Flexible Work Options in the COVID-19 Period

Abstract

The use of flexible work options, including telecommuting, was key to business success during COVID-19. Whether employees working remotely from their home setting or employer-provided location provided both the business and employees to perform their work roles and attend to personal scheduling challenges. This chapter will examine the success and setbacks of using flexible work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is important to point out that technology plays a big role in business success because it provides tools for workers to fulfill their roles and earn a living. We would wrap up the chapter by providing mechanisms on how employees can learn from COVID-19 to be more prepared to mitigate business risks and how businesses can embrace flexible work arrangements to incentivize employees to be more productive, whether working from home or at the office.

1. Introduction

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic caught organizations, governments, and individuals by surprise. Businesses and governments reacted quickly to limit social interaction to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, famously known as COVID-19. It was evident that the government lockdown prevented the widespread use of COVID-19. Businesses moved swiftly and transitioned from traditional corporate structures to remote workforce arrangements or working from home. Working remotely entails employees working outside their regular office locations, including distant corporate sites, hotels, or at-home offices. The state of uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic exerted pressure on the organizational system of people management and ways to ensure supply and distribution centers satisfy and meet customers’ needs. This ensures a mode of longevity and business survival [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted manufacturing and affected global economies, resulting in a global recession. The recession wiped out most of the capital market value including the 401K retirement assets. This was a far-reaching consequence compared to the previous recessionary period including the global financial crisis of 2008.

The change in technological advancement [2] has enabled multitasking roles in many workplaces and employees working from home. The improvement in technology has also contributed to an increased need for flexible work arrangement programs, especially virtual work or telecommuting. These practices provided employees with options on when, where, and how to fulfill their work roles. Work and family are two competing spheres for similar resources. These competing roles (work and home) are often problematic and challenging for employees to balance work and family responsibilities. Conversely, leaders have to confront and address it. Work and personal life are the most important domains in a worker’s life. Because people are involved in multiple roles (employee, spouse, parent, child, and elderly caregiver) in their lives, this variety of roles has contributed to increased work–family conflicts. The role pressure of participation in one domain (such as the family role) makes it difficult to participate in another domain (such as the work role) and vice versa. However, the advancement in information technology and the ability for employees to work remotely has changed the way the workplace operates. It is no longer an incentive for employees to work from home but a natural fit-in during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Working from home was perceived negatively until the pandemic outbreak in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic opened doors for many employees to utilize flexible work options and work remotely. It was documented that the use of flexible work options was not standardized across all employees and deemed a privilege even when in the company’s policy [3]. Businesses warmed to embrace the use of flexible work arrangements as an alternative for employees’ productivity regardless of where they worked, whether working from home or at the office. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote work. It became a reality for many employers, providing employees with work flexibility, autonomy, and choices on how they accomplish their work. In health emergencies, many kinds of flexible work have been implemented without regulation and adopted as substitute working modes [4]. Remote working is not new; however, it has become prevalent over the last few years to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces and public gatherings.

Modern technology enabled smart working and resolved work issues that never received attention until the pandemic outbreak [4]. For example, in Italy, remote work or employees working from home saw a jump from 28% to 82% during the pandemic [5]. In 2020 the United States, 96% of colleges and universities provided their education services online; however, the number of online educations decreased by the year’s end [6]. Despite the working-from-home stereotype and stigma, many benefits have surfaced (work efficiency at work, concentration on tasks, and a less stressful environment) to enrich work-life balance [7]. Many employers have embraced working from home because of the cost and healthcare benefits and the availability of workers around the world [8]. It is worth pointing out that social isolation due to a lack of employee interaction, skill sharing, and a 24-hour reduction of personal time may contribute to negative effects and affect employee performance and health [9]. The younger generation of workers, the older generation, is more likely to work from home, be adaptable to technology, have an advanced education level, are single and without children, or even live far away from home [2].

Many have suggested that working from home has failed employees to differentiate work-life balance. Modern workers will be faced with the challenges of managing multiple responsibilities including work and personal roles. This was true during COVID-19, when parents struggled to balance work roles and their kid’s schooling online because of the lockdown. Changes to family structures and demographics since the mid-1980s have increased employees’ responsibilities toward work and family in many industries in the United States and worldwide. This is a concern to work interference with personal life, hence impacting employees’ work performance (lack of work ethic and structure) due to work-life imbalance that may lead to an overwhelmed employee’s role and deterioration of one’s welfare [2]. Conversely, role theory assumes that participation in one role makes engaging and fulfilling other roles difficult because of fixed resources such as time and energy. Excessive role interference could lead to psychological and physical exhaustion and result in negative outcomes such as burnout, reduced job satisfaction and performance, or increased employee turnover.

