Organizational Support of Working from Home: Aftermath of COVID-19 from the Perspective of Workers and Leaders

Abstract

(1) The objective of this study is to analyze working from home (WFH) arrangements implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are focusing on: 1. The main challenges and differences in WFH arrangements, compared to regular work before the pandemic. 2. The scope of WFH workload and its potential negative effects on workers’ well-being and reconciliation of work and family. 3. Organizational support to workers WFH, including communication with co-workers, IT specialists, and leaders, and required competence to perform WFH. 4. Organization support of work process, including data access, provision of IT, and work supervision. (2) The research is based on structured interviews with 102 employees and leaders of WFH in the second wave of COVID-19 in Slovenia. (3) Results strongly confirm previous research and emphasize that the pandemic has suddenly completely changed the WFH by placing a much greater accent on work–family reconciliation, communication among co-workers and leaders, work organization, workload, and organizational support. (4) Identified WFH practices developed during the pandemic will help individuals and businesses to optimize WFH and hybrid work, which is on the rise.