PERSONNEL LOYALTY, WORK-LIFE BALANCE DURING REMOTE WORK

Abstract

Nowadays, loyalty is rooted in an employee’s commitment to the organisation and involvement in its activities and is described as a belief in organisational goals and values. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic overwhelmed not only Latvia but the whole world, it became crucial to find out how personnel felt at a time when their office to home (where before 2019, all the work-related stress was left behind) and when the world was restricted to homes. While working remotely from home instead of office, the work-life balance gets easily disturbed. The present study attempts to answer the following questions: What type of loyalty does predominate among employees working remotely? What factors affect the work-life balance of the employees during remote working? Is there any correlation between personnel loyalty and work-life balance during remote working? Findings of various studies on loyalty, work-life balance, types of remote work, and its advantages/disadvantages, with an emphasis on work-life balance during remote working, are summarised in this article. Two surveys were conducted for the study: a survey on loyalty to the organisation and a survey on work-life balance during remote working. The study involved 103 full-time employees from the manufacturing industry who performed their work remotely. Results of the study show that employees represent a vital resource, and remote working is one of the new forms of employment created by digitalisation that will steadily enter and take root in the labour market. The main problems highlighted by the results of the study includes the workload, which most directly affects the work-life balance and has been noted by 70% of the respondents; the lack of managers’ understanding; and employers’ negative attitude towards the staff absence. The results of the study highlight the need for more detailed research on remote working, and for development of guidelines or recommendations on promoting a work-life balance.