The Effects of Telework on Management and Production

The Effects of Telework on Management and Production

Abstract 

COVID-19 epidemic has necessitated transformations to the employees’ working arrangement. The latter, commonly referred to as telework, has impacted the organization managers’ physical and psychological health while fulfilling management and productivity goals and objectives. This paper provides a quick review of searches from critical databases such as PsychInfo, Web of Science, and ProQuest in the years 2017 to 2021, in addition to diary methodology. The results of this study noted that managers while dealing with teleworking employees, face several health outcomes which includes, depression, strain, stress, and pain. Thus, the result infers that other than developing a framework focusing on teams and individuals’ performance, managers should help workers form personal teleworking work plan. They should complement current work procedures and organization work plans. Besides that, to ease their management and productivity level, they conduct skills-mapping among teleworking employees.

The Effects of Telework on Management and Production

Contemporary, the purpose of telework on organization management and production, despite its benefits, creates excessive workloads for managers. The increase of teleworking employees has resulted in more mental health symptoms of stress to managers who struggle to manage their staff from a unique working premise. Teleworking to managers brings adverse psychological and physical impacts as they struggle to handle organizational pressures while guiding and regulating teleworking employees. This study identifies the role of telework in organization management and production and how teleworking employees create excessive workloads for some managers. Theoretically, it adds to the organization and public administration literature on providing the effects of telework on manager’s physical and psychological health. This study also applies a within-person approach and diary methodology to understand the concept of teleworking and to answer the research questions;

1. What is the purpose of telework on organization management and production?
2. Does the increase of teleworking employees create excessive workloads for some managers?
3. Do teleworkers experience dominantly more mental health symptoms of stress as opposed to office-workers?
4. Are there any recommendations to address the adverse physical and psychological impact of teleworking?
5. How are home-life responsibilities affecting employee telework requirements?

The research questions also provide the hypotheses for the study, which are;

Hypothesis 1: Working from home will be negatively related to the health of managers when measured on daily occasions.

Hypothesis 2: Working from home will negatively impact employee telework requirements as they meet home-life responsibilities when measured daily

Hypothesis 3: Working from home will require specific recommendations to address the physical and psychological outcomes.

Problem Statement

The increase of teleworking employees appears to create excess workloads for some managers. Whether work production declines, remains the same, or increases, managers may find it difficult to supervise, train, and track the performance of employees. Factors that may make these daily tasks more difficult for managers and employees include distractions at home with family, decreased communication with employees, or the inability to provide one-on-one on-the-job training (OJT). Additionally, performance may decrease among employees due to lack of motivation while at home, the feeling of not having ample resources, or not having the ability to reach out to one another as easily compared to being in the office.

Literature Review

Weinert et al. (2015) focuses on literature research and findings and argues that the wide acceptance and dissemination harms employees and managers. As noted by the authors above in the organization premise, the adverse impact of teleworking has led to undesired impacts due to telework exhaustion. Weinert et al. (2015) identify essential telework features and hypotheses relationship between telework-oriented stressors and characteristics. In their findings, they noted that teleworkers are faced with challenges of overcoming fatigue feelings. Also, teleworkers save energy and time commuting and are more likely to be stressed based on increased home and work conflicting demands.

On the other hand, Kim et al. (2021) discussed telework based on the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. The article defines telework as a flexible work arrangement where employees perform their designated responsibilities and duties and position in approved worksites. Telework is an organizational setting thus focuses on employees accomplishing professional duties. They discuss the role of supervisors and how they are managing telework to achieve benefits and even telework abuse cases. Kim et al. (2021) point out how telework would be used in an organization setting factors such as communication to boost management and production process. Thus, managers should set a centralized repository on the major updates and changes to manage communication with teleworking employees. Also, they should create communication norms bringing certainty and predictability to virtual organization conversations and further make spectrum present for communication options.

Additionally, Standen et al. (1999) argue that to ease managers’ role when implementing teleworking, they should ensure that employees have required technical equipment. Also, the managers should be trained adhesively on integrating organization set managerial and production processes. Training managers on the major factors to consider during teleworking management boosts their understanding of distance management aspects.

Also, Teece (2017), while providing capability theory in firms, discusses the managers’ role in firm production and management. He argues that production managers are responsible for ensuring that manufacturing processes are efficient and reliable. Also, other than organizing and planning production schedules, they assess resource and project requirements and estimate, negotiate and agree on timescales and budgets. Additionally, Teece (2017) argues that managers are responsible for carrying and developing the management process in the organization and thus would likely face psychological challenges.

Besides that, Belzunegui-Eraso and Erro-Garcé’s (2020) article discusses teleworking implementation as a security and health practice and its impact on organization management and production. Via their theoretical standpoint, the two authors argue that despite productivity gains, teleworking in the post-COVID-19 era has adversely affected the managers’ psychological and physical health. Sentiments supported by Economic Co-operation and Development.

(2020), while noting that teleworking adoption remains a permanent regime following the Coronavirus pandemic, further prompts adverse consequences to the managers’ overall well-being. Economic Co-operation and Development (2020), while noting teleworking in their findings to aid production and management levels in organizations, however, prompts ambiguous risks linked to workers’ job satisfaction that include the managers.

