Examining the advantages and disadvantages of working from home from the perspectives of employees following the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Working from home (WFH) has become more popular and has spread rapidly around the world. This became especially noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic because most individuals had to work from home if they were not key workers (e.g., healthcare and public safety workers). However, further research is needed on the possible consequences of WFH, particularly in terms of benefits and challenges. Objective: The present study aimed to examine the advantages and disadvantages of WFH from an employee perspective. Methods: Two simple questions were asked to white-collar Turkish employees (N = 613) who experienced WFH during the COVID-19 pandemic: “What do you think are the advantages of working from home?” and “What do you think are the disadvantages of working from home?”. The answers to the questions were then content analyzed. Results: The key advantages identified were protection from COVID-19, saving time, better focus on work, more time for self-improvement, reduced personal expenses, and reduced social pressure. The key disadvantages included increased work-family conflict, alienation from work, non-ergonomic working conditions, technostress, miscommunication, social isolation, increased workload, inefficiency, and depression. Conclusions: The results indicate that although WFH has many advantages for employees, it also has many disadvantages that need to be carefully considered by both organizations and employees.