Telecommuting, employee engagement and employee performance in the context of the future of work

In the South African ICT sector, where COVID-19 and technological advancements have reshaped traditional work models, telecommuting has increasingly become a norm. Due to this, understanding the intricate interplay between employee engagement, telecommuting propensity, and employee performance is critical for organisations especially in the context of the future of work. Specifically, this study hypothesises direct, mediating, and moderating relationships with the aim of providing evidence-based outcomes. The results of this study could be instrumental for driving change by informing practice, guiding decision-making, as well as advancing knowledge in the domains of business management, human resources, and business strategy.

This study employed a positivist, deductive, quantitative, and cross-sectional methodology in pursuit of its research objectives. To distribute the survey instrument, a combination of snowball, purposive, and self-selection sampling techniques was used, reaching 1054 employees in the South African ICT sector. Of these, 478 responses were complete, resulting in an effective 45% response rate. Statistical techniques that encompassed descriptive statistics and inferential methods spanning factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modelling were employed in the study, to analyse and interpret the data as well as generate empirical findings.

The study discovers direct, moderating, and moderated-moderation relationships among some of the study’s constructs. Employee engagement and physical engagement are positively related to employee performance. Further, employee engagement is positively related to telecommuting propensity while telecommuting propensity moderates the relationship between cognitive engagement and employee performance as well as the relationship between emotional engagement and employee performance. The study also found nuanced moderated-moderation effects of age on relationships between some of the study’s constructs. It provides novel empirical data, knowledge, and insights related to the interconnectedness of employee engagement, its dimensions, telecommuting propensity, and employee performance.