LTR Case Study: Impact of Covid-19 on Remote Working at LTR

This case study explores the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on remote working at LTR. It highlights the key issues faced by employees, such as demotivation and negative health effects, and provides recommendations to improve performance.

LTR case study

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1............................................................................................................................................2
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on organisations....................................................................2
Key Issues present at LTR...........................................................................................................4
Recommendations........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
PART 2............................................................................................................................................9
Reflective statement.....................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

PART 1
Executive summary
The present report based upon the case study of LTR where most of the employees are
suffered from the remote working facilities during pandemic. The major findings highlight
within the study is related to concern raised by the employees during work from home facilities
which includes demotivation, changes in their overall working life, use of technology and
negative impact upon health. For that effective recommendations has been drawn which includes
allow for a break within small tenure that assist them to be alert, start developing work in a shift
so that employee’s mental health does not affected due to extended working hours. Lastly, it also
suggest to LTR to use advance and latest application like Slack, Microsoft team etc in order to
increase the communication.
INTRODUCTION
In the current times, most of the organization changes their current working style which
includes remote working, uses of advance technologies etc within their work place. This is due to
pandemic where employers have to make such decision in order to run a business in effective
manner. The present study will also highlight the difficulties faced by the companies during
lockdown and post lockdown. The report is based upon the Luton Town Centre (LTR) case study
which is a housing association operating in Luton whose mission is to provide appropriate
housing for local community. The study will describe the impact of pandemic upon the chosen
organization and also presents the key issues faced by the firm during Covid-19. Further it will
recommend some ways that assist the business to improve the overall performance and cope up
with issues.
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on organisations
After announcing the national lockdown in the countries, it is analysed that most of the
organization offer work from home facilities to their employees. Similarly, LTR also offer the
same to their employees. However, it has been examined that there was a significant disruption

to the day to day operations of LTR. Such that Finance Team, Customer Service Team, General
Administration Staff and Senior Management Team worked remotely from home while the
Facilities Maintenance Team and Supported Housing Personal Coaches sometimes visit to the
office. This in turn reflects that there is a communication error occurred between the team and
that is why, the motivation level of the employees will be affected. On the other side, another
impact of pandemic upon the working performance of the employees is such that most of them
have extended periods of remote working which in turn causes adverse impact upon their
motivation level (Jarosz, 2021).
It is also supported by Soroui (2021) that pandemic creates a direct impact upon physical
and mental health of employees, such that due to long and extended working hours lead to
mental stress. Whereas, the motivation level of employees also affected adversely, thus it can be
stated that the employees of the LTR also become frustrated and that is why, it causes adverse
impact upon their health. On the positive side, it is identified that LTR’s employees learn the use
of advance technologies which somehow increases their learning skills and motivate them to
grow ICT skills as well. In addition to this, it is examined that through motivation employee’s
productivity level got affected in negative manner because an individual will be perform more
efficiently when he/she is strong in mental and physical appearance. The same is applied in the
companies like LTR. Moreover, Das and et.al., (2021) also reflected that work from home or
remote working has been the only option for organization to sustain the business during
lockdown. Thus, it can be stated that there are both positive as well as negative impact upon the
employee’s performance during lockdown and this negative aspects needs to be improved as per
the passage of time, otherwise it leads to damage the reputation of a company in adverse manner.
Apart from this, most of the communication is performed with the help of Zoom as well
as email, so majority of employees are think that they had to be available all times. Though this
is considered one of the most oldest and poor method of checking the operational status of
different projects. Moreover, there was a long meeting in Zoom which was also consider the
failed method to resolve the issues, that is why, employee become demotivate due to poor
operations implemented by the company during the pandemic.
Overall, it is examined that during pandemic, employees do not get motivated and does
not have a working environment which they get from offices. During remote working, the

