Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic.
The paradigm shifts of conventional office spaces for virtual workspaces which practiced Work from Home (WFH) due to Covid-19, created a serious change in the lifestyles of employees, due to the overlap of 'work' and 'life' domains in one's life. Since software engineers hav...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277931 |
| _version_ | 1797956117069824000 |
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| author | Ranitha Weerarathna Nilmini Rathnayake Inuri Yasara Piyumi Jayasekara Dewni Ruwanpura Sachindra Nambugoda |
| author_facet | Ranitha Weerarathna Nilmini Rathnayake Inuri Yasara Piyumi Jayasekara Dewni Ruwanpura Sachindra Nambugoda |
| author_sort | Ranitha Weerarathna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paradigm shifts of conventional office spaces for virtual workspaces which practiced Work from Home (WFH) due to Covid-19, created a serious change in the lifestyles of employees, due to the overlap of 'work' and 'life' domains in one's life. Since software engineers have a possibility of permanently adapting into WFH, the objective of this study is to unveil factors which would have a significant impact on the work-life balance of software engineers in Sri Lanka, while WFH. Only a very limited researches have shed light on this context, thereby this study would contribute to fill the empirical gap. The study undertook a quantitative approach by collecting primary data through a questionnaire from 384 participants, based on simple random sampling, and analyzing collected data based on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), using Smart PLS 3.3.9 software. Study results revealed that 'supervisor's trust and support' and the 'individual workspace,' have a significant impact on work-life balance, while 'working conditions,' 'possibility to access the organization's networks' and 'number of children' have no such significant impact. Thereby the study infers that, sound support and trust extended by supervisors and a designated distraction-free workspace; as measures to demarcate the boundary of work and life. Distinctive findings of this study would primarily be fruitful for software engineers to dive into a balanced state of work and life not only during Covid-19 but in future too. Study findings will also contribute to software industry personnel and policymakers in Sri Lanka as well as other developing countries, to establish effective strategies in favor of software engineers who WFH. Further, considering IT industry's significant contribution towards Sri Lanka's economic growth amidst Covid-19, results of this study would be high-yielding to indirectly succor IT-services-supported economic growth amidst the pandemic-driven hardships in Sri Lanka. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:43:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-95815e9940574b46a551606d0de17e09 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T23:43:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-95815e9940574b46a551606d0de17e092023-01-11T05:32:30ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011712e027793110.1371/journal.pone.0277931Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic.Ranitha WeerarathnaNilmini RathnayakeInuri YasaraPiyumi JayasekaraDewni RuwanpuraSachindra NambugodaThe paradigm shifts of conventional office spaces for virtual workspaces which practiced Work from Home (WFH) due to Covid-19, created a serious change in the lifestyles of employees, due to the overlap of 'work' and 'life' domains in one's life. Since software engineers have a possibility of permanently adapting into WFH, the objective of this study is to unveil factors which would have a significant impact on the work-life balance of software engineers in Sri Lanka, while WFH. Only a very limited researches have shed light on this context, thereby this study would contribute to fill the empirical gap. The study undertook a quantitative approach by collecting primary data through a questionnaire from 384 participants, based on simple random sampling, and analyzing collected data based on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), using Smart PLS 3.3.9 software. Study results revealed that 'supervisor's trust and support' and the 'individual workspace,' have a significant impact on work-life balance, while 'working conditions,' 'possibility to access the organization's networks' and 'number of children' have no such significant impact. Thereby the study infers that, sound support and trust extended by supervisors and a designated distraction-free workspace; as measures to demarcate the boundary of work and life. Distinctive findings of this study would primarily be fruitful for software engineers to dive into a balanced state of work and life not only during Covid-19 but in future too. Study findings will also contribute to software industry personnel and policymakers in Sri Lanka as well as other developing countries, to establish effective strategies in favor of software engineers who WFH. Further, considering IT industry's significant contribution towards Sri Lanka's economic growth amidst Covid-19, results of this study would be high-yielding to indirectly succor IT-services-supported economic growth amidst the pandemic-driven hardships in Sri Lanka.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277931 |
| spellingShingle | Ranitha Weerarathna Nilmini Rathnayake Inuri Yasara Piyumi Jayasekara Dewni Ruwanpura Sachindra Nambugoda Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE |
| title | Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic. |
| title_full | Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic. |
| title_fullStr | Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic. |
| title_short | Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic. |
| title_sort | towards work life balance or away the impact of work from home factors on work life balance among software engineers during covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277931 |
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