UC Irvine

The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world into a frenzy of Zoom meetings and online activity. In one month, more people began working from home than at any other point in history. This major shift poses a question: Did the increase in the number of people and extent of work occurring from home change studies on this activity? I conduct a literature survey and use qualitative coding and analysis methods to compare the research on working from home conducted in the 20 years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to the studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. I find that the research methods remain largely the same, but the scope and topics change. The scope decreases during the COVID-19 pandemic to focus more on the individual instead of on the organization or society. Meanwhile, the topics shift to focus more on health, well-being, and empathy in challenging times. I discuss my results and potential directions for future research. I also provide key insights for future researchers to keep in mind as they continue researching working from home during a pandemic.