Exploring the Effects of Remote Work on Staff Performance. A Study of Selected NGOs in Abuja

Abstract

This study examines the issue of remote working and its impact on the performance of staff in the COVID-19 pandemic and the selected non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Abuja, Nigeria. The study takes the form of a descriptive survey with a structured questionnaire to 50 employees that had had a remote work experience. Simple percentages and mean scores were used to analyze data. The results showed that remote work had significant advantages, such as lower transportation expenses, closer contact with family, better flexibility, and perceived job performance improvement. Nevertheless, the work also singles out such challenges as higher operational expenses incurred by employees (e. internet and electricity), less interaction among staff members and greater risk of information security. The findings also reveal that employees mostly used communication platforms including email, phone calls, and WhatsApp to keep the work flowing during the remote operations. Although the results are both positive and negative, the study concludes that remote work has the potential of positively impacting employee performance provided there are proper infrastructure, organizational policies and incentives in place. It highlights the importance of employers to offer financial and technological assistance to reduce the risks of remote working, especially in developing economies with infrastructural constraints. The research is an addition to the expanding literature on flexible work arrangement by emphasizing the contextual realities that determine the efficacy of remote work in Nigeria.