Course: Research Methodology

Internal Assignment Applicable for December 2022 Examination

Q1

Hypothetico-deductive method of research:

• The hypothetico-deductive method was proposed by the Dutch physicist Christian

Huygens.
• Karl Popper devised the Hypothetico-deductive model in 1934 as a scientific process.
• It’s a step-by-step, organized, and rigorous way to find the solution to the problem.
• It consists of two parts, “hypothetico” – the hypothesis part arising from the source and
the “deductive” – The test consequence drawn from the hypothesis.

This method constitutes the following 7 stages :-

• Identify a broad problem area.

• Define the problem statement.
• Develop a hypothesis.
• Determine measures
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Interpretation of Data.

Hypothetico-deductive Model Steps

General Systematic
Predictions
Phenomenon Observation Hypothesis
Hypothesis Based on Data Analysis
and Data Testing
hypothesis
Collections
Title of Study: Hybrid working models are more productive than Work from Home Model

Introduction: -

1. Research Question :
a. Whether the Actual productive hours increased with the Hybrid working model?
b. Whether Demographic Cohorts reacted differently to Hybrid Working Model?
c. Whether Gender specific reactions observed after the implementation of the
Hybrid Working Model?
d. Whether unplanned leaves have increased?
e. How online learning culture has grown post-pandemic. Was it still growing at a
similar pace before the Pandemic?
f. Operational costs have reduced with the Hybrid working model?
2. Problem Statement: High Attrition soon after the implementation of the Hybrid Working
Model.
3. Importance of Research: Proactive retention is a part of prescriptive analytics where we
do root cause analysis by assuming a hypothesis and prescribing corrective measures to
control the retention.

