The role of academics’ socio-demographic characteristics as moderating in WFH productivity: Empirical evidence

Abstract

The present study examines the faculty staff’s socio‐demographic factors (i.e., gender, academic ranking, and experience) as moderating variables on the relationship between the four interrelated factors (organizational, individual, technological, and client engagement) and their productivity (performance) during the Covid‐19 pandemic. A conceptual framework was developed by integrating several relevant studies in the field of Work from Home (WFH) productivity. To end this, we involved (n=388) academic staff working from home during the Covid-19 crisis to test the hypotheses in the higher education context. The findings showed that the academics’ WFH productivity was significantly associated with the four interrelated factors (organizational, individual, technological, and client-related factors) either collectively or individually, and the most important one was the individual-related factors. The moderation analysis reveals that the effect of the socio-demographic characteristics (gender, academic ranking, and experience) on WFH productivity was varied. Surprisingly, the study findings provided evidence for the first time that the client’s engagement (student) factor, which has not been studied before, was found as one of the main determinant factors of WFH productivity during the Covid-19 crisis.