Influence of Telecommuting on Work-life Balance and Employee Happiness: An Empirical Study of Sri Lankan Employees

Authors

  • K. I. Uresha University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Keywords:

Telecommuting, Work-life Balance, Employee Happiness, Sri Lankan Context

Abstract

- Telecommuting, work-life balance and employee happiness are three most compelling concepts in the present corporate world which aid to optimize employee performance and gain strategic competitive edge. Recognizing the significance of these factors to the real world of work, a systematic empirical endeavor made to address the existing research
niche and intellectual curiosity of the author by examining the relationship between telecommuting and work-life balance and telecommuting and employee happiness and the impact of telecommuting on work-life balance and employee happiness in Sri Lankan context. Hence, present study contributes to the literature in the areas of telecommuting, work-life balance and employee happiness. The study is an analytical study where the time horizon was cross sectional and unit of analysis is individual employees. Survey method was adopted using an author developed questionnaire consisting of three instruments to gather data and 110 employees were responded utilizing convenient sampling technique. Reliability and validity of the instruments were assured. Empirical findings of the study reveal that there is a significant positive relationship between telecommuting and work-life balance, there is a significant positive relationship between telecommuting and employee happiness as well as telecommuting has a significant positive impact jointly on work-life balance and employee happiness in Sri Lankan context

References

Ahmadi, M., Helms, MM & Ross, TJ 2000, “Technological developments: shaping the

telecommuting work environment of the future”, Facilities, Vol. 18, No. ½, pp. 83 – 89.

Andrew, SS 2011, “S.M.I.L.E.S.1: The Differentiating Quotient for Happiness at Work”,

www.Happiestminds.com.

Baert, S., Lippens, L., Moens, E., Sterkens, P & Weytjens, J 2020, “The COVID-19 Crisis and

Telework: A Research Survey on Experiences, Expectations and Hopes”, IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, Germany.

Carr, MR 2006, “Telecommuting: alternative strategies for the Jamaican libraries”, The Electronic Library, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 380-388.

Davies, R 1996, “Internet Conference on Telecommuting”, Career Development International, Vol.1, No.5, pp.29 – 37.

Dhas 2015, “A Report on The Importance of WorkLife Balance”, International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, Vol. 10, No. 9, pp. 21659-21665.

Hartman, RI., Stoner, CR & Arora, R, “An Investigation of Selected Variables Affecting

Telecommuting Productivity and Satisfaction”, Journal of Business and Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 2.

Herlin, PK 2010, “The Influence of Work-Life Balance Benefits on Family-Supportive Organizational Perception and Work Attitudes”, Master thesis, The University of Waikato.

Hill, EJ., Miller, BC & Weiner, SP & Colihan, J 1998, “Influences of The Virtual Office on Aspects of Work and Work/Life Balance”, Personnel Psychology, Vo.51.

Huta, V., Pelletier, L. G., Baxter, D., & Thompson, A 2012, “How eudaimonic and hedonic motives relate to the well-being of close others”, The Journal of Positive Psychology, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 399-404.

Kaczmarek, L. D 2017, Happiness, in Zeigler-Hill, Virgil, Shackelford, Todd K. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Netherlands: Springer Publishers.

Kanthisree, G & Devi, MS 2013, “Work Life Balance of Employees: A Study on Selected Public and Private Sector Undertakings”, Ph.D thesis, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.

Khairudin NKQM & Aziz, N 2019, “The correlation between telecommuting and work life balance in oil and gas industry”, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Available From: 10.1088/1742-6596/1529/2/022057 (6th August 2020).

Lakshmi, V., Nigam, R & Mishra, S 2017, “Telecommuting – A Key Driver to Work-Life

Balance and Productivity”, IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Vol.19, No.1, pp.20 – 23.

Martinez, P & Gomez, CB 2013. “Trading telecommuting flexibility for fewer training

opportunities?”, The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 235-259.

