Work From Home in Pandemic Contexts

Abstract

Working from home was seen as one of the most convenient options to respond to productivity needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, but this type of work caused significant social and organizational changes, which demanded the employees' adaptation to new working conditions. The present study aims to describe the health habits developed during quarantine periods under the work-from-home modality. It also seeks to establish the relationships between these habits and perceived productivity, and to identify preferences for returning to the workplace based on productivity in a sample of 588 workers from Colombia. The results indicated that approximately half of the participants reported a perception of lower productivity, and the most prominent habit associated with perceived productivity was exercising. The relationship between productivity and the preference for returning to the workplace showed those who reported higher productivity preferences favored a hybrid work model, while those perceiving lower productivity preferred a return to in-person work.