Consequences of the transition to remote work: attitudes of managers and employees

Abstract

Introduction. Changes in the forms and methods of labor organization, caused primarily by the development of information and communication technologies (ICT), have led to a significant increase in the possibilities of information transfer and even management of operations. Under these conditions, businesses receive a number of advantages. The COVID‑19 pandemic and the war on the territory of Ukraine became an additional catalyst for the development of remote technologies with their introduction into various areas and spheres of activity: execution of operations, provision of services, trade, and learning. However, the forced transition to remote work also leads to negative consequences, quite often associated with the unpreparedness of employees and managers for this form of relations.

Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to study changes in the working conditions aftereffects as a result of the introduction of remote work from the point of view of the owners (managers or employers) and from the point of view of the employees or executors, as well as to highlight the main differences between these positions.

Method. The empirical methods (observation and measurement), as well as empirical-theoretical methods: analysis and synthesis, induction and generalization were used during the research.

Results. The measure of changes due to the transition to remote work D can be calculated as the average value of the influence of the following factors: economic feasibility X_e, professional comfort X_p, and personal comfort X_h. The value of each of the X_i factors, in turn, can be determined as a relative deviation of the assessment of the respondent's perception of remote work from the assessment of the traditional organization of the working process. According to the surveys conducted among employees and owners or managers of enterprises or structural divisions, a significant difference in the perception of the transition to remote was shown. From the employees' point of view, the remote work increases economic feasibility and professional comfort, but at the same time, the degree of personal comfort decreases. From the point of view of managers, the negative impact is observed on all three factors, which leads to decreasing in the organization's (unit's) performance.

The positive effect of the transition to the remote mode of work is mostly noted by young people, employees of intellectual work and education, who engaged in work with information, calculations and customer service. Remote work increases the personal productivity of employees, but the effectiveness of the entire organization decreases.