Abstract
During COVID-19, a large proportion of employees have been able to work from home (WFH) in order to prevent from contagion. With a downturn of the pandemic, firms have recently announced a return to the onsite offices for their employees, at least for some days of the week. In order for firms to smoothen the transition from full-time remote work to (part-time) onsite work, the determinants of employee preferences for working at the onsite office versus WFH are of crucial importance. This study investigates six work-related factors and their relation to employees’ preferences of working at the onsite office versus WFH: job involvement, planning autonomy, team psychological safety, team direction, social contact and workload. In doing so, data from 182 employees of generation Y in Germany are analyzed using multiple regression analyses. Results revealed that social contact and a clear direction of a team’s collective action are significant positively related to preferences of working at the onsite office. Implications for future research and limitations of the research are discussed alongside the results of the study.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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Appendix 1: Measures and items used in the study
Appendix 1: Measures and items used in the study
Measure | Items | Author |
|---|---|---|
Preference for working onsite vs. WFH | It makes sense for me personally to be more present again | Holt et al. 2007 |
Onsite work is more time-consuming, but I think the extra time is worth it | ||
I prefer to work onsite in the office | ||
More onsite work has positive effects for me | ||
More onsite work will not negatively affect my social environment | ||
More onsite work will have a positive impact on my career | ||
More onsite work will have more advantages than disadvantages in the long run | ||
Planning autonomy | I can organize my work by myself | Morgeson and Humphrey 2006 |
I can prioritize topics in my work myself | ||
I can decide for myself how to do my work | ||
Social contact | At my work, I have close friends | Morgeson and Humphrey 2006 |
At my work, I can meet new people | ||
My colleagues are interested in me as a person | ||
My colleagues are friendly | ||
Workload | I often have to work very quickly | Spector and Jex 1998 |
I often have too little time for my work | ||
I very often have a heavy workload | ||
I often have more to do than I can actually do | ||
Job involvement | I am very dedicated in my work | Kanungo 1982 |
Most of my interests revolve around my job | ||
I consider my job to be an important part of my personality | ||
I am personally very involved in my work | ||
My job is a very important part of my life | ||
Team psychological safety | In our team, we live an open error culture | Edmondson 1999 |
In our team, problems are openly addressed | ||
We stick together | ||
We ask each other for support | ||
In our team, we can take calculable risks | ||
In our team, we do not harm each other | ||
We talk openly about our strengths and weaknesses | ||
Team direction | Our team knows the goals and expectations placed on us | Edmondson 1999 |
When clarification is needed, we take the necessary time | ||
News or changes are communicated early |
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Hampel, T., Hampel, N. Returning to the workplace after COVID-19: determinants of employee preferences for working onsite versus working from home in generation Y. Decision 50, 321–331 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40622-023-00363-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40622-023-00363-y