This chapter investigates the impact of teleworking on the psychological health of employees in the new era of work shaped by the pandemic. Adopting a positivist approach in the post-pandemic world, this study aims to assess the employees' perception of their psychological health resulting from the drastic change in the work sphere in the small island economy of Mauritius. Teleworking has been observed as a core behaviour emerging from the global pandemic has become enduring and gradually institutionalised. Widespread continuation and advocacy of teleworking may fundamentally change job characteristics and outcomes. This research assesses the impact of teleworking on the psychological health of employees in the new era of work shaped by the pandemic. This chapter adopted a positivist approach and conducted a survey in the post-pandemic world to assess the employees' perception of their psychological health resulting from the drastic change in the work sphere in the small island economy of Mauritius.
TopIntroduction
The world has changed post-pandemic, and the popularity of remote work or teleworking is increasing worldwide (El Hajal, 2022). The COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, became a global pandemic (Tomasi, 2020). The propagation of the virus was so fast and intense that forced countries to re-think on their security and how to sustain the economy. Countries are facing unprecedented economic crisis and even contraction. The economic climate has also been compared to that of the Spanish Flu pandemic which was then the world’s largest recession and now the COVID-19 pandemic is being acknowledged to be the world’s largest recession since the second world war. The global outbreak of the virus led to countrywide lockdown, to ensure the safety of the population in various countries. Teleworking has experienced a positive rebound, facilitated by government initiatives and driven by the need for business continuity. Remote working became the contingency plans of both governments and the companies globally (Belzunegui-Eraso & Erro-Garcés, 2020).
Flexible work practices allude to the mutual agreements between employers and employees concerning the hours and location of work, aimed at meeting organisational requirements and enhancing employees’ Work-Life Balance (WLB) (Thompson, et al., 2015). Telework, also referred to as telecommuting, e-working, electronic working or remote working (Farrell, 2017); is a flexible work practice that involves working away from the office setting, at the employee’s preferable working location, usually home or satellite office (Allen et al., 2015). The evolution of teleworking has been associated with the fast progression of information and communication technology and changes in the economy (Hill et al., 2023). Today, with the rising capabilities of home computing technologies, bolstered by the pandemic, employees have been empowered to work beyond office boundaries (Hopkins, & Bardoel, 2023). Similarly, the transition to an information economy has boosted the quantum of jobs lending themselves to teleworking (Kizza, 2013; Betchoo, 2020).
Teleworking has been studied from broad disciplines: human resources management, industrial relations, management, psychology, sociology, family studies, information systems, operations and logistics (Beauregard et al., 2019). E-working provides multiple benefits to employees such as more control over working hours; improved productivity and creativity; lesser stress and distractions; closer to family members and home; improved WLB (Timsal & Awais, 2016). Using the social exchange, the psychological contract and the job characteristic theories, this study aims at analysing the impact of teleworking on employees’ psychological health of employees in Mauritius.