This studys purpose is to understand how technology-start-up employees in the start-up hubs London and Berlin perceive the impacts of homeworking and what strategies they apply to navigate emerged challenges associated with losing co-location with colleagues.
A social identity perspective is adopted to explore how employees perceive the dynamic homeworking experience, highlighting the interrelation between effects on individual and collective instances. A total of 18 qualitative interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. The results show that the experience of harmonising work and private life under one roof can be a critical balancing act and impacts the usual experience of working in a start-up, characterised by close social interactions and organisational identification. Consequently, impacts on social processes essential for the survival of start-ups were found to follow the loss of co-location.
The sudden shift to homeworking by companies worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sparks intense research in organisational psychology on employee consequences. While literature focuses on firms with sufficient resources to initiate navigational strategies, firms with limited resources are often neglected. Combined with the likelihood that pre-existing homeworking trends will accelerate, it is valuable to examine the perceptions of employees in technology-start-ups which have limited resources to succeed, and whose success is driven by members’ expertise through close and frequent interactions.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1 Working from Home in the Context of a Global Pandemic
2.1.1 Work-Life Balance or Work-Life Conflict?
2.1.2 Virtual Interaction and Teamwork
2.2 Applying a Social Identity Approach
2.3 Research Objective
3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Research Context
3.3 Data Collection
3.4 Method of Analysis
3.5 Reflections
4. Findings
4.1 Impacts of Homeworking
4.1.1 Experiencing Work-life Balance in Technology-Start-ups
4.1.2 Being a Start-up Employee
4.1.3 The Importance of Social Interactions for Learning and Development
4.1.4 The Benefits of Teamwork for Start-up Employees
4.2 Navigation Strategies
4.3 Bringing it Together
5. Discussion and Concluding Remarks
5.1 Theoretical Implications
5.2 Practical Implications
5.3 Limitations and Future Research
Objective & Research Scope
This dissertation aims to explore how employees in technology start-ups based in London and Berlin perceive the impacts of full-time working from home and which strategies they employ to navigate the resulting challenges. Using a social identity perspective, the research investigates the tension between the flexibility afforded by remote work and the loss of critical social interactions necessary for start-up success.
- Impact of remote work on work-life balance and employee well-being.
- Role of social identification and team cohesion in technology start-ups.
- Barriers to innovation and informal knowledge exchange in virtual environments.
- Adaptation strategies at individual, team, and leadership levels.
- Evaluation of hybrid models as a sustainable future workplace solution.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1.1 Experiencing Work-life Balance in Technology-Start-ups
Participants identified the shift to MWFH as a trigger of transforming the relationship between the previously physically separated work and non-work parts of life. Interestingly, the transformation was not described unilaterally as positive or negative experience. However, employees with and without ownership responsibilities drew on both accounts.
Hence, homeworking was perceived as increasing individual flexibility, by allowing a better inclusion of non-work activities into a workday:
“Homeworking gives us one of the most valuable things in life: Flexibility […] to do the things you like” (P.11)
Especially, employees with children valued the possibility of devoting more time to their family, for example:
“You can get the family life, going, even if it’s just having lunch together” (P. 6)
The main factor for positive perceptions about a balanced work-life was ascribed to the elimination of commuting, as one participant explained:
“Having less travel time made me so much more relaxed as it allowed me to use this gained time for non-work activities” (P.1)
Surprisingly, participants consistently expressed positive effects of WFH on their work-life balance before reflecting on negative ones, as adverse effects were usually perceived after a certain period of homeworking when participants began to miss the “hard cut between office hours and free time” (P.14). As one participant described:
“I missed my commuting time at some point. I have that idea of a third space that is the time of my day where I would not be the person that I am when I’m at home and not the person that I am in the office” (P.11)
The loss of an explicit transition space was perceived as being “always on” (P.12), thus removing the necessary “mental breather” (P.12) from work. Participants described this as being amplified due to their employment in a technology-start-up, as they felt the need to replicate the typical start-up informal catch-up:
“I often stayed online the whole evening to try and re-connect with colleagues informally, to not lose the close relationship that you usually have with your colleagues in a start-up.” (P.9)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to remote work, highlighting the specific challenges for technology start-ups.
2. Literature Review: Synthesizes existing research on teleworking and social identity theory to provide a framework for understanding start-up dynamics.
3. Methodology: Outlines the qualitative research approach, including the use of semi-structured interviews with 18 start-up employees.
4. Findings: Details the empirical results regarding the impacts of homeworking and the navigation strategies adopted by participants.
5. Discussion and Concluding Remarks: Interprets the findings in the context of theoretical and practical implications, suggesting hybrid models for the future.
Keywords
Working from home, Technology Start-ups, Social Identity, Work-life Balance, Teamwork, Innovation, Remote Work, Organisational Psychology, Pandemic, Virtual Teams, Qualitative Analysis, Employee Motivation, Hybrid Workplace, Start-up Culture, Communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The thesis examines how employees within technology start-ups experience and navigate the shift to full-time remote work necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are the central themes investigated?
The study centers on work-life balance, the erosion of informal social interactions, the impact on team cohesion, and the paradox of maintaining start-up culture virtually.
What is the primary objective of this dissertation?
The goal is to understand how start-up employees perceive remote work impacts and how they manage the challenges of losing physical co-location with colleagues.
Which methodology was chosen for this study?
A qualitative approach was used, conducting 18 semi-structured interviews with start-up employees and founders, analyzed through thematic analysis.
What topics are covered in the findings?
The findings discuss the double-edged sword of remote work, including improved flexibility versus the loss of spontaneous innovation and social bonding.
What key terms define this work?
Key terms include "Social Identity," "Paradoxical Experience," "Technology Start-ups," "Remote Working," and "Work-Life Balance."
Does the research identify differences between London and Berlin start-ups?
No, the study found that participants' experiences were consistent across these two locations, suggesting the phenomena are general to the European start-up context.
What conclusion does the author draw regarding future work models?
The author concludes that while full-time remote work poses significant long-term risks to start-up culture and innovation, a hybrid model offers the best balance.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2021, Home-Office in Technology-Start-ups during the Covid-19-Pandemic. How do Employees Experience and Navigate the Impacts of Working from Home?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1167805
