Perceived workplace transformation influenced by pandemic disruption for white-collar workers: A case study of SAP, Prague

The COVID-19 pandemic appeared unexpectedly and brought sudden changes to people’s lifestyles, including the transformation of the workplace. The aim of this master’s thesis is to investigate how a pandemic such as COVID -19 has changed the way that SAP white-collar employees work, who used to work in an office. The goal is to identify how SAP workers perceived the changes towards a new working environment, in terms of the following: work routine, overall wellbeing, productivity, and work-life balance. The study is built on the theoretical background and qualitative data research method in the form of conducting the 12 semi-structured interviews which were then analyzed via thematic analysis. The key findings illustrated that employees appreciated the more flexible work schedule, autonomy, while also experiencing the lack of face-to-face communication and change of physical places as a negative consequence. However, qualitative research indicated that the productivity level in major cases increased. Moreover, the results indicated that majority of employees did not experience a strong feeling of isolation or stress, while the work-life balance was associated mainly with overworking and blurred boundaries. In conclusion, the results illustrated that all participants would like to have the hybrid option of working as an ideal scenario.