What to look for to increase work added value? Remote work and perceived productivity: A study in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic

In the era of digitisation, the role of remote work is growing. The digitisation of work has brought new opportunities and threats to the economic function of labour. This function, pointing to the fundamental role of employment, which is to provide added value for the employer and remuneration for the employee, has acquired a new meaning. Therefore, in the era of digitisation, it seems justified to assess the impact of remote work on labour productivity (in terms of organizational factors, cost factors and work quality). The subject of the study is to analyse the productivity factors of remote work (based on work performed under permanent and short-term employment, including various work models and irregular work patterns). The main objective of the research is to identify factors determining perceived productivity of individual workers who perform their job remotely and to measure the importance of factors determining labour productivity. The methodology used in the study is based on the analysis of the literature and conclusions drawn from a survey conducted in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary (a total sample of 450 units). Logistic regression and the k-means method were used in the statistical analysis. They allow measuring the relationship between the strength of a stimulus represented by the percentage of cases showing a specific response on how productivity is verified by the stimulus. Moreover, they bring the possibility to group factors in clusters representing workers with different sets of productivity factors. Results show that across the study sample, high stress, low employee control, and limited communication with managers minimise the growth of remote work productivity, since social relationships at work are correlated with productivity. Nonetheless, work organisation traits such as proper work environment, travel cost savings, technical assistance access, and a fast Internet connection remain positively related to remote work productivity.