Impact of Work From Home in Information Technology Workers: a self-report study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered a large proportion of the workforce unable to commute to work to mitigate the virus's spread. Employees now based at home might like to continue to Work From Home (WFH). These may be fully, or in some capacity, for the foreseeable future, especially in the IT sector. In view of a sudden change in the work environment, we aimed to study the effects of WFH on Information Technology (IT) workers. Methods: Astudy was conducted using a pre-designed questionnaire to compare WFH with routine work and assess its impact on the worker. A total of 876 IT workers consented and participated in the study. They consisted of workers from Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Pune. IT workers who had worked for more than one year in the office and more than six months in WFH during preceding period were eligible for the study. The data was collected via google forms through snowballing technique. Results: The study included 876 Information Technology workers, of which 564 (64%) were males and 312 (36%) were females. About 324 (37%) of the study participants found the work environment suitable for working. A significant lower proportion of stress and productivity outcomes was seen among males as compared to females. About 336 (38%) would prefer working from home even if the pandemic subsides. Conclusion: WFH has had a negative effect on workers' productivity and work-life balance, especially among females who have been hampered with dual responsibilities of work and home care. Hence most females want to return to working in offices.