Developing a Practical Framework for Applying the Work from Home Concept to Technical Jobs in Electricity Utilities Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

Abstract

With the global rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a significant change occurred, prompting employees across different countries to switch to remote work and work from home (WFH) instead of working in their usual physical workplaces. This research aims to improve the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) by identifying the factors that affect the acceptance of the technical employees in the electricity utility sector during WFH and identifying technologies required for WFH. By this aim, this study contributes to creating inclusive and sustainable work environments, essential for fostering economic growth even during global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. This study used a mixed research methodology, using a focus group of five industry experts in addition to a survey. It conducted a specific study within a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based electricity utility. The focus group session resulted in finalizing and listing twelve factors affecting WFH for technical job employees. Three of them were newly introduced during the focus group, namely, “emotional well-being”, “cultural factor”, and “honesty of employees”. Those factors were used further to prepare the related hypothesis and prepare a questionnaire. The survey data were collected from 145 respondents and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) using IBM SPSS Amos (Version 29.0). The analysis of the survey revealed that there were significant relationships between all the constructs; however, the hypothesis concerning perceived risk was not supported. Moreover, the analysis also provided a list of vital technologies required to WFH, resulting in insights for organizational managers on which factors to prioritize when implementing remote work strategies. The successful completion of this research has the potential to better prepare organizations for future pandemics and improve the balance between work and personal life for employees. Research limitations and future study recommendations are also highlighted.