Purpose

Positive experiences with working from home (WFH) during the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) have motivated many employees to continue WFH after the pandemic. However, factors influencing employees' WFH intentions against the backdrop of experiences during pandemic-induced enforced working from home (EWFH) are heterogeneous. This study investigates factors linked to information technology (IT) professionals' WFH intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

This mixed-methods study with 92 IT professionals examines the effects of seven predictors for IT professionals' WFH intentions. The predictors are categorized according to the trichotomy of (1) characteristics of the worker, (2) characteristics of the workspace and (3) the work context. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the quantitative survey data. In addition, IT professionals' responses to six open questions in which they reflect on past experiences and envision future work are examined.

Findings

Quantitative results suggest that characteristics of the worker, such as segmentation preference, are influencing WFH intentions stronger than characteristics of the workspace or the work context. Furthermore, perceived productivity during EWFH and gender significantly predict WFH intentions. Contextualizing these quantitative insights, the qualitative data provides a rich yet heterogeneous list of factors why IT professionals prefer (not) to work from home.

Practical implications

Reasons influencing WFH intentions vary due to individual preferences and constraints. Therefore, a differentiated organizational approach is recommended for designing future work arrangements. In addition, the findings suggest that team contracts to formalize working patterns, e.g. to agree on the needed number of physical meetings, can be helpful levers to reduce the complexity of future work that is most likely a mix of WFH and office arrangements.

Originality/value

This study extends literature reflecting on COVID-19-induced changes, specifically the emerging debate about why employees want to continue WFH. It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to understand which factors influence IT professionals' WFH intentions and how they impact the design and implementation of future hybrid work arrangements.

中文翻译：

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在家工作的未来：与 IT 专业人员进行混合方法研究，从强制在家工作中学习

目的

新冠疫情 (COVID-19) 期间在家工作 (WFH) 的积极经历促使许多员工在疫情结束后继续在家工作。然而，在大流行引发的强制在家工作（EWFH）期间的经历背景下，影响员工在家办公意愿的因素是多种多样的。本研究调查了与信息技术 (IT) 专业人员在家办公意图相关的因素。

设计/方法论/途径

这项针对 92 名 IT 专业人员的混合方法研究考察了七个预测因素对 IT 专业人员在家办公意图的影响。预测变量根据 (1) 员工特征、(2) 工作空间特征和 (3) 工作环境三分法进行分类。结构方程模型用于分析定量调查数据。此外，IT 专业人员对六个开放性问题的回答也受到了审查，在这些问题中，他们反思了过去的经验并展望了未来的工作。

发现

定量结果表明，员工的特征（例如细分偏好）对在家办公意图的影响比工作空间或工作环境的特征更强。此外，在家办公期间感知的生产力和性别可以显着预测在家办公的意图。将这些定量见解置于背景中，定性数据提供了丰富但异构的因素列表，列出了 IT 专业人员喜欢（不）在家工作的原因。

实际影响

影响在家办公意愿的原因因个人偏好和限制而异。因此，建议采用差异化的组织方法来设计未来的工作安排。此外，研究结果表明，团队签订合同来正式确定工作模式，例如就所需的实体会议次数达成一致，可以成为降低未来工作复杂性的有效手段，而未来工作很可能是在家办公和办公室安排的混合体。

原创性/价值

这项研究扩展了反映 COVID-19 引起的变化的文献，特别是关于员工为何想要继续在家办公的新争论。对于研究人员和从业者来说，了解哪些因素影响 IT 专业人员在家办公的意图以及它们如何影响未来混合工作安排的设计和实施至关重要。