Despite the challenges faced by managers when dealing with teleworking employees, Sánchez et al. (2007) that they should implement certain practices. While addressing the connection between teleworking and workplace flexibility, Sánchez et al. (2007) argue that the managers’ role in organization performance is relative to their implemented strategies to limit the latter from adversely affecting their psychological and physical well-being. While focusing on the empirical survey, the authors argue that managers should introduce certain strategies to improve a firm’s performance when dealing with teleworking employees. Sánchez et al. (2007), to improve teleworking’s role in the era of digitalization and productivity, should review the resources and needs of employees transitioning from office-oriented to teleworking.

Additionally, the managers must revise policies ensuring the employees use the ICT equipment to the fullest capacity improving organization productivity. Correspondingly, Sánchez et al. (2007) argue that managers must provide training opportunities to employees working from home using special equipment and tools. The latter should also include a self-assessment test of the employees and external testing to measure their skills and performance level.

In addition, in their article, Brinzea and Secara (2017) argue that telework is frequently cited with social isolation. They argue that in nations such as United Kingdom, 60% of the employee considers social isolation to be the greatest challenge of teleworking. Mann and Holdsworth (2003) also to further highlight the major disadvantages of teleworking provides information incorporated by the Le Reseau Anact-Aract 2015. Teleworking in their findings provides the incapacity to separate professional from personal life. This leads to the risk of the work invading the employees’ personal life resulting to long term psychosocial problems. Also, telework would ensure a worker loses visibility from the company. An exclusion of teleworkers from the work team risks their isolation. Teleworking employees eventually feel lonely due to their working environment and conditions.

Importance/Benefits of the Study

This study has rampant benefits, discussing the definition of telework and major factors necessitating its implementation. It notes telework as the use of Information and Communication Technologies; among them are desktop computers, tablets, smartphones, and laptops for work performed outside the office premise. Often involuntary settings have been rampant following the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires organizations to incorporate work practices that limit its spread. Telework has remained vast following the ongoing economic and health crisis requiring physical distancing. Telework is one of the major factors introduced in the organization to avoid the uncertain net effects of productivity that would adversely impact the organization’s productivity. Telework remains a critical process for workers working from home. According to this study, implementing it requires managers to form new organization operations and policies, ensuring the new welfare and efficient-improving organization management and productivity goals are included.

The study also discusses the impact of telework in organization management and production and how the increase of teleworking employees creates excessive workloads for some managers. The result further shows how managers experience more mental health symptoms of stress dominantly, especially when meeting the firm objectives while working from home on most occasions. Other than being faced with the challenges of the demand of the home environment, they are forced to understand and manage how social connection has an external impact on their work productivity.

The study is also beneficial as it outlines some of the major recommendations critical in addressing the physical and psychological impact. During the COVID-19 epidemic, teleworking ensures managers play a pivotal role in mitigating the challenges affecting the organization’s management and productivity and supporting employees, which would drain them emotionally and physically. Therefore, the study urges managers to improve organizational management and productivity when working with teleworking employees to set certain strategies and practices to boost employees’ performances.

Research Design

This research focuses on a rapid review of World Health Organization Principles and recommendations. Also, it follows reporting guidelines under PRISMA. The search strategy via the help of research personnel was developed, and that the research was fixed on ProQuest, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases. The search strategy was limited to peer-reviewed journal articles of 2017-2021were used. Also, to ensure the search technique focuses on research questions, the words; telework, mental health and organization management, and productivity were highlighted. The study focuses on articles on professional employees and employers working during business hours and their mental health concerns to include the inclusion concept. Search study rationale was fixed to participants undertaking work from home daily. Via the help of Covidence, full texts, titles, and abstracts were screened.

Through the help of standardized form, data was extracted and include study design, setting, measures used, participants’ details, industry setting, and health effects. Bias assessment risk served as a quality proxy for the study and undertaking quantitative and qualitative studies in distinct forms. The bias domains risk was obtained from RTL research bank, qualitative appraisal tool for Johanna Briggs, and quality assessment tool for Cochrane Collaboration. Potential sources were listed as low, high, or moderate. Also, article bias was undertaken by an author with sub-samples screened by another author for accuracy. The previously created rating system was used to provide the quality assessment. Qualitative data through narrative synthesis were analyzed and identified how telework adversely impacted the managers’ physical and psychological well-being. Also, it identified the role of telework in organization productivity and management level.

The study was conducted using various industrial sectors: three financial services, five government agencies and departments, two technology, and one academia, logistics, and telecommunications industries. The nature of working from home and telework and the business hours were considered. The study to fulfill ethical requirements followed informed-consent rules and respected the privacy and confidentiality of the study participants.

Nature and Form of Results

The identified data search included 1567 papers, of which 31 met inclusion criteria. Of the 1567 studies presented for screening, 287 were eliminated. The remaining 1280, having been screened, further eliminated 1117 studies considered irrelevant. Assessed based on eligibility, 142 of the remaining 174 studies were excluded as they indicated no health outcome of telework to managers. Also, they were not a peer-reviewed systematic review, and that the employees were based in offices. Ten of the remaining studies were eligible to answer the research questions.

