Does lack of social interaction act as a barrier to effectiveness in work from home? COVID-19 and gender

Abstract

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic pushed organizations across the world to suddenly adopt work from home at a mass scale to maintain business continuity. This study aims to investigate the influence of lack of social interaction in work from the home arrangement on employee work effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe data were analysed using the partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) approach, a nonparametric method based on total variance, through SmartPLS software 3.0. The data were collected from 399 participants in India using the snowball sampling technique. The target populations were the people who were working from home due to the pandemic and by asking them to forward the survey link in their network.FindingsThe results suggest that social interaction has a significant positive impact on work effectiveness. However, this impact is not affected by the employee's perceived benefits of maintaining social distancing during the pandemic. The study also found that social interaction is important for both genders and found no significant difference in the relationship between social interaction and work from home effectiveness for male and female employees.Practical implicationsThis study will be useful for human resource practitioners and managers as they build strategies to adopt work from home as a regular practice even in non-pandemic situations.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the influence of lack of social interaction on the work from home effectiveness during the COVID-19 times. It examines the moderating role of the perceived benefits of maintaining social distancing and gender on the effect of lack of social interaction as a barrier to work from home effectiveness.

Navigating Uncharted Waters: Exploring Leaders’ Challenges in the Era of COVID-19 and the Rise of Telework

“…A total of eight studies highlight the value of productive telework. According to research, telework can enhance employee performance with the proper tools, instruction, and leadership abilities [86,87,89]. However, one study indicated that while telework may boost job quality, it may also reduce job performance [93].…”

“…This study also showed that telework does not interfere with communication. Additionally, Mukherjee et al [87], who focused on social connections as a productivity hurdle, discovered evidence that participating in social interactions can significantly increase job productivity. According to Kowalski and Slebarska's [88] research, lower-level managers have a significant association between telework's advantages and effectiveness, indicating a connection between lower-level managers' perceptions of the advantages of external cooperation and their efficiency.…”

“…2022 [87] The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of reduced social interaction within the context of remote work arrangements on employee work effectiveness in India.…”

Self-directed learning motivational drivers of working professionals: confirmatory factor models

“…Industry 4.0 and the pandemic have also made organizations emphasize disruptive innovations, building an agile workforce who can take responsibility and function with autonomy (Deepa et al ., 2023). SDL supports technological innovation and creativity (Lemmetty and Collin, 2020).…”

“…According to the global coaching study released by the International Coaching Federation in 2020, while there is visible growth in the coaching practice, the adoption rates are abysmal in most of the Eastern world, more so in Asia. Industry 4.0 and the pandemic have also made organizations emphasize disruptive innovations, building an agile workforce who can take responsibility and function with autonomy (Deepa et al, 2023). SDL supports technological innovation and creativity (Lemmetty and Collin, 2020).…”