Work-Life Balance Before and During Work from Home in a Covid-19 Pandemic Situation

Abstract

Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) is a global pandemic that affects the work systems of employees and influences the work-life balance employees. This empirical study was conducted on teachers and lecturers in Indonesia who had to implement a remote work system or work from home to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The objectives of this  study  were:  1)  to  analyze  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  working  from  home;  2)  to  analyze  the differences  in  work-life  balance  between  teachers  and  lecturers  in  Indonesia,before  and  during  the  Covid-19 pandemic.  The  questionnaire  distribution  survey  was  done  through  the  Google  form  application,  which  was distributed through social media such as Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp Group, and e-mail to the teacher and lecturer communities. Respondents willing to participate in filling out the questionnaire were 108 participants, consisting  of  52  lecturers  and  56  teachers  from  various educational  organizations  in  several  Indonesian provinces.  The  analysis  showed  that  there  were  several  advantages  and  disadvantages  to  working  from  home. Advantages that were generally felt by educators included flexible working time, closeness to family, increased technological   mastery,   and   maintained   health.   Disadvantages   that   were   generally   felt   wereirregular rhythms/patterns of work, which cause unclear work and non-work boundaries, and an increase in operational costs such as the internet and electricity. The results of the statistical analysis of the Paired Sample t-Test revealed that:  1)  there  was  a  significant  difference  in  the  work-life  balance  of  educators  before  and  during  work  from home; 2) from the teacher group, there was an increase in the aspect of work-life balance during work from home. However, statistically, the difference was not significant. While from the lecturer group, statistically, the increase in work-life balance was significant.Keywords-Covid-19, Work from home, Work-life balance.