The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of remote work in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector

Abstract

The article attempts to answer the question of how the remote work model functioned in enterprises from the SME sector during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In an anonymous survey, the respondents (owners/managers of an SME company) answered questions about remote work before the pandemic, the scope of tasks performed remotely during a pandemic, the difficulties and limitations of this work model and the degree of satisfaction with performing professional tasks outside the place of employment. The respondents were also asked if they would like to continue working remotely after the end of the pandemic. During the pandemic, SME entrepreneurs used the remote working model, but this form of work did not pose any particular difficulties to them, and when it comes to tasks related to the preparation of documents, it turned out to be more effective than the stationary model. Remote work had as many supporters as opponents. What was the greatest limitation for some - combining home and work duties - became an advantage for others. Women found this task easier than men, as evidenced by the fact that more women than men would like to work remotely after the pandemic ends. The pandemic has increased the popularity of videoconferencing, which has become almost as common as the use of e-mail or phone calls for business matters.