Remote Work and COVID-19 1

RESEARCH DESIGN PROPOSAL

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Research Design Proposal

Chapter 1: Introduction

The novel coronavirus pandemic has challenged society in numerous and

unimaginable ways never witnessed before. Following its rapid spread across the globe,

governments have responded in numerous ways that have considerably disrupted both work

and personal life. Social distancing and travel restrictions, in particular, have disrupted work,

forcing employees and employers to seek alternative work arrangements. One of the most

disruptive solutions employed has been the shift to remote work. While remote work existed

through teleconferencing, the covid situation provides a unique insight into the concept. It

illustrates how well the work from home strategy can reshape future policies and the current

structure of working hours, and possibly offering more flexibility (Vyas and Butakhieo,

2020). While most firms have adopted government regulations of work-from-home, until

recently, the impact of remote work on job performance remains debatable (Allen et al.,

2015). The proposed study seeks to fill in this research gap. Consequently, the study aims to

assess the impact of remote working on job satisfaction during the Covi-19 pandemic.

Over the years, there has been a common conception of the need for workers to be

physically present at the workplace to perform to effectively perform their duties. However,

the COVID-19 pandemic has forced employers to adopt remote work. Although most

employees are engaged in remote work for the first time, the concept has proven to be

successful. Previous researchers on remote work failed to agree on whether work from home

improved productivity. While others argued that remote working increased productivity,

others argued on the contrary (Thorstensson, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic makes remote

work an interesting academic and practical topic as it is imperative to understand whether

previous arguments on the subject still have merit subject to existing and developing
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conditions. The research offers a unique opportunity to assess the possibility of developing

future remote work policy frameworks and working models across the globe.

In this regard, the proposed study will assess the effects of working from home on job

performance and investigate how it impacts employee productivity mediating variables like

job satisfaction, motivation, and environment. In Indonesia, a study by Susilo (2020) revealed

that most businesses were reluctant to adopt work from home, following the numerous

disadvantages highlighted in the discourse about the effectiveness of the program.

Subsequently, the government urged researchers to also highlight the effectiveness of the

work model to enhance implementation. The proposed study will contribute significantly to

the awareness of business practitioners, including governments who need to assess their

policy frameworks and countermeasures implemented during the pandemic. The paper will

form crucial theoretical and fundamental input for corporations and governments when

deciding whether to promote remote work policies or identify other alternatives.

Research Question and Objectives

The main question the paper aims to investigate is “Does remote work or work from

home strategies have adverse or positive impacts on employees’ productivity?” the following

objectives will guide the researcher in developing and conducting a comprehensive study:

1. To identify the factors that influence productivity of employees working remotely;

2. To assess whether these factors adversely or positively affect productivity;

3. To review if the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated or has had no effect on these

factors.

Chapter 2: Research Methodology

Introduction

The methodology section highlights the approach the researcher will use to conduct

the study. Research methodology is described by Mackey and Gass (2015) as means for
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evaluating, combining, and collecting data during the investigation process. It also sets the

design and extensive conceptual framework for the topic of investigation. Therefore, the

following section outlines the research strategy, philosophy, design, and methods that the

researcher will utilise to achieve the objectives of the study.

Research Philosophy

The study employs an ontological research philosophy. The philosophy deals with

questions regarding the nature of social entities. Ontology’s central aspect regards whether

social units should or can be treated as objective entities whose realities exist external to

social actors, or whether they should and can be regarded as social constructions derived

from the actions and opinions of social actors (Sahay, 2016). The study will employ the

constructivism position of ontological research philosophy since it is based on generating an

understanding of the factors that influence job performance. Constructivism is an ontological

position that posits that social actors continually influence social phenomena, including their

meanings. Further, it implies that not only do social interaction generate social phenomena

and their various categories, but these social phenomena constantly change (Bryman and

Bell, 2018). Consequently, the researcher will rely on the personal views of study participants

to develop an understanding of the research question.

