PERCEPTIONS OF CHILEAN WORKERS ON THE IMPACT OF TELEWORKING IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

Abstract

The pandemic has caused several changes that have led companies to look for strategies to continue their production processes and protect the health of workers. Among these strategies, the most important is Teleworking. Objective: To analyze the perceptions that Chilean workers have on the impact of teleworking in terms of work stress, work-life balance and satisfaction, in a contingency environment as a result of COVID-19. Material and Method: Quantitative, relational and cross-sectional research using convenience sampling and data from 225 Chilean workers who were teleworking as a result of COVID-19 and responded to the on-line survey. An instrument with 26 items was applied to workers of legal age who were carrying out activities from home, between the months of September to October 2020, collecting 181 useful responses. Results: People working from home correspond mostly to single women, between 24 to 40 years old, who work in the field of education or the public sector and have work experience of more than ten years; there is a positive relationship between job satisfaction and teleworking (r= 0.381), while for the variables work stress and work-life balance a negative relationship was observed (r= -0.408). Conclusion: Teleworking produces stress symptoms among workers, such as tension and/or anxiety. Nevertheless, workers have a positive attitude towards this modality, trying to adapt and seeking support from other people.