Employee engagement in the context of remote working

The master’s thesis focuses on employee work engagement in the context of remote work, with an emphasis on the degree of fit between the preferred and actual extent of working from home. The main aim of the research is to analyse how this fit, or misfit, affects work engagement and what role perceived autonomy in remote work plays in this relationship. The theoretical part defines work engagement, remote work, the concept of Person–Environment fit, and work autonomy in relation to the Job Demands–Resources model. The empirical part is based on a quantitative questionnaire survey conducted among employees of a selected organization operating in the banking and financial services sector. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis with an interaction term. The results showed that the misfit between the preferred and actual extent of remote work does not have a clear direct relationship with work engagement. However, perceived autonomy is positively associated with work engagement and also buffers the negative effect of misfit. The conclusions of the thesis provide empirically grounded recommendations for human resource management, aimed at designing sustainable and flexible hybrid work models that respect employees’ individual needs and support their long-term engagement.