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Figure 1: Saunder’s research onion (Sahay, 2016)

Research Strategy

The study will be of both quantitative and qualitative nature. Qualitative studies

explore experiences, concepts, or thoughts, which is consistent with the constructivism

research philosophy. Brannen (2017) describes qualitative research as a systematic collection

and analysis of non-numerical data to understand experience, opinions, or concepts. The

strategy is crucial in obtaining deep and rich insights into a particular phenomenon or

generates new ideas for future investigations.

This study is two-pronged employing both quantitative and qualitative data collection

methods. Therefore, the ontological and epistemological stances are both objective and

subjective. In this descriptive study, a deductive and mixed-method approach facilitates the

triangulation of data to ensure rigour and validity.

There are several approaches to qualitative research, including case studies,

qualitative interviews and questionnaires, and surveys among other strategies. The preferred
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instruments for the proposed study will be interviews and questionnaires. An interview is a

discussion with one or various individuals. Together with questionnaires, the interviews

allow the researcher to gather the perspectives of study participants on several subjects. This

information is then recorded and analysed. In this particular study, the researcher aims to

obtain information from managers and employees regarding their views on the impact of

remote working on performance and productivity. Interviewees will be subjected to a

discussion on the various factors affecting various aspects of productivity including work

environment, motivation, and flexibility among other variables.

Research Design

Quinlan et al. (2019) mention the presence of several research types, including

descriptive, experimental, correlational, cross-sectional studies, observational, and many

more. This research adopts the descriptive design that helps in the collection of qualitative

data. This descriptive approach is extremely detailed and covers all research areas like how,

who, why, and when. The descriptive design also offers rich and accurate data to the

researcher for drawing suitable conclusions and recommendations.

Data Collection Methods

The two commonly used data collection methods in researcher are primary and

secondary data (Aida, 2019). The proposed study is both qualitative and quantitative hence

both primary and secondary data will be needed to inform the conclusions.

Secondary data

Secondary data is available data from previous literature. Secondary data is a critical

starting point in all forms of research as it enables the researcher to identify gaps in the

literature as well as identify theoretical frameworks applied in similar studies. In this regard,

the secondary data saves both the costs and the time of the researcher. This research will

utilise literature that is based on the secondary resources obtained from several sources
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including books, articles, and journals, etc., for understanding the core concepts mentioned in

the research discussions.

Primary data

The study will rely on the opinions of employees and managers during the pandemic

to understand how remote work has affected productivity. Primary data is essential in this

case as it forms the most accurate, original, and specific response to the research question and

objectives. However, primary data has several limitations that might distort the quality of the

study. Limitations relating to sampling and sample size will be addressed by using scientific

data collection instruments. Further, the preferred primary data collection method for the

proposed study are interviews.

Data collection instruments: interviews

The selected sample for the interview will be extremely precise and thus, purposive

sampling will be used. The researcher knows approximately ten large-scale companies

through existing relationships with senior board members. Each of these companies will

provide the researcher with has an access to over 200 employees experiencing significant

organisational change due to the pandemic, with most of these workers operating remotely.

The researcher will contact the CEO or MD of these firms and seek permission to conduct the

study. Consequently, the researcher will seek the assistance of the Human Resource

department to identify participants for the study and to evaluate their productivity before and

during the implementation of remote work strategies.

The institutions that will grant the researcher permission will be considered for the

study subject to ensuring that the firms rolled out work from home policy in response to the

pandemic or had recently implemented a similar policy to allow its workers to operate

remotely. Also, sample selection will be subject to the condition that no issues exist that will

deny the researcher access by either visiting the organisation or having remote access to
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participants via video conferencing. The researcher will ask the HR department to forward

information to the potential employees that are participating in work from home strategy and

ask interested parties to take part to respond directly to the researcher using the researcher’s

contact details.

The information relayed to potential participants will include confirmation that the

study is confidential and respects anonymity. The employees have the freedom to refuse to

partake in the study and the right to stop participation up to the point whereby the interviews

will be transcribed since they will be anonymised after that. Additionally, the participants

will be made aware of the fact that the information obtained is for academic purposes and that

it forms a crucial part of the researcher’s degree qualification. No participants will be

involved that are known to the researcher.