In higher education, the negative effect was real during the COVID-19 pandemic. A study that surveyed teachers expressed high-stress levels, burnout, poor office ergonomics, and an unpleasant workplace [10]. The increased workload, lack of peer interaction, organization climate, and role ambiguity were factors to blame for the poor quality of education. It is clear that technology will continue to advance and transform the workplace. Many public and private workplaces use computer systems to store and retrieve information on time easily. COVID-19 may have been seen as an introduction to a remote working environment; however, the workplace transformation is well documented in history. COVID-19 brought the issue to the forefront and further discussion. This could involve the merits and demerits of remote work (including in higher education), mainly working from home. Organizations need to draft and implement policies that enable workers to be well-positioned and deliver products and services should similar crises of COVID-19 strike [11]. The unprecedented times and diverse outcomes have led researchers and practitioners to grow interest in flexible working arrangements designed to optimize when, how, and where work can be accomplished. Widespread advances in information technology and the Internet have enabled many workers to fulfill and manage multiple roles from any location.

2. Employers and employees’ challenges

Remote work or working-from-home arrangements emanated in the 1980s, but emphasis and research picked up in the 2000s, and employers began to consider flexible work policies to attract and retain talents [12]. Studies produced mixed results on the purpose and benefits of this program [2]. An employer would like increased productivity as an incentive for an employee to have a work-life balance that allows multitasking, a quieter environment, a flexible schedule (start and end workday), fewer hours of commute, reducing sick days, and taking care of family members [13]. The lack of limited working from home for better communication, collaboration, and idea generation in the workplace which could have otherwise been limited when working from home. Leaders such as Marissa Mayer limited remote working at Yahoo for the same reasons.

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak may have changed business preparedness during a crisis or unplanned business disruptions and continuity. Technology and flexible work schedules were vital to business success during the pandemic. Remote work and flexible work arrangements altered the norms of the workplace. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and government actions balanced the equation and made it easier for employers and employees to use flexible work options [12]. COVID-19 has shifted the traditional working to another of working of a modern worker. Flexible work arrangements were largely argued in the context of helping employees balance work demands and that of a family. However, the COVID-19 pandemic added another layer to the use of flexible work as a necessity for organizations to operate and employees to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Hall [14] argued that “Stay-at-home orders, day-care closures, distance learning, and bandwidth requirements were just some of the things that may not have been fully considered before COVID-19.” This could be true in support of traditional work in which employers leveraged working from home as a benefit to employees. This is no longer the case because employers need to operate and achieve shareholders’ goals. This could not have been the case without employees’ willingness to work during the pandemic. Many workplaces were never prepared for this type of outbreak and lockdown mandated by governments. This is normally thought of by first responders and medical professionals or essential workers reporting to work. The pandemic brought the world to a standstill, allowing opportunities for remote access requirements and affected businesses including the healthcare industry, education systems (teachers and students), and retail (affected customers).

The organizational challenges were associated with employees failing to fit in and adapt, leading to increased boredom, anxiety, anger, frustration, isolation, feelings of unworthiness, and lack of support [15]. It has been documented that employees’ stressors and social impact during the COVID-19 pandemic [1].

• Duration of quarantine—the longer the isolation, the worse the psychological stress.

• Fear from infection of self or family members.

• Frustration and boredom are linked to a change in routine, reduced contact, lack of work if unable to work virtually, and reduced ability to do daily activities.

• Inadequate supplies of food, water, and health supplies.

• Inadequate information because of either poor government communication, institutional communication, or workplace communication.

After isolation, the following stressors were reported:

• Financial loss because of changes in work circumstances, potential change in working hours and wages.

• Stigma, especially, if one was exposed to a virus.

Employers reacted to quickly determine better ways to provide resources securely (Zoom and Teams) in the COVID-19 environment. Also, the pandemic period brought about many challenges to employees required to work from employer-provided working locations. The daycare or Zoom learning for young kids, the elderly, and sick family members taxed employees. However, those working remotely from home found it manageable despite the multitasking of the family and attending to work requirements. Organizations have tasted the benefit of thinking outside the box about working in a better environment. This is a discussion that employers must confront to be prepared to turn challenges into opportunities leveraging the advancement in technology and information communication. Although the pandemic surfaced the issue of work–family conflict and vice versa, the benefits outweigh the cost of working from home or remotely. Research supports remote work that shows remote working has a positive effect on work–family conflict but decreases workplace well-being. Also, family interference with work has a nonsignificant negative effect on employee well-being largely because of self-efficacy and job autonomy [16].

