How Digitalization, Work-Family Balance, and Work Efficiency Can Influence Employees' Preferences for Teleworking in the Future

Abstract

During Covid-19 pandemic many employees found themselves in the new position of teleworkers. Proof of the last years, teleworking remains an alternative to the classic system, reason why in this paper we aim to examine, based on an online questionnaire, the perceptions of Romanian employees about the very complex aspects that teleworking involves: the new ICT tools and technologies adoption, impact on work efficiency, work-family balance, and employees physical and mental health. The paper is based on an empirical analysis of data, and the authors have used as research methods: testing the independence of groups (Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis) and the correlation between variables, categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) and logistic regression model. Our findings show that several factors, such as flexible working hours, family time, and autonomy have a positive influence on the decision to telework, while IT security risks, interruptions and virtual meetings were not perceived by respondents as negatively influencing their decision to telework. However, the consequences for mental health, such as mental stress, lack of socialisation and the difficulty of separating working time from family time, lead respondents to prefer another working system. The implications of the research are relevant for policy makers, employers, and employees as they reveal which categories of employees are more likely to telework and why.