Working from Home (WFH): Practicality and Challenges for Construction Professional Personnel

Abstract

Implementing working from home (WFH) is seen as the most effective approach to control the number of infections cases in Malaysia. When operating from home, the crucial problem is the need for existing workers to transition from working in an office to home. By doing so, the reliance on IoT technology significantly increases as workers are forced to conduct work online. Hence, this study aims to explores the challenges of WFH and their preferences using Internet of Things (IoT) technology in contributing to their work effectiveness.  A questionnaire survey through Google Form was released, and 65 respondents living in Selangor participated in this study. Based on the data collected, reliability analysis, normality test, descriptive statistical test, and correlation analysis was run by the researcher to analysed the data. The study reveals that the nature of work that requires being on-site is more challenging than others to conduct at home, contributing to the overall challenges workers experience. In terms of IoT, this study indicates that IoT technology is limited in Malaysia, but the usage has improved transition to WFH. Through this study, the researcher identified aspects of workers conditions at home that key players in the construction industry can improve, especially in terms of the absence of IoT gadget in certain activity.