Telecommuting, employee engagement and employee performance in the context of the future of work

In the South African ICT sector, where COVID-19 and technological advancements have reshaped traditional work models, telecommuting has increasingly become a norm. Due to this, understanding the intricate interplay between employee engagement, telecommuting propensity, and employee performance is critical for organisations especially in the context of the future of work. Specifically, this study hypothesises direct, mediating, and moderating relationships with the aim of providing evidence-based outcomes. The results of this study could be instrumental for driving change by informing practice, guiding decision-making, as well as advancing knowledge in the domains of business management, human resources, and business strategy.
This study employed a positivist, deductive, quantitative, and cross-sectional methodology in pursuit of its research objectives. To distribute the survey instrument, a combination of snowball, purposive, and self-selection sampling techniques was used, reaching 1054 employees in the South African ICT sector. Of these, 478 responses were complete, resulting in an effective 45% response rate. Statistical techniques that encompassed descriptive statistics and inferential methods spanning factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modelling were employed in the study, to analyse and interpret the data as well as generate empirical findings.
The study discovers direct, moderating, and moderated-moderation relationships among some of the study’s constructs. Employee engagement and physical engagement are positively related to employee performance. Further, employee engagement is positively related to telecommuting propensity while telecommuting propensity moderates the relationship between cognitive engagement and employee performance as well as the relationship between emotional engagement and employee performance. The study also found nuanced moderated-moderation effects of age on relationships between some of the study’s constructs. It provides novel empirical data, knowledge, and insights related to the interconnectedness of employee engagement, its dimensions, telecommuting propensity, and employee performance.

在南非信息通信技术（ICT）行业，COVID-19疫情及技术创新对传统工作模式产生了重塑，远程办公逐渐成为一种常态。鉴于此，深入理解员工参与度、远程办公倾向与员工绩效之间的复杂相互作用，对于组织而言，尤其是在工作未来发展的背景下，显得尤为关键。具体而言，本研究提出了直接、中介和调节关系的假设，旨在提供基于证据的结论。本研究的结果对于推动变革、指导实践、指导决策以及推进商业管理、人力资源和商业战略领域的知识发展具有重要意义。本研究采用实证主义、演绎、定量和横断面方法来实现其研究目标。为了分发调查问卷，结合了雪球抽样、目的抽样和自我选择抽样技术，覆盖了南非ICT行业的1054名员工。其中，478份回复完整有效，实现了45%的有效回复率。在研究中，采用了包括描述性统计和从因子分析、相关分析、回归分析到结构方程模型等推断方法的统计技术，以分析和解释数据，并生成经验性发现。研究发现，研究的一些构念之间存在直接、调节和调节调节关系。员工参与度和身体参与度与员工绩效呈正相关。此外，员工参与度与远程办公倾向呈正相关，而远程办公倾向调节了认知参与度与员工绩效之间以及情感参与度与员工绩效之间的关系。研究还发现了年龄对研究的一些构念之间关系产生微妙的调节调节效应。它提供了有关员工参与度、其维度、远程办公倾向与员工绩效之间相互关联的新的经验数据、知识和洞见。