The researcher will then identify 15 interested participants who meet the inclusion

criteria. After selecting the 15 participants, the researcher will ask them to provide proof of

consent via an emailed consent form. The participants will have 14 days to respond to the

email and provide consent, after which the researcher will assume that no non-responsive

participants are not interested in partaking in the study. The participants will also be free to

seek clarity on any issue about the study within this duration.

For the research, a semi-structured interview will be held in which the interviewer

will ask open-ended interview questions. Majid et al. (2017), state that there are three ways to

conduct interviews, i.e., by phone, face-to-face, or online. The researcher will utilise the most

appropriate method based on the availability and convenience of each participant. The

researcher will conduct a pilot study to determine the reliability of the research instruments

and to identify appropriate interview questions. Accordingly, for the final study, the

researcher will use pre-prepared interview questions, only seeking clarity by asking

additional questions. This approach will not only save time but will also ensure that the
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conversation remains focused on the main issues. The researcher will then conduct the

interviews (semi-structured) and record the data by a recording device which will then be

transcribed.

Chapter 3: Data Analysis

After transcribing the interviews, the researcher will read them severally and perform

the line-by-line coding process. The researcher will employ a thematic analysis to group the

codes into major themes. Braun et al. (2015) characterise thematic investigation as the

strategy used to distinguish, sort out, and offer experiences in the subject examples. It is an

adaptable and available method that is utilised for subjective information examination.

Consequently, the semi-organised interviews will be divided into different topics to be

analysed. The MAXQDA programming tool will be used to organise an interrelated coding

system. Arising themes will be clarified exhaustively and the participants’ quotes directly

corroborate the themes. It is conceived that these themes will empower the researcher to

address the research questions and fulfil the research objectives appropriately.

Chapter 4: Ethics, Values, Referencing and Presentation

The researcher will adhere to ethical guidelines of a comprehensive and authoritative

investigation. Dooly et al. (2017) define ethical consideration as the rules that must be

followed by a researcher while conducting the research. Firstly, the researcher will seek

ethical approval from the relevant authorities as well as seek consent from the clients.

Research instruments will be tested for reliability as well. The researcher will respect the

participants’ right to privacy and anonymity. On the same note, the interview data will be

secured and only availed to parties approved in the participant's consent form. The researcher

will take every possible measure to maintain objectivity, including referencing information

obtained from secondary sources.

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2021 2022

July

January

March

May
June

August

October

November

December

February

April
Research
Activity/Project
Timeline

Literature review
Create Interview
Contact
Participants
Conduct Pre-test
Collect primary
data
Analyse primary
data
Finalise results
Draft
Submission
Meet supervisor
Final submission
Table 1: Research Project Grant Chart

References
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Aida, H., 2019. Collaborative development of medical devices: qualitative study of

communication between physicians and engineers (Doctoral dissertation, University

of British Columbia).

Brannen, J., 2017. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches: an overview. Mixing

methods: Qualitative and quantitative research, 34.

Grant, C.A., Wallace, L.M., Spurgeon, P.C., Tramontano, C. and Charalampous, M., 2019.

Construction and initial validation of the E-Work Life Scale to measure remote e-

working. Employee Relations, 42.

Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: methodology and design. UK:

Routledge.

Majid, M.A.A., Othman, M., Mohamad, S.F., Lim, S.A.H. and Yusof, A., 2017. Piloting for

interviews in qualitative research: operationalisation and lessons learnt. International

Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(4), pp. 1073-1080.

Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2019. Business research methods. UK: South

Western Cengage.

Sahay, A., 2016. Peeling Saunder's research onion. Research Gate, Art, pp.1-5.

Susilo, D., 2020. Revealing the effect of work-from-home on job performance during the

COVID-19 crisis: empirical evidence from Indonesia. Journal of Contemporary

Issues in Business and Government, 26(1), pp. 23-40.

Thorstensson, E., 2020. The influence of working from home on employees' productivity:

Comparative document analysis between the years 2000 and 2019-2020. UK: Taylor

and Francis.

Vyas, L. and Butakhieo, N., 2020. The impact of working from home during COVID-19 on

work and life domains: an exploratory study on Hong Kong. UK: Taylor and Francis.