Workplace change within the COVID-19 context: a grounded theory approach

Abstract

The purpose is to investigate the current status and future evolution of the workplace within the COVID-19 pandemic context. Documents, publications and surveys from numerous sources have been analyzed to find out more about the employees’ and organizations’ experience with remote working and the advantages and disadvantages of accessing the workplace during the pandemic. The analysis of the data made possible the identification of patterns within the available literature regarding what has happened and, especially, its influence on the workplace. The revolution initiated by COVID-19 has changed the way companies and employees work and will continue doing so, requiring a constant reinvention of how they operate and causing actions never seen before, generating deep changes in the workplace. Therefore, the idea of the workplace will never be what was expected before COVID-19, where reinvention of work, technology and safety are key points in its transformation process.