Going forward: remote working in the post-COVID-19 era
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2021-0161 |
| Published date | 24 May 2022 |
| Date | 24 May 2022 |
| Pages | 1410-1427 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Olatunji David Adekoya,Toyin Ajibade Adisa,Opeoluwa Aiyenitaju |
Going forward: remote working in
the post-COVID-19 era
Olatunji David Adekoya
Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London,
London, UK and
Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
Toyin Ajibade Adisa
Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London,
London, UK, and
Opeoluwa Aiyenitaju
Department of Information, System and Strategy,
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The urgent and unexpected transition to remote working during the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic calls for an increased focus on the contemporary workplace, especially for the
post-COVID-19 era. While most studies undertaken during the pandemichave focused on the consequences of
remote working, this study, using the UK as the research context, focuses on the factorsthat may facilitate the
effectiveness of remote working in the post-COVID-19 era from the perspectives of employees and employers.
Design/methodology/approach–The study uses the interpretivist philosophical perspective to understand
the study participants’subjective meanings and experiences. It utilises a qualitative approach, specifically data
drawn from the semi-structured interviews of 31 participants.
Findings –The study highlightsthe factors that may facilitate the effectiveness of remote working in the post-
COVID-19 era. Flexible working preferences, smart working practices, self-discipline, and leadership roles and
expectations emerge as enablers of remote working among the participants. It is evident from the study’s
findings that both employers and employees have expectations about remote working conditions.
Originality/value –Due to the changing work environment, where remote working is becoming more
acceptable, this study focuses on a salient topic that examines how remote working may be facilitated
effectively in the post-COVID-19 era. Thus, it makes predictions concerning the future ofremote working post-
COVID-19. It also emphasises that employers and employees have developed clear expectations about
facilitating remote working and seek to meet these expectations by implementing various strategies.
Keywords COVID-19, Remote working, Psychological contract, Employers, Employees
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world of work, with many offices left empty as
most employees were instructed to work from home as a means of curbing the spread of the
virus (International Labour Organization, 2020). The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic, which many thought would be temporary, resulted in the closure of many physical
offices for over a year, especially in the UK. The pandemic has forced many organisations and
employees to consider flexible and remote working options, which may continue following
the pandemic era (Diab-Bahman and Al-Enzi, 2020). This experience has thus created
uncertainty in employees and employers’expectations regarding how remote working may
be effectively implemented and managed. Although remote working is not new, the pandemic
seems to have successfully exposed the positives, the negatives, and the inadequacies
associated with remote working –even pre-COVID-19 (Williamson et al., 2020).
Despite the benefits of remote working, various organisational sectors have not fully
accepted it, questioning its strengths and acceptability as an efficient and productive
ER
44,6
1410
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 21 April 2021
Revised 5 October 2021
31 January 2022
17 March 2022
Accepted 25 April 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 6, 2022
pp. 1410-1427
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-04-2021-0161
arrangement for getting work done. Some researchers have argued that remote working
demotivates employees and encourages laziness (Bessa and Tomlinson, 2017). This assertion
and other similar pessimistic attitudes may be responsible for the low proportion of remote
working among some organisations. COVID-19 has led to the “world’s largest experiment of
remote working”(Banjo et al., 2020). The pandemic has triggered a flexible mode of work and
a general acceptance of remote working (Banjo et al., 2020). The researchers of this present
study are aware that remote working may not be practicable in some organisations (e.g.
construction and manufacturing); thus, the article focuses on organisations in which remote
working is practicable, such as the services industry.
Most studies on workplace flexibility that were undertaken during the pandemic have
focused on the consequences and “dark side”of remote working (Bahn et al., 2020;Adisa et al.,
2021). However, the researchers of the present study, using the UK as its research context,
focus on the positive side of remote working and how it may be effectively implemented post-
COVID-19 from the points of view of employees and employers. Hence, our primary research
question is: “what factors may facilitate the effectiveness of remote working in the post-
COVID-19 era?”. Furthermore, we use psychological contract theory to enhance our
understanding of these factors, as we envisage that both employees and employers have
certain expectations of their obligations and employment relationships with regard to
effective remote working.
Our study makes two important contributions to the field. First, it provides managerial
insights into how remote working may be effectively implemented to enhance organisational
productivity and employee wellbeing. Second, by considering psychological contract theory,
our study brings to the fore the theoretical and practical implications concerning how
exchanges and expectations between employers and employees influence positive remote
working outcomes. The article is structured as follows. We give a brief overview of the
relevant literature on remote working. We then outline our research method, present our data
and discuss the study’s findings and implications.
Remote working: an overview of the literature
Research on the practice of remote working was first undertaken in the 1970s, expressed as
“working from home”, meaning that individuals could work from their homes instead of the
centralised workplace (Coenen and Kok, 2014). Remote working is facilitated by using digital
assistive technologies and information and communication technology (ICT), specifically in
order to aid communication across the work environment and replace physical travelling
(Morganson et al., 2010). In recent years, the terms teleworking, telecommuting, virtual
working and e-working have been used interchangeably with regard to remote working
(Marlow et al., 2017;Groen et al., 2018). More importantly, remote working is considered to
provide employers and employees with appropriate work flexibility and is considered a win–
win situation for both parties (Whyman et al., 2015;Wheatley, 2017).
Nevertheless, prior studies on remote working have focused on the lack of consistency in
its practice, given that only a few organisations give the option for their employees to work
remotely (Lapierre et al., 2016;Kaduk et al., 2019). This phenomenon has made it difficult to
ascertain the individual-level outcomes or the “between-person and within-person effects of
telework”(Delanoeije and Verbruggen, 2020). It thus affects the possibility of exploring
remote working outcomes among individuals who practice it extensively and those who
infrequently work remotely (Wang et al., 2021). Similarly, Lapierre et al. (2016) argue that
prior research on remote working has been affected by selection bias, since remote working is
often voluntary and based on the individual employee’s discretion, i.e. the benefits of remote
working may only apply to individuals who are interested or able to engage in it. Therefore,
since the COVID-19 pandemic has annulled remote working as a personal choice, it has forced
Remote
working in the
post-COVID-19
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