Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36612370›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022

Work-From-Home in the New Normal: A Phenomenological Inquiry into Employees' Mental Health.

Mumtaz Ali Memon, Saba Shaikh, Muhammad Zeeshan Mirza, Asfia Obaid, Nuttawuth Muenjohn, Hiram Ting

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Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Mumtaz Ali MemonNUST Business School, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0003-4623-9693
Saba ShaikhDepartment of Management Sciences, National University of Modern Languages Hyderabad Campus, Hyderabad 71000, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-8879-2334
Muhammad Zeeshan MirzaNUST Business School, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.ORCID 0000-0002-7582-9513
Asfia ObaidNUST Business School, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
Nuttawuth MuenjohnSchool of Management, College of Business and Law, RMIT University, Melbourne 3000, Australia.
Hiram TingDepartment of Tourism and Commerce, UCSI University, Kuching 93000, Malaysia.ORCID 0000-0002-1389-976X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced employees to adapt and adjust to the new normal in an unprecedented way. While some employees have been able to move to work-from-home (WFH) relatively easily, many find it challenging. Notwithstanding the magnitude of change, little is known about the determinants of WFH employees' mental health during COVID-19. This study therefore aims to explore (1) the salient factors that contribute to the mental health issues of WFH employees and (2) strategies to overcome WFH challenges. A qualitative approach using phenomenological inquiry was adopted. Forty-one employees who worked from home in Pakistan were sampled using the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Overall, employees believe that organizations offer inadequate support in both work-related and non-work-related matters. Five themes were elicited and coded as factors that contribute to mental health issues among WFH employees. Technical issues and system complexities, the absence of flexible working arrangements, distractions, a lack of communication, and inadequate social support were found to obstruct WFH and cause mental distress. Behavioral and cognitive coping strategies were also determined to tackle these mental issues. This study complements the human resource literature by exploring the factors that obstruct WFH and cause mental health issues in the context of the pandemic crisis. As mental well-being is more intricate than administrative arrangements, the study is useful for organizations to develop a feasible mechanism that facilitates the smooth execution of WFH for employees while ensuring their mental health is preserved. Using a phenomenological inquiry, the present study is one of the few to explore the factors that contribute to the mental health of WFH employees in the context of the pandemic crisis. Apart from its contribution to knowledge on human resource management and organizational behavior, it provides useful implications for managers, policymakers, and practitioners to manage WFH employees more effectively.

Indexed as

COVID-19Mental HealthAdaptation, PsychologicalHumansPandemicsPsychological Well-BeingCOVID-19mental healthqualitativesystem complexitieswork from home

Identifiers

PMID36612370
PMCPMC9819185

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.