Working from Home during COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring the Perceptions of Consultants in Construction

Abstract

Given the construction industry’s culture of presenteeism and long work hours, construction workforce who used to working in the company workplace were affected by the sudden shift to working from home (WFH) setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Focusing on consultants in the Australian construction industry, this exploratory study examines: (i) individual perceptions of the impacts of WFH challenges on work activities and performance, and (ii) their self-reported work productivity, overall WFH satisfaction and future preference for WFH post-pandemic. The online survey results show that most respondents were new to the WFH arrangement. However, the evidence is suggestive that they were adapting well as demonstrated by their perceived positive impacts of most WFH challenges on their work activities and performance. The results also show that as the respondents’ self-reported work productivity increases, their overall satisfaction with WFH increases and they would welcome WFH arrangement post-pandemic, and vice versa. The female respondents demonstrated higher overall WFH satisfaction and preference for WFH post-pandemic compared to male respondents, signifying the relationship between gender and their perceptions. These findings have implications for employing organizations in addressing human resource management challenges to maximize the potential benefits of WFH practices post-pandemic.