The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Well-being in IT Companies

Sammanfattning

Background: Remote work has seen a significant increase in recent years, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IT sector was one of the most affected sectors, mainly because of its preexisting ability to operate virtually and thus, many people working in IT companies are still working remote, even after the pandemic has been eradicated. The existing literature on remote work and employee well-being is substantial, but research on the connection between them is inadequately reviewed and since remote work has gained terrain in recent years, and employee well-being is a subject of interest for every IT employee working in such arrangements, further research on this connection is required. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of remote work on employee well-being within the IT sector. The focus is on identifying both advantages and disadvantages of working remotely, while exploring how this type of work arrangements affects various aspects of employees’ lives. By examining this relationship, the study wishes to understand how remote work affects the overall well-being of employees in IT companies. Method: The thesis is qualitative in nature, and it follows an interpretivist paradigm. The primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews, and the data analysis was founded on thematic analysis. Conclusion: Remote work is found to affect employee well-being in the IT sector in complex and dual ways. Greater autonomy and flexibility usually improved motivation and satisfaction, although hazards such as work-life overlap and loneliness were consequential. The study reveals that emotional support, human interaction, and the organizational culture play major roles in forming remote work experiences. It was found that individual strategies for coping and the help provided by employers greatly influenced well-being in a positive way. In essence, the outcomes of this thesis show that remote work may foster employee well-being if it is planned with people’s needs as a central consideration.