Research findings suggest the importance of managerial support and organizational commitment for the success of flexible work arrangements, job satisfaction, and the use of technology [17]. Employers were not willing to offer and implement remote work until the pandemic struck. If any, the benefits were given to a few including the higher up. The COVID-19 pandemic was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. After the mandated business lockdown, there was a drastic shift from working in an office environment to working from home. Held [18] stated that 13% of their workforce worked remotely before the pandemic compared with 50% after the pandemic. Also, the flexible work option was primarily used to alleviate work–family conflict and vice versa, and the program used sparing. It turned out that family configurations and care obligations were not factored in situations of school and daycare closures that increased parental role conflict [19].

The lack of IT infrastructure and the availability of the Internet complicated the work-from-home program. Also, the availability of working tools such as approved laptops or communication devices to connect to the company’s virtual working space network systems (company folders, emails, working data, or shared drives). The lack of resources and support affected employees’ effective transition to working from home, which affected employees’ attitudes [12]. Therefore, technological setbacks and the lack of proper communication hindered employees from expanding their expertise during the uncertain COVID-19 period.

3. Employers preparedness

The use of technology can enhance the challenges during workplace crises. Working from home could mean access to a large pool of talent worldwide. The openness for employers to create workplace-friendly policies would mitigate a crisis. With the implementation of virtual meeting tools, organizations are no longer confined to a particular geography when defining business goals and strategic initiatives. This inherently enhances business continuity strategies as flexible hours and geographical diversity increase the ability to continue operations during an event that significantly impacts a particular region. Technology has its challenges as cyber-attacks continue to increase. This is an area in which companies must invest resources in their network and best security practices to safeguard business assets and customer information. For example, security with backup systems and data recovery practices protocols. This would translate into growth opportunities for internal and external stakeholders to feel safe online. The best practices must be enhanced to vendors and suppliers for a better workplace. The company goals must be communicated downstream and invested in employees’ training of purpose. Accurate and timely messages could mitigate rumors on the Internet, safeguarding the company’s image to the public. Technology will continue to dictate the success of businesses in the future. This means employees use technologically advanced working tools provided with adequate training to succeed at their work. Job security is a major concern among employees because of outsourcing of tasks. Job security is also a factor in lower productivity among many employees. Employees working from home or remote locations should be supported with adequate benefits and continued performance evaluation. Supported employees often always suggest possible solutions to many workplace problems and challenges. Employees generally tend to cope and adapt well under stressful situations and rise to the task. Like 9/11, COVID-19 unified the international community, and this is true for employees. Even with resilient employees, employers must develop programs available to safeguard one’s well-being including psychological or developing mental illness from a difficult work environment, either from home or an employer-provided workstation. The COVID-19 pandemic warned businesses to enhance and prepare for severe unanticipated threats, testing organizational preparedness in a modern era. Performing risk assessments even though COVID-19 may be termed as an outlier in historical context, and it is more likely an infectious disease outbreak will occur. Businesses will not be immune from it. Companies must be ready to activate measures (remote working) to ensure fewer business interruptions.

4. Leaning forward

The loss of some traditional workers because of the pandemic may have changed the workforce operations. Technology will accelerate into the future, and so will cyber security challenges. Businesses including governments ought to have learned from peers and COVID-19 lessons. Less employee and customer interruptions could mean a well-prepared business environment. But we live in a world where we are interdependent in the supply chain and distribution. Leave alone global connections. There were supply delays and shortages during the pandemic, which resulted in business closures. What if technology fails or a cyber-attack puts business operations on hold [14]? Even with traditional work, technology is utilized. This seems scary, but it could happen, and businesses and the government should invest in R&D to avoid it happening soon. Working remotely will only be possible with the availability of the Internet connected to devices or central business stations. The connections and virtual collaboration and webinars, social media blogs, and email will be derailed to share and communicate information for businesses to operate. Do not wait for the crisis to happen; be proactive and anticipate challenges and how to overcome them. Technology, preparedness employees, and working remotely should be part of the business model. The pandemic may have paved the way for the remote work model; however, recovery plans must be initiated and implemented considering unforeseen events that can halt business operations. It is necessary to assess the type of business and industry to incorporate potential risks that could include financial, operational, legal, regulatory, reputational, and others to be better prepared and how businesses can recover quickly with less impact [14]. Preparedness includes assessment of resource dependencies, employee deployment, hardware infrastructure, applications, equipment, and supplies. Employees make a company thrive and achieve its goals. Despite the emphasis on remote work, it is important to maintain certain aspects of employee presence to boost morale by sharing professional and personal experiences. Cultural interaction can occur even when working remotely. The leadership must create ways to ensure that human interaction is not lost. This could mean virtual check-ins, recreational events, happy hours, workouts, team-building exercises, awards, and employee recognition to feel part and parcel of an organization. Social interactions boost morale and creativity free of business obligations. The COVID-19 period challenges workplaces and opens opportunities for how employees work. Working from home has become the norm, and some organizations have yet to return employees to their traditional workplaces. Employees often turn challenges into opportunities and contribute to the growth of an organization. However, there are still many gaps to fill. The use of flexible work schedules and remote work must be incorporated as part of the strategy. A greater focus should be on anticipation of similar challenges beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, such as when the possibility of working from home will not be possible. This will not only enhance organizational readiness but also operational capabilities [14].

