The Work from Home Revolution: WFH Starter Kit

Keywords: Work from Home, Guidelines, Government, Private.

Abstract

The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have greatly changed the norm in the employment system. Workers in both the public and private sectors are now adapted to the term "Work from Home" (WFH). Also, despite the little information on reliable practices for working from home, employees are nevertheless expected to perform at their highest level in accordance with the organizational goals.  Therefore, this study is aimed to evaluate the need of establishing a guideline for WFH. A total of 178 employees from both private and government sectors were recruited in this survey. Findings showed that 69.1% of staff agreed their organization should provide them with proper guidelines in the implementation of WFH. It means that when they have specific guidelines it enables them to work more independently which also exhibits flexibility and creativity. As a conclusion, the developed and validated WFH manual handbook is able to become the main reference for employees for them to prepare physically and mentally while working efficiently from home.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

References

Aczel, B., Kovacs, M., Van Der Lippe, T. & Szaszi, B. (2021). Researchers working from home: Benefits and challenges. PLoS ONE, 16(3), 1–13.
Bailyn, L. (1988). Freeing work from the constraints of location and time. New Technology, Work and Employment, 3(2), 143–152.
Bick, A., Blandin, A. & Mertens, K. (2020). Work from Home After the COVID-19 Outbreak. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Working Papers.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders & ergonomics. (2020). Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/health-strategies/musculoskeletal-disorders/index.html.
Como, R., Hambley, L. & Domene, J. (2021). An exploration of work-life wellness and remote work during and beyond COVID-19. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 20(1): 45-56.
Condrowati, Bachtiar, F., Maharani, F. T. & Utari, D. (2020). Musculoskeletal disorder of workers during work from home on Covid-19 pandemic: A descriptive study. Advances in Health Sciences Research, 30: 153-160.
Farooq, R. & Sultana, A. (2022). The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work from home and employee productivity. Measuring Business Excellence, 26(3), 308-325.
Gupta, G., Jadhav, R. A., Nataraj, M. & Maiya, G. A. (2022). Effect of Covid-19 lockdown/ compulsory work from home (WFH) situation on musculoskeletal disorders in India. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Pre-proof.
Hayes, S. W., Priestley, J. L., Moore, B. A. & Ray, H. E. (2021). Perceived Stress, Work-Related Burnout, and Working from Home Before and During COVID-19: An Examination of Workers in the United States. SAGE Open, 11(4).
Haridas, P., Rahul, P. R. & Subha, K. (2021). Impact of work from home model on the productivity of employees in the IT industry. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology, 8(2).
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2020a). An employers’ guide on working from home in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_745024.pdf.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2020b). Managing work-related psychosocial risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/resources-library/publications/WCMS_748638/lang--en/index.htm.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2020c). In the face of a pandemic: Ensuring safety and health at work. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---safework/documents/publication/wcms_742463.pdf.
Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam 2020 Dasar Bekerja dari Rumah. https://docs.jpa.gov.my/docs/pp/2020/pp052020.pdf.
JILPT, (2020). “Results of the ‘Survey on the Impact that Spreading Novel Coronavirus Infection Has on Work and Daily Life’ August 2020 Survey, coupling with the respondents of April Survey and May Survey (First Aggregation)” (Issue August).
Kira, R. & Beckmann, M. (2016). Working from home: What is the effect on employees’ effort? WWZ Working Paper, No. 2016/07, University of Basel, Center of Business and Economics (WWZ), Basel.
Kate, P. T. (2020). 20% of Thai companies are working from home, says PwC. PwC Thailand. Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://www.pwc.com/th/en/press-room/press-release/2020/press-release-26-08-20-en.html.
Linos, E. (2020). When working from home changes work at the office: Measuring the impact of teleworking on organizations [Working Paper]. Havard University.
Morikawa, M. (2022). Work-from-home productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Japan. Economic Inquiry, 60(2), 508–527.
