ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF FACTORS INDUCED BY COVID-19 ON THE EMPLOYEES FOLLOWING WORK FROM HOME CULTURE

Abstract

Background: The widespread infection spread and high mortality rate in COVID-19 has led the government to
impose lockdown worldwide which extensively affected the various private and government businesses. There was
a shift in the work culture from office to work from home posing more challenges in motivation and productivity.
Methodology: 998 professional subjects who were working from home were included in the study. The subjects
were given an online survey questionnaire concerning their worries during COVID-19 lockdown and had 6
components including distress, job performance, occupational discomfort, family distraction, lifestyle choices, and
job role overload. The collected data were subjected to statistical evaluation and the results were formulated.
Results: The study subjects were assessed for biggest worries during COVID-19 lockdown and it was seen that the
biggest fear in the lockdown was death due to COVID-19 and encountering COVID-19 infection. The effect of work
from the home environment on study subjects was also assessed.
Conclusion: The present study concludes that an increased workload caused distress in employees and the quality of
work was disrupted owing to family distraction. Distress reduced job performance significantly, whereas, better job
performance caused life satisfaction. More studies are needed to assess the impact of pandemics and lockdown on
work from home culture.