Perceived Outcome of Working from Home among Malaysian Employees: A preliminary quantitative study

Abstract

Work from home (WFH) was a new concept in Malaysia until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and forced firms and employees to opt for remote working to stop the spread of the deadly virus. This study explored the factors for and against WFH concerning work focus and perceived separation. It also investigates employees' perception of WFH as a new norm. 110 employees aged between 21 to 26 years old working remotely were randomly chosen to give responses to a set of questionnaires. The findings show that the advantages of WFH outweighed the disadvantages. While respondents preferred work and time flexibility, distraction made it difficult to focus on the given tasks. Perceived separation was quite apparent due to a lack of face-to-face communication and assistance. Generally, respondents were quite ready to embrace WFH as a new norm. Analysed data reveals interesting implications for working from home as a new norm.

Keywords: work from home, work focus, perceived separation, isolated

eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7iSI7%20(Special%20Issue).3836