New Straits Times. (2020, April 16). The work from home revolution. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/04/584802/work-home-revolution.
Nor Azizah, M. (2021). 80 peratus petugas kerajaan bekerja dari rumah. Berita Harian. Retrieved Mei 22, 2021, from https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2021/05/819609/80-peratus-petugas-kerajaan-bekerja-dari-rumah.
Nordin, N. N., Baidzowi, M. F. M. & Razak, R. A. (2016). Understanding the Work at Home Concept, Its Benefits and Challenges Towards Employees. e-Proceeding of the Social Sciences Research ICSSR 2016, 18 – 19 July 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Oettinger, G. S. (2011). The incidence and wage consequences of home-based work in the United States, 1980–2000. Journal of Human Resources, 46(2), 237–260.
OWL Labs. (2017). State of Remote Work 2017. Retrieved from https://www.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2017.
Patanjali, S. & Bhatta, M. K. (2022). Work from Home During the Pandemic: The Impact of Organizational Factors on the Productivity of Employees in the IT Industry. Vision.
Raju, S. & Kumar, V. K. (2020). Quality of life of women working from home in COVID-19 lockdown: a questionnaire survey. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health 7(10): 2394–6032.
Rauh, C., Adams-Prassl, A., Boneva, T. & Golin, M. (2020). Work Tasks That Can Be Done from Home: Evidence on Variation Within and Across Occupations and Industries. University of Cambridge, Faculty of Economics.
Rossi, R., Socci, V., Talevi, D., Mensi, S., Niolu, C., Pacitti, F., Marco, A. D., Rossi, A., Siracusano, A. & Lorenzo, G. D. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures impact on mental health among the general population in Italy. Front Psychiatry 11: 790.
Rudrum, S., Rondinelli, E., Carlson, J., Frank, L., Brickner, R. K. & Casey, R. (2022). When work came home: Formation of feeling rules in the context of a pandemic. Emotion, Space and Society 42, 100861.
Schawbel, D. (2018). Survey: Remote workers are more disengaged and more likely to quit. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1(4).
Sharma, N. & Vaish, H. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on mental health and physical load on women professionals: an online cross-sectional survey. Health Care for Women International (0): 1-18.
Tambou, S. M., Rahim, N. A. & Sabar, M. N. A. (2020). The national-international employee and employer perspective on work from home. Newsletter. Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/uploads/files/6_Newsletter/Newsletter%202021/DOSM_ILMIA_4_2021_SERIES-45.pdf.
Waizenegger, L., McKenna, B., Cai, W. & Bendz, T. (2020). An affordance perspective of team collaboration and enforced working from home during COVID-19. European Journal of Information Systems 29 (4): 429-442.
Waters-Lynch, J. (2020). 50 years of bold predictions about remote work: It isn’t all about technology. The Conversation. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from https://theconversation.com/50-years-of- bold-predictions-about-remote-work-it-isnt-all-about- technology-135034.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2021). Preventing and mitigating COVID-19 at work. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-workplace-actions-policy-brief-2021-1.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2020a). Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/getting-workplace-ready-for-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=359a81e7_6.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2020b). A guide to preventing and addressing social stigma. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/covid19-stigma-guide.pdf?sfvrsn=226180f4_2.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2020c). Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations.pdf?sfvrsn=6d3578af_16.
Xiao, Y., Becerik-Gerber, B., Lucas, G. & Roll, S. C. (2021). Impacts of Working from Home during COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical and Mental Well-Being of Office Workstation Users. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63(3), 181–190.
Yang, E., Kim, Y. & Hong, S. (2021). Does working from home work? Experience of working from home and the value of hybrid workplace post-COVID-19. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 19.
Published
2023-06-11
How to Cite
Mohd Sharip, S., Mohd Rashid, N. R., Abdul Hamid, S. B., Abdullah, A., & Pungot, N. H. (2023). The Work from Home Revolution: WFH Starter Kit. Information Management and Business Review, 15(2(I)SI), 226-237. https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr.v15i2(I)SI.3366
Section
Research Paper