The Form below presents the outcome of the research findings.

Budget

This study did not have any budget. All the research was conducted via online search databases and sites. They include ProQuest, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases, which in the long run help find peer-reviewed articles focusing on the connection between teleworking and mental health and organization management and productivity. This study at large used ProQuest, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases of the years 2017-2021. As a result, other than clarifying the meaning of telework in organization management and productivity, the study further noted how teleworking roles fixed on meeting the organization management and productivity set objectives to managers dealing with teleworking employees had adverse outcomes to their general well-being.

Also, this study lacked budget as an instrument used for search strategy, and result analysis was online-based. For example, via the help of Covidence, full texts, titles, and abstracts were screened. Additionally, via the help of standardized form, data were extracted and included study design, setting, measures used, participants’ details, industry setting, and telework connection to health effects.

Schedule

This research focused on 15-day research on peer-reviewed articles. Throughout the period, identified data search included one thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven articles, of which thirty-one met inclusion criteria. Of the total studies presented for screening, two hundred and eighty-seven were eliminated. The remaining, 1280 having been screened, further eliminated 1117 studies considered irrelevant. Assessed based on eligibility, one-hundred, and forty-two of the remaining 174 studies were excluded as they indicated no health outcome of telework to managers. Also, they were not a peer-reviewed systematic review, and that the employees were based in offices. Ten of the remaining studies were eligible to answer the research questions and thus efficiently analyzed. The primary research deliverables were based on the quality and scope of the study, whose major focus other than analyzing the role of telework further discussed how telework practices would adversely impact the role of the manager.

Ethical Considerations

This study, during data collection, further observed the participants and if perhaps they would provide essential information on the role of telework to the managers’ duties. In the process of getting the right information, this study minimized or avoided anything causing emotional or physical harm to the participants. Correspondingly, it allowed participants to understand and remained aware of various vast harm that may harm their participation. Consecutively, this study also efficiently remained unbiased and neutral. To facilitate the data collection process adhesively, individual opinions or preconceptions were avoided.

Also, this study protected participants’ rights by assuring them that following their efforts to disclose the impact of telework on their managers’ health and general overview; their individual information will be protected. This study at large protected participants’ privacy by keeping their information confidential and allowing the participants to be anonymous throughout the research. This study protected the individual’s right and was thus capable of controlling or accessing their provided participation in the study.

Implications and Considerations

The proposed study, having employed distinct contributions on the adverse impact of telework on managers’ physical and psychological well-being, thus calls for certain implications to prevent the latter. The research argues that the increase of teleworking employees has resulted in dominantly more mental health symptoms of stress to managers who struggle to manage their staff from a unique working premise. Therefore, managers to consider their well-being following progressed productivity while introducing teleworking practices (Cooper et al., 2006).  Besides developing a framework focusing on teams and individuals’ performance, they should help workers form personal teleworking work plans. They should complement current work procedures and organization work plans. Besides that, to ease their management and productivity level, they conduct skills-mapping among teleworking employees.

On the other hand, this research had a particular limitation. For example, during the study, several studies failed to specify the nature and relationship of telework to health. In addition to the heterogeneous study nature, it wasn’t easy to conduct a meta-analysis for the proposed study.

References

Belzunegui-Eraso, A., & Erro-Garcés, A. (2020). Teleworking in the Context of the Covid-19 Crisis. Sustainability, 12(9), 3662.

Brinzea, V. M., & Secara, C. G. (2017). The Telework, a Flexible Way to Work in a Changing Workplace. Scientific Bulletin-Economic Sciences, 16(3), 104-112.

Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P. S., & Sun, J. (2006). Business research methods (Vol. 9, pp. 1-744). New York: Mcgraw-hill.

Kim, T., Mullins, L. B., & Yoon, T. (2021). Supervision of Telework: A Key to Organizational         Performance. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(4), 263–277.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074021992058

Mann, S., & Holdsworth, L. (2003). The psychological impact of teleworking: stress, emotions, and health. New Technology, Work and Employment, 18(3), 196-211.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Productivity gains from teleworking in the post-COVID-19 era: how can public policies make it happen?. OECD Publishing.

Sánchez, A. M., Pérez, M. P., de Luis Carnicer, P., & Jiménez, M. J. V. (2007). Teleworking and workplace flexibility: a study of the impact on firm performance. Personnel Review.

Sardeshmukh, S. R., Sharma, D., & Golden, T. D. (2012). Impact of telework on exhaustion and job engagement: A job demands and job resources model. New Technology, Work and Employment, 27(3), 193-207.

Standen, P., Daniels, K., & Lamond, D. (1999). The home as a workplace: Work-family interaction and psychological well-being in telework. Journal of occupational health psychology, 4(4), 368.

Teece, D. J. (2017). Towards a capability theory of (innovating) firms: implications for management and policy. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 41(3), 693-720.

Weinert, C., Maier, C., & Laumer, S. (2015, March). Why are teleworkers stressed? An empirical analysis of the causes of telework-enabled stress. In Wirtschaftsinformatik (pp. 1407-1421).