Work- f rom-Home (WFH) is not a new concept; however, its adoption in the public sector is rather slow. COVID-19 has forced us to find a new way of doing business, especially during the lockdown in many countries. WFH, or teleworking, as it is commonly known, has increased significantly with the advent of technology and improved communication. Its popularity is stronger in the private sector and less adopted in the public sector, mainly due to the traditional nature of the service that government delivers. This new pandemic has called for many governments to transform their way of conducting their operations using emerging technologies. This paper looks at the benefits and consequences of working from home. The study also looks at the conditions that would make working from home effective from the point of view of employees in the public sector. An online survey was conducted among public officers during the lockdown period to investigate their perceptions of working from home. The study found that public officers perceive the risk to catch the virus is the highest when travelling by bus and at their workplace. It is also found that the support from leaders does have an impact on employee productivity. Some pre-conditions to make work from home effective are highlighted in this study to guide managers.
Airtasker (2020). The Benefits of Working from Home, Comparing the Productivity, Spending and Health of Remote vs. In-Office Employees. https://www.airtasker.com/blog/the-benefits-of-working-from-home
Apgar, B. Y. (1998). The Alternative Workplace: Changing Where and How People Work. Harvard Business Review, 76, 121-136.
Baard, N., & Thomas, A. (2010). Teleworking in South Africa: Employee Benefits and Challenges. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 8, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v8i1.298
BBC (2020). https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200312-coronavirus-covid-19-update-work-from-home-in-a-pandemic
Bernardino, A. T. (1996). Telecommuting: Modeling the Employer’s and the Employee’s Decision-Making Process. Garland Publishing.
Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., & Ying, Z. J. (2014). Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130, 165-218. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju032
Dans, E. (2020). Working from Home: It’s Time to Have the Conversation about What’s Really Involved. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2020/05/10/working-from-home-its-time-to-have-the-conversation-about-whats-reallyinvolved/#e6859bb74c5c
Dixon (2003). Telecommuting: Issues in Public and Private Sector Employment. Queensland Parliamentary Library.
Duarte, D. L., & Snyder, N. T. (1999). Mastering Virtual Teams. Jossey-Bass.
Ellison, N. B. (1999). Social Impacts: New Perspectives on Telework. Social Science Computer Review, 17, 338-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/089443939901700308
Fairweather, N. B. (1999). Surveillance in Employment: The Case of Teleworking. Journal of Business Ethics, 22, 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006104017646
Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2003). When Work and Family Collide: Deciding between Competing Role Demands. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 90, 291-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-5978(02)00519-8
Handy, S. L., & Mokhtarian, P. L. (1996). The Future of Telecommuting. Futures, 28, 227-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-3287(96)00003-1
Hern, A. (2020). Covid-19 Could Cause Permanent Shift towards Home Working. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/13/covid-19-could-cause-permanent-shift-towards-home-working
Holzer, M., & Seok-Hwan, L. (2004). Mastering Public Productivity and Performance Improvement from a Productive Management Perspective. In M. Holzer, & L. Seok-Hwan (Eds.), Public Productivity Handbook (2nd ed., pp. 1-17). Marcel Dekker.
Kanellopoulos, D. N. (2011). How Can Teleworking Be Pro-Poor? Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 24, 8-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410391111097401
Kurlan, N. B., & Cooper, C. (2002). Manager Control and Employee Isolation in Telecommuting Environments. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 13, 107-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1047-8310(01)00051-7
Kurland, N. B., & Bailey, D. E. (1999). Telework: The Advantages and Challenges of Working Here, There, Anywhere, and Anytime. Organizational Dynamics, 28, 53-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(00)80016-9
Lam, S. H., Lim, G. S., & Loh, C. M. (1995). A Survey of the Status of Information Systems, Singapore. Proceedings of the 1995 Pan-Pacific Conference on Information Systems, Singapore, 200-204.
Linna, P., Pekkola, S., Ukko, J., & Helin?, M. (2010). Defining and Measuring Productivity in the Public Sector: Managerial Perceptions. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 23, 479-499. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551011058493
Mann, S., & Holdsworth, L. (2003). The Psychological Impact of Teleworking: Stress, Emotions and Health. New Technology, Work and Employment, 18, 196-211. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-005X.00121
Meyers, N., & Hearn, G. (2000). Communication and Control: Case Studies in Australian Telecommuting. Australian Journal of Communication, 27, 39-64.
Osborne, S. P., & Brown, K. (2005). Managing Change and Innovation in Public Service Organisations. Routledge.
Pay Research Bureau (2016). https://prb.govmu.org/Pages/default.aspx
Pearlson, K., & Saunders, C. (2001). There’s No Place like Home: Managing Telecommuting Paradoxes. The Academy of Management Executive, 15, 117-128. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2001.4615008
Pollitt, C., & Hupe, P. (2011). Talking about Government: The Role of Magic Concepts. Public Management Review, 13, 641-658. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2010.532963
Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7s8r7
Riswadkar, A., & Riswadkar, A. V. (2009). Balancing the Risks of Remote Working: Walking the Telecommuting Line. The John Liner Review, 23, 1-5.
Salomon, I., & Salomon, M. (1984). Telecommuting: The Employees’ Perspective. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 25, 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1625(84)90077-5
Scholefield, G., & Peel, S. (2009). Managers’ Attitudes to Teleworking. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 34, 1-13.
Schrotenboer, B. (2020). Working at Home Had a Positive Effect on Productivity during the Pandemic, Survey Says. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/05/04/coronavirus-pandemic-might-game-changer-working-home/3061862001
The New York Times (2020). What If You Don’t Want to Go Back to the Office? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/business/pandemic-work-from-home-coronavirus.html
The White House (2010). Statement by the President on National Work and Family Month. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/25/statement-president-national-work-and-family-month
Vega, G., & Brennan, L. (2000). Isolation and Technology: The Human Disconnect. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 13, 468-481. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810010377435
Yap, C. S., & Tng, H. (1990). Factors Associated with Attitudes towards Teleworking. Information and Management, 19, 227-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-7206(90)90032-D