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1. Revolution – new normal of work
In the past, the term work meant activities involving physical effort for a particular purpose at a designated place ((Felstead et al., 2005), and places of work were classified as per the nature of the activities and many a time not portable. Over the years, work evolved to virtual mode (Watson‐Manheim et al., 2002), meaning employees need not go to the designated place of work; rather they can perform their professional jobs via internet connection from a remote location either from home, car, hotel or any other places different from the traditional central office (Johns and Gratton, 2013). Telework, also known as telecommuting, has become a model of virtual work calling for working away from the office and communicating by way of information technology (Golden, 2007). The concept of work from home (WFH) started in the early 1980s (Faulds and Raju, 2021), with heights of curiosity working from home made possible with technology and seen as a substitute to traffic in peak hours, captivity in small cubicles and flexible working hours.
The outbreak of the virus had brought in a drastic change in the world economy drastically affecting the work culture around the world. The current WFH trend due to the pandemic outbreak is not just a perk for special category employees but it is a force from business worldwide to adopt a WFH strategy to be taken forward for the next coming years. The company can save on infrastructure, electricity, water and air conditioners, telephones, internet, maintenance, security systems and even on salaries (De Graaff and Rietveld, 2007). WFH also provides significant benefits to society in terms of reduced air pollution, traffic jams and energy utilization (Swink, 2000). The findings of Baard and Thomas (2010) support the identified benefits of WFH including increased productivity, stronger organizational loyalty, increased morale and job satisfaction, additional flexibility with family time and a better work–life balance (WLB). But even so, according to research from the Society for Human Resource Management, 70% of employed Americans would prefer to work remotely on a full- or part-time basis if given the option, and 35% would accept a salary reduction in return for that flexibility. Nearly 60% of corporate leaders expressed they would...