(Remote Working Practices and the Factors Affecting Work Motivation During The Covid- 19 Pandemic Period)

Abstract

Purpose – In this study, it was tried to determine the changes experienced by white-collar employees working remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic period and how these changes affect their motivation to work Design/methodology/approach – In the research, the data obtained from 58 white-collar employees and managers working in sectors such as tourism, finance, industry, service, advertising, food and beverage, informatics, law and energy were coded with a semi-structured interview form and categories and themes were obtained with Nvivo 12 program. Findings – According to the findings, it has been determined that working remotely changes the work environment, creates the need for information technology infrastructure, the readiness of stakeholders to work remotely affects the work, the working time is stretched and prolonged, meetings are difficult to hold in homes with children, supervisors can act differently, the workload has increased and the workplace discipline is disrupted. The negative effects of remote work on motivation include the lack of a working environment at home, increased workload, dismissals, disruption of the work environment. Positive effects include saving money and time, being able to take care of home more, increasing work efficiency and creativity due to self-employment, providing comfortable, flexible working, and healthy environment. Discussion – In many of the motivational studies conducted before this period, how flexible work will affect the motivations of employees was based on the information on attitudes of employees who did not experience this process. However, for the first time, many employees had to experience such a compulsory process. Therefore, while some of the information obtained from the employees supported existing research, some of them led to different results.