Organizational leaders could leverage resources and empower employees, provide leadership support, gather feedback, and communicate employee growth opportunities that reinforce their work engagement in uncertain and challenging times [20]. This means that employees must learn to adapt through employer-offered training and mentorship to perform to their potential of self-efficacy, self-awareness, and self-accountability [21]. Regardless of how we move forward as businesses and workers, remote work and employees working from home should be part of the company’s strategic positioning in a global economy. Organizations use COVID-19 as a case study to innovate and enhance the way employees work, adapt, and respond to the impact of macro events and pandemics to create sustainable business growth and longevity that values important assets, workers. The strategies could not work in isolation without incorporating technology and safeguarding information from increased cyber-attacks that could halt business operations.

Lastly, organizational preparedness and leaning forward means a smart workplace like a smart classroom in higher education. Global smart workplace companies are on the rise, exceeding USD 47 billion in 2023. The ever-increasing demand for smart offices provides solutions for companies to combat working from home or remote access and, most importantly, prevent cyber-attacks [22]. The focus shifts from organizational survival during COVID-19 to long-term strategies that center on implementing measures to transform businesses and adapt to modern ways of a smart and sustainable working environment, assuring revenue and productivity in uncertain times or preparedness for unforeseen macro events [23]. Successful businesses should have strong technological infrastructures to support work system interfaces and connections. Studies have found that technology moderates the work implications, particularly the COVID-19 outbreak, and affects employees’ performance [24]. Organizations are not fully developed technologically to support many working avenues including working from home or remotely; thus, a greater emphasis is required to support a smooth, smart place working environment or a new normal post-COVID-19 period. The reinforcement of home office and adapting and investing in technology to limit loss in the event of occurrences of COVID-19. This infrastructure will improve employees’ performance and the quality of work. Opportunity to enhance work platforms and digitalization efforts to cope with and benefit employees and organizational outcomes in the event of the inevitable or severe disruptive events of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have argued that technology is not a problem for employees’ work, but the physical isolation among workers contributes to the deterioration of group relations in a business during periods of lockdown situation [25].

5. Conclusions

The use of flexible work options, popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, has decreased, and employers require workers to return to office space. A recent telework survey in the South Bay region of Los Angeles shows a substantial increase in usage during the pandemic. The post-pandemic or after the government relaxed social gathering restrictions, telework, and flexible scheduling have seen some organizations return workers to the physical workplaces. The study suggests that it is unlikely that flexible work practices will return to the COVID-19 levels [26]. It might as well be a good case for workers returning to their workplaces, but it pegs the lesson learned. Studies have recommended that businesses modify policies and practices to motivate and maintain the level of their workforce for a healthier work environment, better work-life interface, and job security to increase productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic [27]. Companies that react quickly to macro crises increase employees’ productivity, and job satisfaction, and reduce turnover rates. Organizational leadership and management must be sensitive to employee job security, health, work-life balance, pay, and favorable work practices responses [27]. As discussed earlier, the macro COVID-19 pandemic focused on work-from-home programs and changed the discussion on how employers’ employees adapt and learn. Research has shown that the COVID-19 challenges and working from home created an avenue for employers to develop a program policy on managing the duality of work-life balance, understanding that it is a win-win situation [28]. The work-life policies must enhance the company goals and vision that work collaboratively and provide employees with tools to minimize work-life conflict [12, 28]. Capitalizing on digital platforms and advancing information communication can enhance work engagement during uncertain times such as COVID-19, and work-from-home programs could play a pivotal role. Employees learn to adapt to existing technological protocols and develop new techniques to coordinate work more efficiently [29].

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest.