1.

Introduction

Arch International is a well-established architectural firm in Sri Lanka that was founded in 1998.
They offer services in architectural designs, interior design, project management, landscape
design, specialized consultancy, 2D & 3D drafting, etc.
They have an impressive track record with numerous projects including, domestic and overseas
projects. They are specialised in the construction of hospitals, commercial buildings, hotels,
apartments and institutions.
Arch International has a well-established management structure with executives from various
industrial backgrounds to ensure a well-rounded organisational structure and work flow. The
company workforce includes Chartered Architects, Project Managers, Interior and Exterior
Designers, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors along with the management staff.
Arch decided to implement WFH practice to make sure the safety of the staff during the
pandemic situation. In this report, an effort has been taken to discuss challenges faced by the
company and their main task force of architects due to remote working conditions.
2.Challenges related to WFH scenario

2.1 Challenges faced by the organization

a) Organizations face several challenges in adapting a full-time work from home practice.
Below issues have been identified in the organization.
b) Challenges in implementing a virtual work platform.
c) Maintaining a smooth workflow uninterrupted by the consequences of acquiring new
technological approaches.
d) Keeping employees motivated and satisfied regardless of the troublesome economic
challenges due to pandemic situations.
e) Challenges in acquiring new business opportunities due to limitations in the WFH
situation.

This report review the above challenges from the employees' perspective. This approach will
help us understand the issues from both employee's and the organization's point of view.
2.2. Challenges faced by employees
2.2.1 Work-family conflict
One of the main consequences of the WFH concept is work and family conflict. Failing to
maintain an equilibrium between paid work and family life has resulted in unnecessary stress
among employees (Working at home - or “homing” at work?, 1998).
a. Inadequate work and family life balance
In the Asian context, it is revealed that female employees struggle in balancing their role at
their dwelling and the employment compared to male employees. When considering the choice
of working place at home, women tend to select a space in more congested environments
( kitchen, living room, bedroom) due to the cultural norms of gender-based household
responsibilities. Male employees tend to choose a workspace in segregated areas away from
the main living spaces of the residence( separated bedroom, storeroom or basement) (Working
at home - or “homing” at work?, 1998). 
Female employees experience constant distractions from their paid work by overwhelming
themselves with their duties to the family( preparing three meals, supervising kids, helping kids
with their online studies, carrying out household activities (Chong, Gordo and Gere, 2018). It’s
either employees work excessively, ignoring the family life or being more involved with the
family during work hours, leading to less productivity and increased workload and work
pressure from the employer.
b. Distractions from the surroundings due to sharing of workspace
 Some employees find it is harder to focus on work at home when they have to share the
workspace with other residents, a common issue with employees who live with people in need
( children, older parents). The sense of obligation they have to be available for others during
working hours results in the loss of productive work hours. As a result, many employees
embrace radically different work schedules earlier or later than usual work schedules. As a
result, employees exhaust themselves physically and mentally, increasing their work stress. In
some scenarios, employees find they experience distractions from work due to having the
luxury of deciding where and when to work, encouraging them to embrace unusual working
patterns (Working at home - or “homing” at work?, 1998). Choosing the ideal space for work
depends on the employee expectations. Employees can select a workspace isolated from family
interventions if they are not expecting to engage with other family members during work
hours. 
An integrated workplace is an ideal solution for employees who expect to interact with other
residents when required. Designing a workspace with at least a partial seclusion from the rest
of the house (having a door between workspace and other living areas) allowing peripheral
interaction with others is encouraged to minimize the hindrances to work (Working at home -
or “homing” at work?, 1998).
2.2.2 Work-related issues
2.2.2.1 Professional and social isolation
Employees working from home may feel disconnected from colleagues and the organization.
This can act as a work stressor in the long run affecting one’s mental and physical health and
professional growth (Kurkland and Bailey, 1999; see also Migrator, 2000).
a. Lack of employee engagement and collaboration in the designing process.
The architectural designing process being a constant collaborative and engaging task has
majorly affected by the lack of physical engagement of the employees. Development of a
successful design will be a combined effort of the workforce through regular employee
interactions, exchange of opinions and contribution of ideas. One of the main issues stated by
the employees was the lack of unintentional or spontaneous conversations that helps in
improving the final output. Employees often complain that virtual meetings with premeditated
objectives do not contribute to the designing process in the same manner (Archinect, n.d.).
b. Lack of opportunities in mentoring, guiding and training the less experienced
employees.
Remote working has interrupted the company practices such as mentoring and guiding younger
staff through constant training, case-specific knowledge sharing meetings, impromptu
educational sessions. The younger employees raise their concerns about not having adequate
apprenticeship opportunities helping them to improve.
 Lack of one to one interaction with the seniors has resulted in younger staff depending on their
self-guidance and motivation. The absence of immediate senior interventions in the designing
process requiring further improvements was identified as a challenge that delays the final
outputs due to decreased employee self-confidence. Senior employees of the company find it
harder to correct and guide their subordinates while being in remote working conditions. This
issue has resulted in senior employees taking over the workload of junior employees.
Overloaded work schedule has resulted in increasing their work stress (Archinect, n.d.).
c. Lack of communication and coordination with the other engineering disciplines and
the site staff
The architect's job role includes coordination with the other engineering consultants of the
customer (civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing). Remote working conditions
have made it problematic to communicate the issues with the other engineering disciplines that
would have been more effective if handled in one to one meetings.
The site staff who doesn't have access to virtual communication methods has problems in
coordination with the architects. As a result, mishaps might occur in the construction process
and expensive corrective measures afterwards.
d. Undefined work hours
Potential burnout of employees due to blurred work schedules is another main consequence of
the WFH scenario. Employees working late hours due to lack of separation between the work
hours and the personal life experience higher work stress that affects the work and family life
balance.
2.2.2.2 Technology related issues
a. Challenges in acquiring new technological trends
The pandemic WFH scenario has encouraged the company to embrace virtual meeting
platforms to keep its business processes uninterrupted. 
Although this has helped them continue their work, complete dependency on remote meeting
platforms has its own perks (Archinect, n.d.).
Since this was not a common practice before the pandemic, many issues arise in embracing this
new mode of communication. Senior members without experience in technology related to
video conferencing are constantly struggling to get used to this trend. Interruption to the
meetings due to incompatible internet bandwidth was recognized as the most often experienced
problem by the employees (Archinect, n.d.).
Another problem mentioned was the difficulty in sharing the individual computer screen
during a meeting to explain a specific matter. The design software such as ArchiCAD or
AutoCAD is hard to share on an online platform. Technical glitches causing members to
disconnect from the conference disturbs the discussion and decision-making process. Lack of
satisfying video resolution is the main challenge during meetings entirely based on graphical
content such as drawings (Archinect, n.d.).
Increased time consumption to resolve a simple task was another concern raised by the
employees. Resolving a simple issue requiring a quick discussion between colleagues in the
office would take hours in the present WFH scenario. Organizing meetings, inviting the
members through emails would cause the delay of the decision-making process. Some
employees mentioned this might exaggerate the situation that is otherwise if could
communicate in person.
Another major problem related to technology is the overloaded servers where employees face
difficulties in accessing the higher resolution documents. This issue has resulted in a delay in
the completion of projects (Archinect, n.d.).
Senior architects who prefer communicating through living architectural documents such as
hard copies of drawing sets find it hard to instruct through the markups and soft copies
drawings (Archinect, n.d.).
Some employees struggle with inadequate resources when converting their home to a home
office. The conversion of a cosy living room to a home office requires a change in furniture
layout, installation of IT facilities, Internet connection with supportive bandwidth. Lack of
support from the company for this transition makes their lives harder trying to keep up with the
previous work output.
3. Theoretical approach in analysing the situation

3.1 Job demand theory (JD-R)

The theory states that two types of work conditions influence employee performance and
behaviour. JDR can be used in analysing a WFH situation in identifying how employees alter
their attitudes towards work depending on job demands, job resources and personal resources.
Application of the JD - R in a WFH situation help in identifying several job demands resulting in
the potential burnout of the employees (Lack of work and family life balance (work-family
conflict), social and professional isolation due to lack of conventional form of work
environment, employee challenges in acquiring new technological trends, increased workload
due to undefined working schedule and Inefficient work output due to distractions from
surrounding). Job demands have a negative impact on employee stress (Galanti et al., 2021).
Work conditions having a positive impact on employee engagement and productivity are
categorized under job resources. Some of the job resources related to the WFH situation are as
follows (Galanti et al., 2021).
a. Flexibility in choosing a work schedule and a place of work - Self-evaluation of one's work
environment and work conditions by avoiding external hindrances helps in improving
employee performance and productivity
b. Social conveniences - Increased interactions with family and partners
c. Less requirement for conventional holidays - Factors such as close engagement with family,
availability of free time to engage in personal tasks encourage people to obtain fewer
holidays.
d. Financial benefits - Many employees find it financially convenient due to the reduced cost of
attending work at the office.
e. Improved safety and health of employees - The risk of employees being exposed to the
pandemic is minimized under the WFH scenario.
Apart from the above, personal resources such as job autonomy and self-leadership encourage
employees to take control of their personal growth. The employees can set their targets and
evaluate themselves. One can decide their path/ method of working without being influenced by
external factors. Job and personal resources reduce the impact of job demands on employee
performance and productivity by increasing employee motivational levels (Galanti et al., 2021).
3.2 Technology acceptance model (TAM)
This theory posits that the end-user decision of accepting a new technology depends on two
factors (importance or usefulness of the technology to their carrier and easiness in adopting the
technology) (Pérez Pérez et al., 2004).
TAM is helpful for the managers to evaluate the compatibility of the WFH concept with the
employee expectations, work culture, work environment and company policies. Employees will
be hesitant to adapt to the WFH situation if they find a lack of positive impact on the employee
job performance and work output.
Circumstances, where the cost of developing the WFH concept exceeds the combined benefits,
will discourage managers to accept it as a long term company practice (Pérez Pérez et al., 2004).
Employees will agree with the WFH approach due to benefits such as freedom of selecting a
convenient workspace and time, self-leadership and job autonomy, increased engagement with
family and people of interest, ensured safety and protection from the current pandemic situation,
reduced cost of attending work and ability to continue the business.
Implementation of the remote working platform will be a challenging task for the company.
Introduction of the new technology and getting employees comfortable with the system should
be a thoughtful and well-organized process. Training sessions organized by the company, virtual
assistance in handling technical glitches will help employees accept the new technology required
in the WFH concept.
Providing required facilities such as IT hardware, software and internet connection with
supportive bandwidth will help employees transitioning from the office to the home office.
Employees can be given an allowance to create a comfortable working space at home. All these
assistive measures will help employees feel comfortable and easy getting adopted to the WFH
concept.
4.Practical solutions and approaches to overcome the challenges

4.1 Mitigation of work-family conflict.

a. Managing the household commitments among all resident teleworkers 
Constant work interruptions can avoid by distributing family responsibilities among all residents.
Taking turns in fulfilling household chores will help to manage the balance between work and
family. The practice of a gender-neutral approach in fulfilling daily household tasks will avoid
one person getting overburdened with piled-up office work. Pre-arranged schedule developed by
mutual understanding between spouses to fulfil family obligations (taking care of children,
looking after older parents, carrying out daily chores will create a stress-free environment for
work(Working at home - or “homing” at work?, 1998).
b. Separation and regionalization of workspace at home
Specifying a time and a location for work when sharing the same space with other residents will
help to prevent the obstructions and distractions caused by the surroundings. Preplanned
arrangement of time and space in times of sharing the same workspace by several residents
( Both parents working from home, siblings working from home) can minimize one losing his
productive hours entirely on their dependents. Keeping other dwellers aware of the working
hours and personal space required for work is crucial in the regionalization of workspace, time at
home. Maintaining a home environment with respect and understanding of the importance of
social seclusion during working hours will help to create a peaceful working environment
(Working at home - or “homing” at work?, 1998).
4.2 Resolution of work-related issues
Professional and social isolation of employees can be prevented by providing them with more
formal and informal virtual gatherings. An effort by the company in making employees feel
more connected and involved by giving them frequent updates on the company's progress,
providing employees with information about their job security and appreciating them for their
hard work during these difficult times will keep employees motivated (Migrator, 2000).
Embracing roaster work routine at the office will help employees mitigate major issues related to
communication and physical collaboration and engagement. Employees who are working in
similar projects can be grouped together and instructed to work from office for particular week
days. Maintaining a work bubble so one group will not be contaminated by the other will also
ensure the safety of employees.
Work issues related to communication difficulties and lack of physical collaboration and
engagement can be sorted by introducing a roaster work routine at the office (Archinect, n.d.).
Employees working on similar projects can be grouped and instructed to work from the office
according to a schedule. Maintaining a work bubble so one group will not be contaminated by
the other will also ensure the safety of employees.
This bubble can include employees from other engineering disciplines and the site staff related to
similar projects as architects who don't have access to virtual meeting platforms. Physical
meetings within the work bubble under safety precautions will help in resolving issues more
efficiently.
In this manner, younger staff members will get the opportunity to work under senior supervision
while improving their knowledge. Senior architects having difficulties acquiring new
technological trends will find it easy to carry out tasks as per their preference.
Apart from that company should allocate a portion of their budget in helping employees
acquiring required facilities to their home office environment. The company can help the
employees' transition from office to "home office" by providing an allowance to purchase
necessary furniture and IT solutions.
All the employees should be given an internet connection with adequate bandwidth at the cost of
the employer to mitigate technical glitches caused during virtual meetings and accessing the
company servers.
Company management should make sure to respect employees' time allocated to personal life.
Employees should only be encouraged to work during a well-defined work schedule.
Under the WFH scenario, the company can avoid paying allowances for travel and fuel. The
saved cost of allowances can be allocated to arranging transportation services for the employees
who have to work from the office under the work bubble.
The company should take necessary measures to keep employees motivated to carry out their
tasks uninterrupted. Employees should be provided with the required facilities in creating
comfortable home office and office working conditions during these difficult times. This effort
from the company will result in satisfactory employee output that will directly reflect on the
company profit. The company will thrive having a minimized impact of the pandemic on the
business with the help of a motivated task force.
5.Conclusion

Covid 19 pandemic has encouraged many organizations to practise the WFH concept to maintain
their business processes uninterrupted. Although it was commonly practised in other countries
before, the Sri Lankan business sector rushed to embrace this new work culture to mitigate the
negative economic impact caused by the Covid 19 pandemic.
The undesigned transition from office to home office and inadequate experience in the field of
teleworking have made companies struggle in adapting to the new work culture.
The introduction of the new concept of teleworking and evaluation of the employee attitudes
towards the new work culture should be a prioritized HR strategy to establish this as a long term
practice.
WFH has its advantages and disadvantages in an environment full of business limitations. An
organizations perspective of adopting a WFH concept can be beneficial when considering its
impact on financial recovery yet can be a long term problem affecting employee job satisfaction.
Employees were initially excited by the opportunity given to them to stay close to their families
during a difficult time like this but later discovered that remote working has some negative
influences on their employee performance and career growth.
Employees are continuously struggling with managing distractions caused by the unconventional
work environment. Inadequate resources provided by the company in the transitioning period has
caused employee frustration in acquiring this new concept.
Professional isolation, difficulties in handling new technology, interruption of business routines
and work practises due to limitations induced by the WFH concept, decreased opportunities in
self and career growth, less productivity and employee engagement are some of the work-related
issues faced by employees.
Theories such as Job demand theory (JD-R) and the Technology acceptance model (TAM) can
be applied in identifying factors influencing employee attitude towards the WFH concept.
The organization's assistance in the implementation and transitioning period and employee's
effort on marginalization and segregation of work-life from the family will help in establishing
this concept in the long run.
It can be concluded a mutual effort should be taken by the employees and the organization to
mitigate the negative impact of the WFH concept on their social and professional life.