research report the impact of working from home on job performance of employees a study of fpt software

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between working from home and job performance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic through the mediating r

BTEC FPT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Class: PBBA15101

Da Nang, April 2022

ASSIGNMENT 2 FRONT SHEETQualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business Unit number and

title Unit 11: Research Project

Submission date 20/04/2022 Date Received 1st submissionRe-submission

23/04/2022 Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Nguyen Le Phuong Nga

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between working from home and job performance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic through the mediating role of work and family balance, and job satisfaction In addition, the regulatory role of COVID-19 concerns is also considered Data is collected through an online questionnaire for FPT Software employees in Da Nang Then, the data is analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software with an expected sample size of 200 respondents

The study results indicate that working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on employee performance This positive relationship is analyzed through mediated effects from a share of work and family balance, and job satisfaction Furthermore, the analysis shows that the more employees focus on the consequences of the pandemic, the stronger the positive relationship between working from home and job satisfaction becomes

Finally, the study recommends policies to adjust and promote the work-from-home program to increase employee work efficiency in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic Keywords: Working from home, Job performance, Work-family balance, Job satisfaction, COVID-19

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

After doing research, I have completed the graduate thesis majoring in Business Administration: "The impact of working from home on job performance of employees: A study of FPT Software"

I would like to express my sincere and deep gratitude to Mr Le Phuoc Cuu Long has enthusiastically guided, enthusiastically helped, instructed, and contributed many valuable comments to help me complete this thesis

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the lecturers of BTEC FPT College in Da Nang for equipping me with the necessary knowledge to help the author have a foundation for the research process

In the process of implementation, it is challenging to avoid defects I look forward to receiving the comments of teachers and readers to improve the thesis

Da Nang, April 23, 2022 Student

Nguyen Le Phuong Nga

Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2

2.1 Working from home 2

2.2 The theoretical framework for WFH 2

2.3 Research hypotheses and model 3

2.3.1 Job performance (JP) 3

2.3.2 Work-family balance (WFB) 4

2.3.3 Job satisfaction (JS) 5

2.3.4 The mediating role of work-family balance and job satisfaction 6

2.3.5 The regulatory role of COVID-19 concerns 6

2.4 Overview of previous studies and contributions to the topic 7

1 1 INTRODUCTION

Working from home (WFH) is a work-from-home arrangement where employees do not need to go to the office In other words, WFH is a form of working from home or in places other than the office This form of work appeared a long time ago, applied to several occupations that do not require employees to work directly at the company Previously, WFH was not recommended because it could distract employees while working Moreover, this working model makes it impossible for managers to monitor and track employees' work progress WFH is only really noticed and will become a worldwide trend in 2020 The main reason is the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced businesses around the world to let their employees quit or work from home The outbreak of this pandemic has taken place seriously, negatively affecting people's lives For most people working from home, WFH is inevitable because movement restrictions are a must in this context The WFH form may make some people like it, some don't, but it's the default form of work during the pandemic This makes the employees gradually learn the flexibility of working from home, because of WFH as an experience of adapting to a new situation Businesses deploy WFH as an effective working model during the pandemic This form of work not only complies with social distancing regulations, makes everyone safer, but still creates important value for the organization

In addition, businesses need to pay attention to maintaining and improving employee performance, especially during a pandemic (Jääskeläinen, 2010) Performance is seen as an essential factor of business operations Performance drives overall efficiency and balances the performance of the business (Bloom et al., 2006) Businesses operating during the COVID-19 outbreak, forced to adopt WFH, need to find out if working from home affects employee performance WFH is increasingly important and necessary, this is not only a way of working during the pandemic season but also the "new normal" of businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic: The working hours of employees are more flexible, reduce traffic accidents, reduce travel costs, and help the company "optimize costs" This can be said to be a new "direction" for businesses while maintaining business operations while achieving work efficiency and employee health benefits

The objective of the research is to learn about WFH and its impact on employees' job performance The research consists of five main parts The first part refers to the research background and rationale for the research T second part presents a literature review about heWFH, a theoretical framework about WFH, and research hypotheses and model In the third part, it provides research activities and timelines In addition, the fourth part covers the

approach, methodologies of the research, and expected results Finally, the fifth presents the conclusion of the study, including the contributions, implications, and limitations of the research to guide future studies

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Working from home

Working from home is now known as an alternative way of working to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 First mentioned in 1988 by Nilles, the WFH concept is also known as "telecommuting" WFH (telecommuting) is often used as an alternative to remote or telework However, there is a difference in terminology between WFH (telecommuting) and remote work (teleworking) Remote work is a process in which employees work in places other than usual, often involving virtual working where physical presence is not required (Hatch, 2006) Meanwhile, WFH is working from home with communication to the office, using technology to perform work tasks (Shafizadeh et al., 2007)

Gibson et al (2002) point out that teleworking is a much broader term, meaning using a telecommunications network to work wherever you need to meet customer needs, whether from your home office, remote work center, satellite office, customer office, or anywhere In other words, all remote workers are not necessarily home workers The phrase "work from home" is used in this study because it is exactly what the study is about

