Economic implications in the implementation of teleworking: an approach from the private sector employees in Panama

Abstract

During the first semester of the year 2020, the modality of working from home became highly demanded due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, a situation that brought with it economic implications generated because of the implementation of teleworking, both for the collaborators and for the companies, which suggests; a modification in the cost structure for both actors. This study is based specifically on the participation of employees and managers in the private sector organizations in Panama City, addressed from an interpretative phenomenological approach, with a qualitative method in accompaniment of the digital ethnography technique, because this research is conducted in a context with mobility restrictions.  Likewise, it subscribes to the hermeneutic method and the analytical typology, to infer about the economic situations that emerge during the implementation of teleworking.  For the collection and analysis of the data a virtual design is used, considering that the informants were outside their usual environment, henceforth, a contemporary and unieventual transactional design is applied. As a result of this research, it is concluded that teleworking has become a positive alternative, since it represents a type of saving for both companies and employees.  However, some investments such as the adaptation of workspaces and the acquisition of technological tools have fallen on the collaborator, becoming an expense within their personal budget.