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(5), 679-698. doi:10.1108/LODJ-07-2015-0142
Wang, W., Albert, L., & Sun, Q. (2020). "Employee isolation and telecommuter organizational commitment". Employee Relations, 42(3), 609-625. doi:10.1108/ER-06-2019-0246
Zatzick, C., Deery, S., & R., I. (2015). "Understanding the Determinants of Who Gets Laid Off: Does Affective Organizational Commitment Matter?". Human Resource Management, 54(6), 877-891. doi:doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21641
De Cuyper, N., Schreurs, B., De Witte, H., & Selenko, E. (2020). "Impact of job insecurity on job performance introduction". Career Development International, 25(3), 221-228. doi:10.1108/CDI-06-2020-332
Delpechitre, D., Black, H., & Farrish, J. (2019). "The dark side of technology: examining the impact of technology overload on salespeople". Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 34(2), 317-337. doi:10.1108/JBIM-03-2017-0057
Eppler, J. M., & Mengis, J. (2004). "The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS, and related disciplines". Information Society, 20(5), 325–344. doi:10.1080/01972240490507974
EUROSTAT. (2020, 5 29). How usual is it to work from home? Retrieved from EUROSTAT: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/-/DDN-20200424-1
Ferri, L., Pedrini, M., & Riva, E. (2018). "The impact of different supports on work-family conflict". Employee Relations, 40(5), 903-920. doi:10.1108/ER-09-2017-0211
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. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1524
Golden, T. D., & Veiga, J. F. (2006). “The Impact of Extent of Telecommuting on Job Satisfaction: Resolving Inconsistent Findings”. Journal of Management, 31(2), 301-318. doi:10.1177/0149206304271768
Graham, B., & Cascio, W. (2018). "The employer-branding journey: Its relationship with cross-cultural branding, brand reputation, and brand repair". Management Research, 16(4), 363-379. doi:10.1108/MRJIAM-09-2017-0779
Grant, C., Wallace, L. M., Spurgeon, P. C., Tramontano, C., & Charalampous, M. (2019). "Construction and initial validation of the E-Work Life Scale to measure remote e-working". Employee Relations, 41(1), 16-33. doi:10.1108/ER-09-2017-0229
Hasel, M., & Grover, S. (2017). "An integrative model of trust and leadership". Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(6), 849-867. doi:10.1108/LODJ-12-2015-0293
Hussain, S., Shujahat, M., Malik, M. I., Iqbal, S., & Mir, F. N. (2018). "Contradictory results on the mediating roles of two dimensions of trust between transformational leadership and employee outcomes". Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 5(1), 39-63. doi:10.1108/JOEPP-11-2016-0063
Jabagi, N., Croteau, A. M., Audebrand, L., & Marsan, J. (2019). "Gig-workers’ motivation: thinking beyond carrots and sticks". Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(4), 192-213. doi:10.1108/JMP-06-2018-0255
Karr-Wisniewski, P., & Lu, Y. (2010). ''When More is Too Much: Operationalizing Technology Overload and Exploring its Impact on Knowledge Worker Productivity''. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(5), 1061-1072. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.03.008
Kossek, E., Thompson, R. J., & Lautsch, B. (2015). “Balanced workplace flexibility: avoiding the traps”. California Management Review, 57(4), 5-25. doi:10.1525/cmr.2015.57.4.5
Kowalski, B. K., & Swanson, J. (2005). "Critical success factors in developing teleworking programs". Benchmarking: An International Journal, 12(3), 236-249. doi:10.1108/14635770510600357
Lajšić, H. (2019). ''Strategic human resources management and business intelligence systems in the purpose of social and economic development''. Časopis za ekonomiju i tržišne komunikacije, 9(1), 53-68. doi:10.7251/EMC1901053L
