Remote Work And Employee Engagement: Exploring The Challenges And Opportunities In A Post-Pandemic Era

Abstract

The pandemic of the coronavirus and its effects have increased the prevalence of remote work than before and, therefore, the form of engagement of the employees has changed. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present and analyse the prospects for remote work in the post-COVID-19 context with a focus on the engagement of employees. Cross-sectional study and self-administered questionnaires and interviews were conducted on the respondents who are workers in different fields. From the research evidence, it can be seen that there are some advantages and disadvantages of remote work; while on one hand, there are flexibilities, self-organization, and access to a large pool of qualified employees, on the other hand there are problems with the concept. The majority of the workers have stated that they have gained productivity and happiness when they were given the chance to work from home. This research also establishes that there is a need for organizations to come up with measures for handling issues that relate to teleworking and improve the employees’ involvement level. Suggestions include: better communication systems, better technologies and structures, enhancing and maintaining positive organisational climate. The research also recommends long-term future studies of the impact of teleworking on the commitment of employees and to the industry and culture. Nevertheless, the study is not without limitations: data is based on self-reports; participants are white-collar workers only; but it offers useful suggestions to organizations operating in the contemporary conditions of work.