Title: Imagining benefits and challenges for future hybrid workplace to enable reentry for women on career break

Authors: Sunaina Arora; Neeraj Kumari

Addresses: Faculty of Management Studies, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Aravali Hills, Sector-43, Faridabad-121001, Haryana, India ' Department of Applied Sciences, C-Block, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Aravali Hills, Sector-43, Faridabad-121001, Haryana, India

Abstract: COVID-19 has shifted everyone to remote work. The paper discusses how employees have overcome various challenges to make most of the benefits of remote work. The benefits of remote work are flexible work arrangements, ease of working, access to global opportunities and positive impact on diversity hiring. The challenges of remote work are access to technology, tackling virtual distance and managing productivity. Exploratory research was conducted with a sample size of 93. Data was analysed using SPSS. The sample comprised of professionals who were working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study verified the hypothesis using Spearman rank order correlation. The respondents are ready to overcome the challenges of remote work because of the benefits which remote work provides. Data verifies that hybrid workplace would enable to open doors for women on career break to reenter workforce.

Keywords: remote work; hybrid workplace; women on career break; work from home.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2022.122857

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2022 Vol.26 No.3, pp.231 - 248

Received: 13 Sep 2021
Accepted: 02 Jan 2022
Published online: 13 May 2022 *

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