The Effect of Working From Home on Time Pressure and Work-Life Conflict

Introduction

Employees are a critical resource in enabling firms to achieve strategic goals and sustain competitive advantage. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the elements that affect employees' ability to perform their jobs effectively, one of which is work-related stressors. These stressors include the employee's assessment of their ability to adapt to a changing environment. Certain individuals possess the capacity and resources necessary to advance their skills, while others may lack them. Stress can occur specifically when an employee is in conflict with the job demands placed on them. The toxic work environment, negative workload, isolation, hours worked, lack of autonomy, the pace at which the employee is expected to work, role conflict, role ambiguity, career development barriers, difficult relationships with coworkers, managerial bullying, harassment, and organizational climate are all factors that contribute to workplace stress. If the stressors persist, the employee is at an increased risk of developing physiological and psychological disorders, which can result in increased absenteeism, organizational dysfunction, and decreased work productivity (Colligan & Higgins, 2006). Moreover, stress is likely to impair professionals' decision-making (Broadbent, 1981). To overcome stress, organizations can support ecological behavior at workplaces through stringent rules and regulations, monitoring, training programmes, and monetary incentives (Farooq et al., 2021).

Conflict or interference between work demands and responsibilities and commitments outside the work setting, particularly in relation to family and personal life, is a source of work-related stress. Organizations that foster a culture and policies that reduce work-life conflicts benefit employees by creating a more pleasant work environment, increasing employees' loyalty, and improving their performance (Kabir & Rahman, 2019; Soomro et al., 2018). Reduced work-life conflict can also improve job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, and reduced turnover intention (Allen, Golden, et al., 2015; Bell et al., 2012). At the individual level, the importance of resolving work-life conflict can have a beneficial effect on non-work domains, such as job satisfaction and personal life quality (Sirgy & Lee, 2018). Meanwhile, a high level of work-life conflict is associated with a variety of negative events that affect the organization. The greater the employees’ work-life conflict, the more likely employees will conclude that the company is mistreating them. As a result, these employees' commitment to the company is diminished, as evidenced by absenteeism, high turnover rates, and lower employee performance (Karakaş & Tezcan, 2019; Suifan et al., 2016).

The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic in mid-March 2020. It prompted governments worldwide to prepare for a public health emergency through a variety of drastic measures, one of which was the widespread lockdowns in several countries (World Health Organization, 2020). When the lockdowns took effect, a sizable portion of the workforce was instructed to remain at home and work remotely. Working from home has proven to be vital in ensuring business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a substantial shift as only a few employees were working from home before the pandemic (International Labour Organization, 2020a). Employees in urban areas who can work remotely are fewer in middle-income countries, such as Indonesia (Gottlieb et al., 2020). It is shown by the number of telecommuters in Indonesia before the pandemic, which was merely 16% (Ipsos, 2011). One of the obstacles to implementing working from home in Indonesia is the concept that has not been widely accepted. There are also challenges in information and communication technologies infrastructure, such as limited coverage and low internet service speed (Suarlan, 2018). Apart from not being familiar with the concept of teleworking, employees in established companies also need more effort to adapt to changes in contrast to start-ups, which are more flexible and agile (Aghina & De Smet, 2015).