Liu, C., Ready, D., Roman, A., Van Wart, M., Wang, X., McCarthy, A., & Kim, S. (2018). "E-leadership: an empirical study of organizational leaders’ virtual communication adoption". Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(7), 826-843. doi:10.1108/LODJ-10-2017-0297
Makarius, E., & Larson, B. (2017). Changing the Perspective of Virtual Work: Building Virtual Intelligence at the Individual Level. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 31(2), 159-178. doi:10.5465/amp.2014.0120
Memon, M., Salleh, R., Mirza, M. Z., Cheah, J. H., Ting, H., & Ahmad, M. (2019). "Performance appraisal satisfaction and turnover intention: The mediating role of work engagement". Management Decision, 58(6), 1053-1066. doi:10.1108/MD-06-2018-0685
Meyer, F., Le Fevre, D. M., & Robinson, V. M. (2017). "How leaders communicate their vulnerability: implications for trust building". International Journal of Educational Management, 31(2), 221-235. doi:10.1108/IJEM-11-2015-0150
Nakrošienė, A., Bučiūnienė, I., & Goštautaitė, B. (2019). "Working from home: characteristics and outcomes of telework". International Journal of Manpower, 40(1), 87-101. doi:10.1108/IJM-07-2017-0172
Pigini, C., & Staffolani, S. (2019). "Teleworkers in Italy: who are they? Do they make more?". International Journal of Manpower, 40(2), 265-285. doi:10.1108/IJM-07-2017-0154
Pindek, S., Howard, D. J., Krajcevska, A., & Spector, P. (2019). ''Organizational constraints and performance: an indirect effects model’’. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(2), 79-95. doi:10.1108/JMP-03-2018-0122
Rice, B., Knox, K., Rice, J., Martin, N., Fieger, P., & Fitzgerald, A. (2017). "Loyal employees in difficult settings: The compounding effects of inter-professional dysfunction and employee loyalty on job tension". Personnel Review, 46(8), 1755-1769. doi:10.1108/PR-05-2016-0124
Semeijn, J., Van Ruysseveldt, J., Vonk, G., & van Vuuren, T. (2019). "In flight again with wings that were once broken; effects of post-traumatic growth and personal resources on burnout recovery". International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 12(5), 387-403. doi:10.1108/IJWHM-01-2019-0006
Solís, M. (2017). "Moderators of telework effects on the work-family conflict and on worker performance". European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 26(1), 21-34. doi:10.1108/EJMBE-07-2017-002
Stich, J. F., Tarafdar, M., & Cooper, C. (2018). "Electronic communication in the workplace: boon or bane?". Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 5(1), 98-106. doi:10.1108/JOEPP-05-2017-0046
Stich, J.-F., Tarafdar, M., Stacey, P., & Cooper, C. (2019). "E-mail load, workload stress and desired e-mail load: a cybernetic approach". Information Technology & People, 32(2), 430-452. doi:10.1108/ITP-10-2017-0321
Suh, A., & Lee, J. (2017). "Understanding teleworkers’ technostress and its influence on job satisfaction". Internet Research, 27(1), 140-159. doi:10.1108/IntR-06-2015-0181
Tseng, L. M., & Wu, J. Y. (2017). "How can financial organizations improve employee loyalty? The effects of ethical leadership, psychological contract fulfillment and organizational identification". Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(5), 679-698. doi:10.1108/LODJ-07-2015-0142
Wang, W., Albert, L., & Sun, Q. (2020). "Employee isolation and telecommuter organizational commitment". Employee Relations, 42(3), 609-625. doi:10.1108/ER-06-2019-0246
Zatzick, C., Deery, S., & R., I. (2015). "Understanding the Determinants of Who Gets Laid Off: Does Affective Organizational Commitment Matter?". Human Resource Management, 54(6), 877-891. doi:doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21641
Published
2020-12-17
How to Cite
Vasic, M. (2020). Challenges of teleworking during the Covid-19 pandemic. Anali Ekonomskog Fakulteta U Subotici, 56(44), 63-79. https://doi.org/10.5937/AnEkSub2044063V
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Original scientific article
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