The impact of remote work on the parameters of work, family and personal life of Russian men

The study focused on assessing the work, family and personal life parameters of men who switched to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, a survey was conducted using the author’s methodology, the results of which were compared with similar data for women also working remotely. According to the results, the transition to remote work did not have a significant impact on the productivity and income of respondents. Among the positive changes are savings in travel time, the ability to combine work with household chores and flexible planning of working hours. However, negative aspects have also been identified, such as difficulties in separating work and personal time, difficulties with motivation and concentration, as well as lack of communication with colleagues and problems with organizing the work space at home. Particularly noticeable are the differences in respondents’ answers depending on the presence of children and belonging to different job categories of employees. Men with children under 14 were more likely to have positive attitudes toward spending more time with their children, but had difficulty concentrating on work tasks. It can be noted that the success of adaptation to a new work format depends on the employee’s self-organization skills, as well as psychosocial factors. For some, working outside the office is an opportunity to spend more time with family, and for others it is an opportunity for concentration and solitude; in some cases there was a lack of social component. However, it is possible to level out the shortcomings and limitations, and this depends on the efforts of both the employees themselves, including those aimed at reducing gender stereotypes, and on the active position of the employer.