THE IMPACT OF WORKING FROM HOME ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY DURING 21ST CENTURY

Asokan Vasudevan; Meerankumar Sivakumar; Rajani Balakrishnan

doi:10.20319/pijss.2021.72.4863

Authors

Asokan Vasudevan Faculty of Business, Communication and Law, INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Meerankumar Sivakumar INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Rajani Balakrishnan INTI International University, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2021.72.4863

Keywords:

Employee Productivity, Working from Home (WFH), Movement Control Order (MCO), Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Abstract

Companies are now being forced to shift operations out of the workplace and into their employees' homes while doubts are still being cast if productivity would remain. When working from home, the factors influencing productivity have been put under the spotlight to see if they are significant as times call for work from home arrangements to be the subsequent new norm. The research was conducted to investigate the impact of working from home on employee productivity in the 21st century. The study has thoroughly examined academic papers and theories relevant to the area and settled on using Self-Determination Theory for this research. Self-Determination Theory speaks of the factors that affect an individual's motivation and breaks what drives them into three basic human needs that need to be satisfied to feel motivated. This research's primary data collection method was to use a well-structured questionnaire, and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 26 was employed. The questionnaire was distributed to several different service industry organizations in Malaysia. The results determined that Autonomy had the highest Correlation and strongest determinant of employee productivity and proved to influence employee productivity alongside competence significantly.

References

Bangdiwala, S.I. (2018). Regression: multiple linear. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 25(2), 232-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457300.2018.1452336

Bernama. (2020). Malaysian Companies Prefer to Keep Employees. Daily Express Online. http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/152049/cost-cutting-malaysian-companies-prefer-to-keep-employees/

Bloom, N. A, Liang, J., Roberts, J. & Ying, Z. J. (2014). Does Working from Homework? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(1), 165-218. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju032

Bloom, N. (2014). To Raise Productivity, Let More Employees Work from Home. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2014/01/to-raise-productivity-let-more-employees-work-from-home

Bosua, R., Gloet, M., Kurnia, S., Mendoza, A. & Yong, J. (2013). Telework, productivity and wellbeing: an Australian perspective. Telecommunications Journal of Australia, 63(1). https://doi.org/10.7790/tja.v63i1.390

Bots. (2020). Covid-19 Pandemic Is Changing Employers' Perception of Remote-Work Policies. New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/bots/2020/04/582203/tech-covid-19-pandemic-changing-employers-perception-remote-work

Buchanan, D. (1992). An Uneasy Alliance: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods. Health Education Quarterly, 19(1), 117-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019819201900108

Buffton, B. (2020). What Is Home-Working? Alchemy for managers. https://www.alchemyformanagers.co.uk/topics/tUV2sSJjVCwJQZ5e.html

Cheah et al. (2015). Factors Affecting Office Rent in Kuala Lumpur (KL). International Journal of Economics and Management, 9(S), 115-134.

Cherry, K. (2019). How Does Self-Determination Theory Explain Motivation?. Very well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-determination-theory-2795387

Chin, S. and Yusoff, R. (2017). Role ofEmotional Intelligence In Enhancing Contextual Performance. International Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 2532-2543. https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2017.32.25322543

Choong, J. (2020). Covid-19: Malaysian Job Losses Could Hit Over Two Million, New Survey Finds. Malay Mail. https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/06/03/covid-19-malaysian-job-losses-could-hit-over-two-million-new-survey-finds/1871989

Dayangku, S. (2020). 13 Effective Office Safety Sops That Companies in Malaysia Have Implemented During CMCO. Vulcan Post. https://vulcanpost.com/698941/office-covid- 19-sop-safety-malaysia/

Doyle, A. (2020). What Is Telecommuting and What Are the Pros and Cons? The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-telecommuting-2062113

Glen, S. (2014). Bartlett's Test: Definition and Examples - Statistics How To. Statistics How To. https://www.statisticshowto.com/bartletts-test/

Gregory, A. (2019). A Look at The Pros and Cons of Being A Home-Based Business Owner. The Balance Small Business. https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-working-from-home-2951766

Harding, A. (2018). The Real Reason You're Not Allowed to Work from Home. Showbiz Cheat Sheet. https://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/the-real-reason-youre-not-allowed-to-work-from-home.html/

Hung, F. (2020). How Much Have Land Prices Increased in KL & Selangor And What Is the Impact on Affordable Housing? Iproperty Com My https://www.iproperty.com.my/news/how-much-have-land-prices-increased-in-kl-selangor-and-what-is-the-impact-on-affordable-housing/

Johnson, C. (2020). Working from Home in The Age Of COVID-19: 3 Benefits of Remote Work. Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-from-home-age-covid-19-3-benefits-remote-work-christy-johnson/

Khoo, E and Chung, Y. (2020). Cover Story: Property Market Outlook and Opportunities in Times of Uncertainty. The Edge Markets. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/cover-story-property-market-outlook-and-opportunities-times-uncertainty

Krishnan, K., & Kalra, A. (2017). Talent Segmentation: Does it Affect Commitment? A study in IT Industry, Chennai. International Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 2159-2174. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457300.2018.1452336

Landau, E. (2020). Malaysia Facing Worst Economic Recession in Its History. New Straits Times online. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/05/589338/malaysia-facing-worst-economic-recession-its-history

Magiya, J. (2019). Pearson Coefficient of Correlation Explained. Towards data science. https://towardsdatascience.com/pearson-coefficient-of-correlation-explained-369991d93404

Mai, D. (2020). 21 Work from Home Pros and Cons – The Surprising Truth Behind Remote Work. Digital Nomad Soul. https://www.digitalnomadsoul.com/work-from-home-pros- and-cons/

Mawardi, D. (2017). Linear Regression in Python. Towards datascience. https://towardsdatascience.com/linear-regression-in-python-9a1f5f000606

McCombes, S. (2020, 15 August). Scribbr. Retrieved from Scribbr: https://www.scribbr.com

NST. (2020). The Work from Home Revolution. New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/04/584802/work-home-revolution

Osbaldeston, A. (2018). 5 Reasons to Combine Qualitative and Quantitative Research. Questback. https://www.questback.com/blog/5-reasons-to-combine-qualitative- and-quantitative-research/

Perkeso. (2020, 1st April). Employment-Outlook. [Weblog]. https://eiscentre.perkeso.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Employment-Outlook-Volume-4-2020-Loss-of- Employment.pdf

Shah, M. (2020). PM Launches' Embracing New Norms' Covid-19 Campaign in Pagoh. The Star Online. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/08/08/pm-launches-embracing-new-norms-covid-19-campaign-in-pagoh