Literature Review:-

The pandemic stretches on with the hope of remote working as the future of the workplace,
surveys with business leaders suggest that remote working is the new normal(Mamaysky,2021).
The worldwide pandemic's profound employment shifts should drive courts to rethink these
restrictive judgments. As per the survey conducted, Two-thirds of IT employees said they were
more productive when they were working from home because they were able to make better use
of the time by not commuting and rather spending it on learning and upskilling. (Patanjali and
Bhatta,2022). After COVID-19, 57% of U.S. employers now amended policies to offer their
employees remote work options. Surprisingly, it’s no longer sustainable for U.S. courts to define
“labor” as “something done solely at a specific time and place” (Travis,2021).
Now talking about the other side of the coin - during the pandemic, the unprecedented shift from
in-person to remote modes of work resulted in work overload, job insecurity, and pathetic
adaptation to ways of working from home. It was a known fact that stress factors can deplete vital
social and personal resources, in turn negatively impacting employee engagement levels. (Adisa
,Ogbonnaya et.al.,2021). In the so-called “process” of establishing a functioning home office,
interruptions and technology-related anxiety are driving factors, while interruptions and
technology-related anxiety are interfering factors (Produnova, Kocarev,2022). Physical activity,
food consumption, communication with co-workers, children at home, interruptions while
working, modified work hours, workstation set-up, and contentment with workspace interior
environmental variables were all linked to reduced overall physical and mental well-being after
remote work.(Xiao, Becerik-Gerber et.al.,2021).
In the Indian context, Mindful and meaningful work are two crucial features of work design and
were already gaining traction before the pandemic. Expect these two features of work design
elements will become much more important as we consider work in the post-pandemic era
(Malhotra,2021). After the pandemic, organizational cultural values are impacted by
organizational culture, responsibility, Tolerance, skill, and direct responsibility for organizational
participation. (Athar, 2020).
Intellectual personnel is considered to be a critical resource for an organization's inventive
activity, particularly in the modern pandemic condition. To quench the thirst for such activities,
including industrial ones, there is an evident widening of scope for the development of the
intellectual potential of organizations, including scale industries, distance education programs the
analysis of digital educational platforms that accrue both paid and free online courses, video
material (Terziev and Klimuk,2021). Both People Managers and HR Personnel will need to
recognize that employee willingness and openness in 2020 and 2021 is a finite source of cultural
richness, and they will need to be vigilant for signs that a new shyness is resurfacing
(Hirsch,2021).
As businesses struggle to adjust to the post-pandemic climate, culture-building and change
management will be the sole responsibility of human resource departments. As a result, it is
expected that the leverage of hybrid working models, which mix remote and on-site labor, will
expand in the future (PWC, 2021). Even though this is a beneficial development, there is a
possibility that the transition will have a detrimental influence on the present culture of
organization. There are worries regarding how Leadership and people managers will control team
members in the wake of this development. Leadership and management must keep an eye out for
problems that impact their employees by encouraging open communication and creating direct
lines of contact throughout the organization's different levels of management and
administration.(PWC, 2021). A pool of organizations is attempting to evaluate whether or not
their existing operating techniques, in the past, will continue to serve them in the future (Deloitte,
2021). Moreover, Human Resources must be at the forefront of defining how firms recruit and
develop personnel, improve the experiences of employees, and move away from outdated
operating paradigms. Success in the future is dependent on the ability to learn from one's failures
in the past. President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde (2021), made her remarks
where she said that a hybrid type of working is unavoidable. Teleworking, working in an office,
and working in combination are all instances of how this might be accomplished. To find out
what its staff felt about the present state of affairs, the European Central Bank (ECB) was
conducting a poll among its own personnel. Moreover, according to Lagarde (2021), new talents
were acquired as well as remote working connections were encountered during COVID-19, all
without a major loss in production. It is necessary for individuals to get together in person and
talk to one another while looking one another in the eyes, monitoring body language, and
assessing their feelings, according to her.
Individuals are forced to strive as a result of the crucial balance, and the organization's
management becomes a part of this conflict. Employees issues, businesses face challenges in
providing the required support. In such an environment, employee psychological health and
organizational strategic actions must be mutually complementary to promote a healthier working
life (Kaptangil,2021). When it comes to developing new ideas and innovations, brain-picking and
brain-sharing are critical components of the creative process. The World Bank's Lagarde (2021)
advised against over-enthusiastic excitement for teleworking and working remotely since this
might have a detrimental influence on the development of communities. Martucci and Biu have
drawn attention to the patterns of workplace behavior during a pandemic (2021). These are the
most effective: Prior to the outbreak, several managers believed that workers who were absent
from the office were not really working; however, the epidemic has proven them incorrect. The
notion that workers who work from home are more productive is held to be true, provided that
they are given the ability to choose their own work schedules. There was also a sudden decrease
from 27 % to 12 % in the proportion of jobs that were classified as "uninteresting." According to
the experts. - It is a disadvantage of remote working because you do not have the interpersonal
relationships that come with working in an office. In order to accomplish this, human resource
professionals are expected to devise novel methods of bringing people together- Until such time
as there is no longer a discussion, the argument over location-based remuneration will continue
indefinitely Workers' compensation and the question of whether or not their salaries should be
reduced if they relocate to lower cost places are discussed in the latter. It is also possible that
current workers' compensation may be maintained but the offered salaries of new employees from
these locations who do the same tasks will be cut in order to represent the genuine cost of living.
There will be more to come on this topic in the future. In spite of the fact that the coronavirus
pandemic has already brought the globe closer together, it will only grow more so as the
consequence of a more widely dispersed global workforce. It is expected that employers would
place a high emphasis on the development and well-being of their employees. The fact that
organisations will constantly strive for efficiency does not mean that it will suffice in the future.
The epidemic has shown that the needs of each person must be considered in the perspective of
the needs of the greater population as a whole. Following the studies, it is possible that additional
opportunities may arise in the future, with the goal of delivering greater freedom, responsibility,
and trust to everyone involved.(Martucci and Biu) Indeed, according to McKinsey (2017), the
influenza virus 19 (COVID-19) accelerated three significant employment-related trends that are
likely to shift after the pandemic: The specifications are outlined in the next section: Remote
working and virtual meetings are projected to continue in the aftermath of the pandemic, but at a
lesser frequency than they were during the height of the outbreak. Jobs in delivery, transportation,
and warehousing are expected to rise, and automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and
digitalization will be implemented at a faster pace than previously anticipated. When McKinsey
conducted an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the workforce, they discovered that the
resources working from home has grown dramatically, a trend that is supposed to continue in the
post-pandemic environment.
Developing new workplace networking opportunities, driving and living core values from the top
down, modifying values that are no longer fit for purpose, and recognizing coworker
accomplishments, particularly during times of uncertainty, are all key components of long-term
cultural success(Evans, 2021). Certain limits result in emotional impairments, which can lead to
major difficulties with psychological functioning. From this perspective, it becomes critical to
identify which constraints are producing emotional issues and how to address them to alleviate
psychological discomfort, which can result in significant changes in the work culture enforced(
Maison, Jaworska et.al.,2021). Gender moderates the relationship between WFH and employee
productivity(Farooq and sultana,2021)
Data Analysis :-

1) Variables were analyzed and categorized.

2) Survey conducted across regional IT companies over LinkedIn and survey monkey.
3) Hypothesis was induced.
4) Logistic regression was leveraged to derive a weightage of the variables.
5) Chi square test was conducted to check the feasibility.
6) Finally Linear regression was conducted to derive a model to predict the attrition post
pandemic.