Employee management in the era of ‘work-from-home’– an exploration of benefits and challenges from an employee perspective

The basic objective of this study is to try and identify the motivational factors that prompt employees to choose to work from home instead of in a more traditional office setting and the challenges in that path to high work quality and productivity. Overall, this study aimed to develop recommendations for organizations to effectively manage employees working from home (WFH). Using a positivistic research philosophy, this study observed the reaction of employees to the prospect of WFH through the use of an online questionnaire. The survey comprised of multiple-choice answers and was conducted among 200 WFH employees in both Ireland and India. Quantitative data analysis method and statistical tools were used to identify trends emerging from the primary data. This study identified several perceived benefits for employees working or seeking to work from home and included elements like better work-life balance, saving on time and saving on money from not having to commute to office and less stressful experienced WFH than working in an office environment. The study also identified several perceived challenges for employees working from home and included factors such as technical issues while working from home and possible inequalities in salaries. The study also recommended some suggestions for managers of firms that already have employees working from home or that are planning to implement such a flexible work schedule so that employees can deliver the best output. The recommendations and outcomes of this research can be used by managers to effectively support the implementation of a WFH offering. The outcome of this study adds to the existing body of literature on WFH while also providing some practical applications for managers