Reasons for Introducing Homeworking and Different Perceptions of Homeworking Depending on the Size of the Company

Abstract

Working from home (homeworking) is currently a much discussed topic and an area of working life that is already becoming a standard issue for employees. Homeworking (HW) provides employees with a very important degree of flexibility and freedom in their work organization and thus represents an important management tool for an effective work-life balance. The ability to work from home has proved essential in the face of the two-year Covid-19 pandemic, which has confronted the whole world and especially business managers. A whole range of work (especially administrative work) moved to employees’ homes very quickly. Homeworking has also become very widespread due to better IT support and online communication capabilities in most businesses and is poised to become even more prevalent in the future. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the aspects that influence the adoption of HW in the Czech Republic and to describe the different perceptions of HW depending on the size of the enterprise. The research was conducted towards the end of 2020 during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The authors managed to collect data from 216 enterprises through a questionnaire survey. Managers as the Covid-19 crisis, the nature of HW-enabling work and the possibility of working most frequently cited the main reasons for HW adoption during light sickness. Important aspects influencing the adoption of HW from managers’ perspectives include the possibility of working in light sickness, the required availability of employees, as well as employee satisfaction and flexibility.