A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF WORK FROM HOME ON EMPLOYEES DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN 2020

Abstract

COVID 19 pandemic has taken over the world by surprise, affecting around 4 million of the world population. This unprecedented crisis of the 21st century has led to many world nations having to declare a nation-wide lockdown and prohibit all economical and commercial activities in designated spaces. Most of the corporates, in the wake of this challenge, announced work from home for their staff. This study aims to analyze the impact of work from home on employees during the COVID 19 lockdown. Building on the existing scenario of work from home, the study explores the physical, social, psychological, and financial effects of work from home among the employees. In this context, employees are defined as any person, employed in the private sector and public sector, who are currently undergoing work from home. Based on the review of literature on studies related to work from home and pandemic lockdowns, an online questionnaire was distributed to respondents across India. They were asked a set of questions, which clearly intends to collect enough information to frame a logical research output. 165 working professionals participated in the study. Analysis of the responses indicated that work from home has been associated with increased stress and lethargy, in comparison with work from the office. The results demonstrate that work from home does have a detrimental impact on the employees. On this basis, it is recommended that organizations should develop and implement a work from home policy, with positive considerations to employee wellbeing and motivation. Further research is also suggested, to identify other factors which could contribute to developing an efficient and effective work from home culture.