Post COVID-19: The effect of virtual workplace practices on social sustainable development policy

Abstract

The virtual workplace (VW) has indicated a worldwide paradigm shift for corporations and policymakers alike, who have needed to take urgent action and formulate rationalized policies for a safe transition for the planet and people’s lives. The literature divulges that VW practices and their effects on social sustainable development policy are an emergent field of study, and a limited amount of research has been conducted in the context of developing countries in general and the country of the Arab Republic of Egypt in particular. Therefore, this research surveyed the leading four public sector banks in Egypt. A questionnaire with closed-ended questions was developed and circulated to a random sample of administrators at the top, middle and executive levels of the designated banks. The research empirically tested the independent variables of VW practices across three different levels, focusing on individual factors, intra-/inter-corporation factors, and the external context. The dependent variable was surveyed by examining the effectiveness of social sustainable development policies. Four intermediate variables were investigated, including age, gender, level of education, and position. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel to categorize the units of analysis using a Likert scale. Based on the results, concrete practices related to the VW and empirical policies for social sustainable development are proposed. Moreover, the research suggests key actions of improvement to be taken into consideration regarding VW practices, especially in the era of COVID-19, at the individual, organizational, and external levels.