A Qualitative Investigation into Remote working in the Recruitment Industry and the Influence it has on Employee Well-Being

Globalisation, changing demographics and continuous development in technology are changing the nature of work today. New forms of working known as flexible working practices are more common and evident in many organisations. A flexible working arrangement termed “remote working” is increasing in organisations today, allowing an individual to work from a location other than the office environment. This study examines remote working and, in particular, how this practice influences the well-being of remote workers. Research in relation to remote working and employee well-being is scarce. A previous study on remote working and well-being studied self employed and individuals in administrative roles. Furthermore, Crawford et al (2011), highlighted a gap in research with respect to remote working and its influence on employee well-being. Accordingly, this study aims to address this gap by investigating remote working and the influence it has on employee well-being on practitioners within the recruitment sector. In particular, the study aims to investigate the social, psychological and physical well-being of remote workers. A qualitative approach was carried out through the use of semi-structured interviews. Eleven participants were interviewed, ranging across full-time, part-time and flexi-time remote workers, all of whom were active professionals in the recruitment sector. Semi-structured interviews were employed as these allowed the researcher to explore the phenomenon in detail and obtain the opinions and experiences of remote workers in relation to their well-being. Interviews were recorded using a dictaphone and thereafter transcribed. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data, which facilitated subsequent coding and collation into 5 common themes. Conclusions were drawn which outlined that remote working had a positive influence on overall well-being. However, it is equally evident from the findings that the social well-being of remote workers was negatively influenced due to isolation. A limitation of the study may be the sample size, in terms of the number and category of participants