The Effects of Working from Abroad on Employees: the case of Accenture in Czech Republic

Akezhan Seitkhan

Master's thesis

Abstract:

The pandemic has given a push to the concept of telework, which has been used by many companies already but has accelerated with the pandemic forcing employees to Work-From-Home. However, there is a new concept of Working-From-Anywhere that is taking shape because people feel tamed by the borders of working in one country whilst having the necessary equipment to work anywhere. The particular arrangement has been implemented by Accenture, who are testing the International Remote Working Pilot (IRWP) on employees. The 10 Accenture (Czech Republic) employees availing for the IRWP have been chosen for semi-structured interviews before and after the WFA, and at the same time, for monitoring the changes in their well-being, they were asked to make diary logs to predetermined questions that were answered during the period of IRWP. The goal is to identify the perceived benefits of the WFA arrangement by Accenture employees and check the implications on well-being and other aspects related to work. The results illustrated that WFA positively affects employees as they had the chance to meet their family and friends or travel to new countries, whilst the drawbacks like time difference affect employees only at the beginning. Furthermore, it turned out that the productivity is the same for most employees, who need some time in the beginning due to the adaptation period as the new environment temporarily persists. In summary, all employees were incredibly proud to work for the company that offers such benefits that are critical for them, which is beneficial for employees and the companies who would have much more motivated and satisfied employees who can concentrate on work.

Abstract:

The pandemic has given a push to the concept of telework, which has been used by many companies already but has accelerated with the pandemic forcing employees to Work-From-Home. However, there is a new concept of Working-From-Anywhere that is taking shape because people feel tamed by the borders of working in one country whilst having the necessary equipment to work anywhere. The particular arrangement has been implemented by Accenture, who are testing the International Remote Working Pilot (IRWP) on employees. The 10 Accenture (Czech Republic) employees availing for the IRWP have been chosen for semi-structured interviews before and after the WFA, and at the same time, for monitoring the changes in their well-being, they were asked to make diary logs to predetermined questions that were answered during the period of IRWP. The goal is to identify the perceived benefits of the WFA arrangement by Accenture employees and check the implications on well-being and other aspects related to work. The results illustrated that WFA positively affects employees as they had the chance to meet their family and friends or travel to new countries, whilst the drawbacks like time difference affect employees only at the beginning. Furthermore, it turned out that the productivity is the same for most employees, who need some time in the beginning due to the adaptation period as the new environment temporarily persists. In summary, all employees were incredibly proud to work for the company that offers such benefits that are critical for them, which is beneficial for employees and the companies who would have much more motivated and satisfied employees who can concentrate on work.

Keywords

Work-From-Anywhere, Workplace Flexibility, Workplace Arrangement, Perceived Benefits, Remote Work

Keywords

Workpace Arrangement, Perceived benefits, Work-From-Anywhere, Workplace Flexibility, Remote Work

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 14. 5. 2023

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 5. 6. 2023
• Supervisor: Marko Orel
• Reader: Michal Hron

Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze

Master programme:
Management