Maintaining well-being when working remotely : Work habits of employees at a geographical IT office in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic, their perceived well-being and productivity

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has in many ways changed how we live our lives. As a means to decrease the risks, working at a distance is now common for most employees during the pandemic. A problem that has arisen is getting overall information on how employees well-being and productivity has been affected by the new forced work environment. The primary part of this study is to identify the current effects of remote work on employees at an engineering consultancy company, active in the field of consulting engineering, environmental technology and architecture in Sweden through a web-based survey and compare the results to previous studies on the subject of remote work. A secondary objective of this study was to develop a smartphone application with the goal of increasing the physical activity of employees currently working from home. A secondary part of this study was to identify a problem specific to remote work, and to come up with a technical solution to the problem through prototyping, development and testing. The survey's results revealed that Sweco management (where the survey was conducted) provided sufficient resources in order to preserve and enhance the general well-being of its workers who currently work from home, but they struggled to distinguish work and home life, as do many others in similar circumstances. Respondents also reported a higher workload and less physical exercise during the work day. Employees at the company reported higher levels of well-being and productivity than participants in other international studies. Although the company has taken precautions to improve the working conditions of its workers, further research into the subject is encouraged to see whether they stand out in their investment in their employees' well-being or whether they are simply following the pattern set by other businesses in the same sector.