Digel and Neiman's (2020) study found that 37% of work could be done at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US; such as finance, business management, and education-related services Meanwhile, some professions such as healthcare, agriculture, and hospitality cannot be done from home Many organizations have practiced WFH even before the pandemic broke out to give their employees flexibility As can be seen, WFH provides various benefits to employees including autonomy and the comfort of working in their own space (O'Hara, 2014)

2.2 The theoretical framework for WFH

Vyas & Butakhieo (2020) have developed an assessment-based theoretical framework for working from home, remote working, flexible workplaces, and online Firstly, the working from home theoretical framework proposes two preconditions: (1) Organizational factors and (2) Personal and family factors that affect WFH Secondly, to explore the effects of WFH in the work and life aspects, it is connected with two corresponding results: (1) Results on the work side and (2) Results on the family side

3

Figure 1 Theoretical framework about WFH (Source: Vyas & Butakhieo, 2020) "Organizational factors" will be related to the employee's work Studies have discussed that organizational factors are important for work-from-home arrangements For example, the organization has a policy to support the needs of employees while working from home, WFH-related facility costs, training on technology use, employee benefits, as well as organizational communication

Vyas & Butakhieo (2020) argue that WFH is influenced not only by "organizational factors" but also by "personal and family factors" Personal factors that need to be addressed to work remotely such as self-discipline, self-motivation, ability to work independently, endurance, self-organization, self-confidence, time management skills, and knowledge about information technology In addition to personal factors, family factors also influence WFH For example, household characteristics such as the size of the living area, the number of family members sharing the same accommodation, and the number of children in the household Furthermore, WFH can also be affected by the available workspace in the home and the number of people present when working from home

The results of WFH can be viewed in two aspects: "work" and "life" Studies reveal that WFH has positive results on work aspects such as job performance, job satisfaction, flexibility, and job engagement Some studies show that WFH has both positive and negative outcomes for the life aspect Life aspects can include work-family balance, life satisfaction, and family satisfaction

Vyas & Butakhieo (2020) proposed a theoretical framework for WFH, but they do not have evidence to confirm the relationships that exist in the model Therefore, this theoretical framework is used to guide the investigation of working from home in COVID-19 for FPT Software employees in Da Nang

2.3 Research hypotheses and model 2.3.1 Job performance (JP)

Job performance refers to the outcome of the fit between one's behavior and the requirements of the job/task (Brief & Weiss, 2002; Huong & Lien, 2017) Jacobs et al (2013) defined JP as an employee's ability to achieve their goals over a given period in the context of a job or organization Besides, Jamal (2007) argues that an effective employee is an employee who can perform well within the limits of available resources

WFH and its impact on JP have received increasing attention in recent years, especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic Bloom et al (2015) studied employee home JP using a randomized experiment on switchboard operators in a travel agency They found that working from home led to a 13% increase in work efficiency And after testing, more than half of the employees chose to switch to this form of work

H1: Working from home has a positive impact on work performance 2.3.2 Work-family balance (WFB)

Work-family balance is defined as job satisfaction and family satisfaction In other words, WFB is the interaction between work at the business and other activities for family and community, leisure activities, and personal development (Giao et al., 2020) Žnidaršič & Bernik (2021) states that WFB is a process of participation in work and family roles equally and asserts that WFB consists of three parts: (i) Time balance, (ii) Participation balance, and (iii) Satisfaction balance Separation of work and family can undermine both company and employee goals, reduce work efficiency, and negatively affect family life Rearranging the way of working toward balancing work and family can yield positive and win-win results

WFH has special benefits for families with young children or employees who cannot leave home but need or want to continue working During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government implemented a social distancing policy and schools had to close Therefore, students cannot come to class Families need time to care for their children during this period So, WFH can help them take care of children or elderly people who get sick while working (Beňo, 2018) In addition, working from home helps people living in remote areas find employment, reducing their risk of illness, fatigue, and work-related stress From there, it will help employees have a better work-life balance Furthermore, several previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between WFH and WFB (Bellmann & Hübler, 2020)

When employees work from home, they don't need to spend time and money to get to the office or go on business trips They also don't have to wear formal clothes during work hours, which allows them to match their work and real personalities better Remote workers are less stressed and therefore less likely to change jobs; they are also more satisfied with their daily work activities (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007) Furthermore, another study suggested that the relationship between WFH and JS is a curve, meaning that its effects would be positive to a certain extent (about 15.1 hours per week) But when employees spend most of their time working from home, their satisfaction can drop due to a sense of social and professional separation The curve is flatter for jobs with high independence (Virick et al., 2010) Previous studies have also shown that WFH can increase JS levels (Bellmann & Hübler, 2020)

H3: Working from home has a positive impact on job satisfaction

In WFB, a good balance produces JS because job roles are not a threat to health management Low-level work-family conflict produces JS because job roles are not a threat to the home field In addition, in the current working context, which is characterized by high heterogeneity between the current workforce with a significant proportion of elderly workers, as well as with the rise of a health care system based on the patient's active and informed role, WFB is as important as the work-family conflict in shaping attitudes towards work and JS (Bellmann & Hübler, 2020)

