Difference in the Attitude of Students and Employees of the University of Ljubljana towards Work from Home and Online Education: Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a large and involuntary shift to work from home (WFH) or teleworking, and widespread adoption of web-based platforms. This study aims to uncover the attitude and perception of WFH and online education among students and employees of the University of Ljubljana. A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted in November 2020, and more than 1300 valid responses were received. The lack of daily commuting, improved eating habits, and more time available for a family were the main reported advantages of WFH. The main issues, highlighted by respondents, were higher stress levels, lower study/work efficiency, and poorer working environment at home. When comparing the online educational process with the traditional one, the absence of traditional laboratory work, inadequate social interactions, and limitations of online knowledge assessment were identified as drawbacks by both students and educators. A significant difference between students and educators was observed in their opinion on the efficiency of online lectures compared to traditional ones, with the former being significantly more favored by students than educators. Overall, the majority of the respondents from all groups wish for the pre-COVID-19 study/work mode to be established as soon as possible. This implies that the perceived drawbacks of online education outweigh its advantages.

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