An Analysis of the Consequential Characteristics of Telework, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, based on the Opinion surveys of Hungarian Employees

Abstract

The coronavirus epidemic that appeared at the beginning of 2020, was declared a “pandemic”, by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. The coronavirus pandemic had a significant impact, not only on people’s health, but also on jobs. The pandemic has intensified fear, frustration, stress and anxiety in the workplace and changed the way millions of employees do their jobs. The first wave of the coronavirus pandemic globally accelerated the introduction of telework at an unprecedented rate. Previously, in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, telework was the privilege of only a very narrow group of employees. Recently, however, this form of work has become available to many. This study evaluates the effects of teleworking introduced, due to the coronavirus pandemic, by surveying Hungarian employees. The survey took place in the Autumn of 2022, during which, we interviewed 235 employees. The examination of our hypotheses, provided the conclusion, that telework introduced due to the coronavirus, had a significant impact on the working and private lives of Hungarian employees. We will show that a significant relationship exists between the efficacy of telework and the management of working time. Our own investigation also confirms the International Literature, according to which, telework has a significant impact on the mental health of workers. The mental health of Hungarian workers is most strongly affected by anxiety, due to the coronavirus, working in social isolation and the conflict between work and private life.