Miller, TM 2016, “How Telecommuters Balance Work and Their Personal Lives”, Ph.D thesis, Baker College Flint, Michigan.

Nelson, S.K. and Lyubomirsky, S 2015, Juggling family and career: parents’ pathways to a balanced and happy life, BURKE 9781783474097 PRINT (M3606) (G).indd 100.

Onyemaechi, U., Chinyere, UP & Emmanuel, U 2018, “Impact of Telecommuting on Employees’ Performance: A Focus on Telecommunication OutFits in Owerri, Imo State”, Journal of Economics and Management Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3.

Opatha, HHDNP & Perera, H 2017, “Determinants of Work-Family Balance: An Empirical Study of Accounting Professionals in Sri Lanka”, Sri Lankan Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.7, No.1.

Opatha, H. H. D. N. P 2019, Sustainable human resource management, Sri Lanka: Author.

Opatha, H.H.D.P.J. & Uresha, K.I 2020, “HRM and its Impact on Employee Happiness: An Empirical Study on Sri Lankan Employees”, Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 114-123.

Peters, P., Tijdens, K & Wetzels, C, “Factors in Employees’ Telecommuting Opportunities,

Preferences and Practices”, 6th International ITF workshop & business conference ‘Working in the new economy’ Amsterdam.

Pratt, JH 2000, Asking the right questions about telecommuting: Avoiding pitfalls in surveying homebased work, Academic Publishers, Netherlands.

Rahmi, F 2018, “Happiness at Workplace”,Proceeding of Conference of Mental Health,

Neuroscience, and Cyberpsychology, Available from: https://www.gci.or.id/proceedings/view_article/255/7/icometh-ncp-2018 (20th July 2020).

Rehman, MAU & Siddiqui DA 2020, “Relationship Between Flexible Working Arrangements and Job Satisfaction Mediated by Work-Life Balance: Evidence from Public Sector Universities’ Employees of Pakistan”, International Journal of Human Resource Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1.

Sekaran, U & Bougie, R 2010, Research methods for business: A skill building approach, John Wiley.

Siha, SM & Monroe, RW 2006, “Telecommuting’s past and future: a literature review and research agenda”, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 455 – 482.

Sullivan, C 2012, Remote Working and Work-Life Balance, In: Reilly N., Sirgy M., Gorman C. (eds) Work and Quality of Life. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life, Springer, Available from: DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-4059-4_15 (25th July 2020).

Uresha, KI & Opatha, H.H.D.P.J 2020, “Measuring Instruments for Human Resource Management and Employee Happiness”, Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 180-187.

Uresha, KI 2020, “Gender Differences on Organizational Commitment: Empirical Evidence

from Employees in Sri Lankan Apparel Industry”, Asian Journal Social Science Management

Technology, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 21-33.

Veenhoven, R. (2017), Measures of Happiness: Which To Choose?, in Gaël Brulé & Filomena Maggino (Eds.), Metrics of Well-being. Springer Publishing.

Walczak, RB 2014, “Psychological Predictors of Employee Happiness”, Available from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312586060_PSYCHOLOGICAL_PREDICTORS_OF_EMPLOYEE_HAPPINESS (6th August 2020).

Weisul, K 2011, “The real reason telecommuters are happier”, CBN News.com, Accessed from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-real-reasontelecommuters-are-happier/ (10th August 2020).

Wesarat, P., Sharif, MY & Majid, AHA 2015,“A Conceptual Framework of Happiness at the

Workplace”, Asian Social Science, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.78 – 88.

Downloads

Published

04-10-2020

How to Cite

Uresha , K. I. . (2020). Influence of Telecommuting on Work-life Balance and Employee Happiness: An Empirical Study of Sri Lankan Employees. International Journal of Management Excellence (ISSN: 2292-1648), 15(3), 2234–2243. Retrieved from https://techmindresearch.org/index.php/ijme/article/view/1169