H4: Work and family balance has a positive impact on job satisfaction

Achieving "work-family balance" is significant to individual and organizational success The conflict between work and family has resulted in lower performance of individuals in the workplace as well as in their personal lives and ultimately leads to leaving work (Naithani, 2010) Furthermore, Naithani (2010) argues that individuals who

successfully balance work and family will contribute to the success of the organization; and those who receive support in the workplace through family-friendly policies have high levels of workplace productivity

H5: Work-family balance has a positive effect on job performance

In addition, if JS is not achieved, then employees' performance will be poor, as their productivity is negatively affected On the contrary, when employees are satisfied, they will be motivated to perform the task at the best possible level The argument that JS has a great influence on employee performance has been confirmed by previous research (Giao et al., 2020)

H6: Job satisfaction has a positive effect on job performance 2.3.4 The mediating role of work-family balance and job satisfaction

Employees who work from home can adjust their work-family relationships Therefore, it can increase work efficiency In addition, working from home can also eliminate the time and costs that need to be spent on work during the COVID-19 pandemic It creates a sense of freedom that makes employees happy and from there, it affects employee performance (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007)

H7: Work-family balance mediates the effects of working from home on job performance

H8: Job satisfaction mediates the effects of working from home and job performance

2.3.5 The regulatory role of COVID-19 concerns

Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic reduces negative emotions associated with health threats and uncertainties Thus, when looking at the JS of employees working from home, it can be seen that "concern about COVID-19" can moderate this positive relationship Working from home during the pandemic can reduce the likelihood of getting sick, increase the ability to spend time with family members, and reduce perceptions of loneliness and depression (Ellis et al., 2020), avoid exposure to ongoing conversations with colleagues about the pandemic (Judge et al., 2001) Therefore, it strengthens the impact of working from home and job satisfaction And the proposed hypothesis is as follows:

Figure 2 Research model 2.4 Overview of previous studies and contributions to the topic

Several domestic and foreign authors have conducted studies on the impact of WFH on employee performance, such as author Hoang Nhat Vuong (2021) with the research "The impact of working from home on job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Ho Chi Minh City"; Rayees Farooq and Almaas Sultana (2020) with the research "The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on work from home and employee productivity"; Louis Mathias and Dr Santosh Kumar (2020) with the research "Employee's perceived Benefits and Drawbacks from "Work From Home" during COVID-19"; Sekar Wulan Prasetyaningtyas et al (2021) with the research "The effect of Work From Home on employee productivity in banking industry" However, in Vietnam, studies on the impact of WFH on employee performance are quite limited Because this form of work has only become widely known in recent years due to the impact of the pandemic Therefore, in Vietnam, there are very few in-depth analytical studies on the effects of WFH on employees' job performance, especially in the field of information technology (IT) - a field that is not too unfamiliar with this model Besides, studies related to the topic of WFH have mainly focused on the effect of this form of work on employees' job performance While some studies have investigated the impact of other variables on the WFH model, it is still limited to the development of new variables in the pandemic This leaves more room for looking at how diverse variables during the pandemic such as work-family balance and

job satisfaction affect working from home and job performance This creates a gap in research and it needs to be looked at This research aims to evaluate the impact of WFH on employees' job performance through work-family balance and job satisfaction The research focuses on employees in the IT industry, specifically the employees of FPT Software in Da Nang

3 RESEARCH DESIGN 3.1 Research methodologies

Research is carried out using a quantitative method to explain the relationships between variables, quantify models or hypotheses, and test the validity of the hypothesis Data is collected through an online questionnaire sent to the respondents Then, the data is analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software with an expected sample size of 200 respondents Each statement item of the indicator is rated on a Likert scale, namely 1 for "totally disagree", 2 for "disagree", 3 for "neutral", 4 for "agree", and 5 for "totally agree"

Fear Boredom

(Toscano & Zappala, 2020)

Responsibility Task

(Bouckenooghe et al., 2013)

Full of Energy Joy Selection

(Paoline et al., 2015; Toscano & Zappala, 2020)

Balance Trust Response

(Haar et al., 2014)

Communication Internet Directly meeting

(Susilo, 2020)

Table 1 Variable measurement

9 3.2 Sampling

The research subjects are employees of FPT Software in Da Nang These employees may be in different job positions and ages working at the company, and they already have experience working from home Because of the large population, the data is collected by simple random sampling method The expected number of samples and the number of samples after collection are both 200 samples The research will be surveyed based on variables in the questionnaire including COVID-19 concerns, job performance, job satisfaction, work-family balance, and working from home The survey was conducted from October 26, 2021 to November 12, 2021

3.3 Data analysis

The research uses SPSS 23.0 software as a data analysis tool For data analysis techniques, the research applies descriptive statistics to summarize the dataset's characteristics, and Cronbach's Alpha to check the scale's reliability Besides, the exploratory factor analysis method is used in the research to evaluate the important values of the scale The research also uses correlation analysis to measure the degree of mutual influence or relationship between variables In addition, regression analysis, ANOVA, and process verification are also used in the research

3.4 Research scale development