THE TREND OF WORK FROM HOME AND ITS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

This paper focuses on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses mainly on the advantages and disadvantages of this way of working, as well as its impact on the psyche and performance of employees and, last but not least, its impact on a company's finances. It uses the synthesis of data found on the intemet, from selected reliable sources dealing with the same or similar issues. From these sources it is evident that the effects of working from home are rather negative. The most frequently mentioned advantage is the saving of time, caused mainly by the absence of commuting to the office. The most frequently mentioned disadvantage is the absence of personal contact with co-workers. The disadvantage that a company could feel the most is the extension of the length of communication between employees, and thus the extension of work processes. At first glance, it might seem that a company will save money using this form of work, but the reality is that the company's costs may even increase. This is due to the fact that most companies have chosen to work from home only partly, so the costs of running the offices remain the same or slightly reduced at best, and legislation states that the company must reimburse workers for costs incurred by this form of work. It follows from this contribution that, if possible, workers and employers should avoid the practice of working from home, even though it has a positive effect on the pandemic. The potential for further research could be to compare the results of this work with the same research conducted outside of the pandemic.