Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 22 Issue 4

Table 1: Profile of respondents Initials Gender Age Marital Status No. of children Presence of elderly at home Working sector Working Title R1 Female 26 Unmarried 0 1 Telecommunications Management Trainee R2 Male 27 Unmarried 0 0 FMCG Territory Manager R3 Female 25 Unmarried 0 0 FMCG Territory Manager R4 Male 33 Married 1 0 FMCG Brand Manager R5 Male 26 Unmarried 0 0 Telecommunications Management Trainee R6 Female 27 Married 0 0 Telecommunications Senior Executive c) Data Analysis All the qualitative data from the interviews were transcribed verbatim. We generated three critical themes under which we wanted to sum up our findings and results. The themes are: a) Positive impacts of WFH on work-life balance; b) Negative impacts of WFH on work-life balance; c) Preference of work policy. We took supporting quotations from individual cases and matched them under these themes. We then summarised the findings by analysing each patient's themes and supporting evidence. IV. C ase S tudies a) Case I Our first case study is of a female working as a management trainee at Banglalink. She has been working here for about oneyear and three months. Ever since the start of her work, she started working on WFH based work policy as COVID 19 protocols were still enacted in Banglalink in 2021. She has gone through a mix of work from the home, office, and now a hybrid policy throughout her tenure. So, our first case respondent has a clear idea of every type of work policy followed. Our first respondent, R1, said that WFH is better in instances when time is not lost due to traffic. In many cases, she saved up time and enjoyed the additional free time that gave her a better balance between work and life situations. However, R1 thought that working from home usually gets boring and monotonous. While working from offices, R1 gets to interact with many people. It’s not all work at the office, so it is easy to cheer oneself up. But in work from home situations, R1 mentions that she is all by herself, and she procrastinates and ends up finishing the day’s work late behind the fixed time. While working from home, as R1 mentioned, there is a lack of discipline in terms of work routine. So, if you have work from 9 AM, you usually end up sleeping late, wake up just before 9 AM and work with a sluggish feeling which continues throughout the day. It is also easier to get feedback on work and solve problems quickly while working from the office than working from home. According to R1, it is good that WFH gets himself closely with the family, but there are problems. She thinks that presence has to be ensured on both ends- family & office, which is tough. So, even though she is in her comfort zone, managing both ends becomes difficult and hampers her balance. Focus is often distorted while working from home due to disruptions. Moreover, R1 believes the work pressure during the WFH period is more and deadlines are usually not met easily. Overall, R1 prefers a hybrid policy where one can get the best of both options. R1 thinks the current flexible hybrid policy that Bangla link is running is very suitable for her in managing her work-life balance and will prefer this policy. b) Case II R2 is a Territory Sales Manager working for Reckitt-Benckiser Bangladesh. He has been working for the company for one year and five months. Before being a TM (Sales), he was a Junior Territory Manager. As a TM (Sales), his work is mainly conducted outdoors. As such, there have been very few opportunities for remote work. Additionally, RB does not have WFH as a part of its HR policy for territory managers. R2 had WFH for about three months in the past two years. In the beginning, he had experienced technical difficulties due to not being familiar with remote working processes. However, he adapted to the process within a week. During the WFH period, he worked on a priority basis. He had enough time to conduct his business during the day. However, there were mandatory market visits for him. For him, the benefits of WFH include being Impact of Work from Home (WFH) on the Work-Life Balance of Professionals Working in the Telecommunications and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Sector: An Exploratory Study in Bangladesh 74 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue IV Version I Year 2022 ( ) A © 2022 Global Journals