Abstract
This chapter intends to understand how telework pre-adoption perceptions differ from post-adoption realized benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether an organization will continue the use of telework once the pandemic subsides. Literature was examined and a hybrid framework incorporating components of the perceived value theory and expectation confirmation model (ECM) was used. The perceived value theory focuses on the perceived business value of Telework pre-adoption and ECM focuses on continued use post-adoption. Resistance by managers to allow employees to telework is evident in surveys conducted as recent as 2019. While surveys conducted initially in 2020 during the pandemic indicated that at least 74% of CFOs intend to implement more telework in their organization and 60% of employees would opt to remain teleworking after the pandemic despite possible health implications, later surveys suggest that after continued use of telework, 59% of the employees now no longer prefer to telework into the future due to constraining factors such as isolation and blurred work lines.
TopMethodology
The Covid-19 pandemic is an ongoing and evolving phenomenon with surprising outcomes. Due to its restrictions, researchers are challenged to participate in communities using some of its traditional research methods. Information regarding the topic is still developing and changing over the pandemic period resulting in continuous insights. Due to the nature of the pandemic, the study period is cross-sectional and takes a snapshot of the current information available (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2019). A case study method was utilized by the researcher to conduct this research to describe this scarcely studied phenomenon, is in its natural context. This method allows for the categorizing and theming of data (Hancock & Algozzine, 2016). Data was collected from secondary resources, such as web articles, documents and surveys which were aimed specifically to measure the impact of Telework and Covid-19. The leading resource was Forbes and Gartner which monitored and updated on the status of the phenomena as it evolved.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Secondary Resources: Secondary resources are works that were created by someone that did not have firsthand experience of an event however relays or quotes information from the primary resource.
Perception: Perception is the way in which someone understands or interprets something.
Perceived Cost: Refers to the entire capital investment above the initial investment of adoption ( Alam et al., 2014 ).
Perceived trust: A mental state of positive expectancy ( Yasmin & Grundmann, 2019 ).
Ease of Use: Whether an innovation is user-friendly and less complicated to use or learn ( Adams, Nelson & Todd, 1992 AU66: The citation "Adams, Nelson & Todd, 1992" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. ).
Telework: Telework is the practise of utilizing ICT tools to work from home or alternate locations to a traditional workplace.
Perceived usefulness: The amount of people that use innovation due to its benefit ( Yasmin & Grundmann, 2019 ).
Perceived risk: The uncertainty that a user may have with regards to how well an innovation would function and perform ( Featherman & Pavlou, 2003 ).
Pandemic: A pandemic is the widespread transmission of an infection disease across a large area or region.
Phenomenon: A phenomenon is a fact or object that is of scientific interest.
Social Distancing: Social distancing is the practise of physically distancing yourself from people or limiting the amount of interaction between people to reduce the spread of a contagious disease as a non-pharmaceutical intervention.
Continued Use: A positive attitude towards performance and usefulness which encourages ongoing use of an innovation ( Yasmin & Grundmann, 2019 ).
Perceived Benefits: Factors which encourages organizations positively to use an innovation ( Carr, 2017 ).
Innovation: Innovation is the introduction of new ideas or products such as the implementation of technology.
Adoption: Adoption is the practise of choosing to follow, take up or use something.
Perceived Satisfaction: The degree that perceived pre-adoption business value and usefulness has been actualized post-adoption ( Thong, Hong & Tam, 2006 ).
Value: Value is the perceived usefulness of something or the degree of importance.
Unified Systems: Unified systems is the convergence and integration of multiple systems to enable centralized management and boost productivity.
COVID-19: COVID-19 is an infectious disease, formally known as Coronavirus, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.