condition of work may be worsened and productivity growth may reduce the employee well-
being when they perform work under pressure. That is why, employers of LTR must designed
well- working condition for their employees so that they will enjoyed the work and also
enhanced their working performance as well. Most of the secondary research indicates that there
were negative impact identified over the employees during Covid-19 and this in turn somehow
affect the brand image of the companies (Panwar and Agrawal, 2021). In the context of chosen
organization, some of the team performs work from home while some visit the brand and this in
turn entails that the communication and collaboration tools for Luton Town Residences was not
suitable. The employees and employers does not have proper communication with each other,
that shows most of the target task were not met. This causes adverse impact upon the brand
image of the company and leads towards the opposite direction. Hence, LTR should develop
effective strategies in order to combat from the situation of pandemic so that they motivate their
employees in an effective manner.
Key Issues present at LTR
During All - Company Town Hall Meeting regarding the remote working, senior
management asked the employees to share their problems and concerns related to work or
personal issues. Through this, it has been identified that there were most of the issues shared by
the employees and these are as mentioned below:
Motivation: It is considered one of the biggest issues for the LTR employees because
most of the employees unhappy with the long and extended working hours. It is so because they
all are habitual of office work and the sudden shift to remote working make them uncomfortable.
Such that some of the employees are living alone and that is why due to lockdown they feel
isolated, but now there is no point of contact and this led towards demotivation. Though they are
working and most of the communication is performed via email and occasional phone calls.
These things make most of them suffering from loneliness and feeling stifled. Ranjitha (2021)
also supported that working from home can be challenging in most of the circumstances and this
also increase the stress level among employees which needs to be managed.
In addition to this, due to remote working the interaction among employees decreases and
this in turn also causes adverse impact upon the overall productivity level of employees. That is

why, there is need to implement strategies that lead to cause motivation among employees.
Beside this, some of the employees stated that they have a concern over the increased workplace
monitoring which also causes unhappiness among LTR staff members. This is another cause of
demotivation which affects the performance of employees. With the implementation of tracking
system, management track the activity performed by employees and this in turn develop a sense
of low trust among employee. Thus, most of the employees are stated that there must a degree of
trust in remote working arrangement and that is why, they are not happy if such monitoring tools
were not to be used. These two are consider some of the most common issues raised by the
employees pertaining to demotivation within the actual working performance.
Use of technology: Another issue raised by the employees of LTR is related to use of
technology in which they are unhappy with the long term usage of their own personal devices to
access the LTR email and documents. The company does not have enough time to develop
application which can be operated by the staff during pandemic, because they are not prepared
for the same (Lartey, 2021). Thus, using own devices and email for work make the employees
unhappy. Some of them stated that regarding use of technology, they also raise the issue of
broadband access. Like one of them working in the General Administration had to purchase
higher internet package at their own expenses in order to perform the work without any delays.
Moreover, due to sudden disruption of the internet service affect their entire working in adverse
manner and that is why, it leads to affect the overall working in an opposite manner.
Within a remote working, most of the meeting performed in the Zoom and due to poor
network, employee faces miscommunication and this in turn leads to affect their overall working
performance in adverse manner. That is why, most of the employees are faces issues regard to
continuously use of own device and poor methods of communication, Apart from this, it is also
analysed that maintenance staff of LTR are unable to log into the online meetings because they
continuously receive a call to external suppliers and contacts via personal mobiles, as LTR
strictly restricted to use of landline phone system. That is why, employees faces issue regarding
due to not having any personal time, as they had to be available all time to receive any email or
meeting. Therefore, Cao and et.al., (2021) also stated that with such advance technologies, most
of the workers have to skip their lunch and other unnecessary breaks which they can took in their
physical offices. That is why, it shows that employees were very worry about the performance

during a lockdown phase, as the company does not completely prepare to accept the new changes
for their employees.
Health: There is a significant impact upon the health of employees such that due to
decreases motivation, the stress level among employee increases and this in turn causes low
impact upon their performance level. Further, remote work modifies the employees workdays in
many ways such that it eliminate the spontaneous discussion and face to face communication
with colleagues, however it also decreases the social interaction (Shortland, 2021). The same has
been faced by the LTR employees during remote working, as they communicate the words
related to work only during calls. During remote working, employees are not able to share their
feelings such that frustration to other colleagues in the same as in non-remote working. This
sudden decrease in the social interaction leads to cause opposite impact upon mental and
physical. Such physical health has a significant impact over mental health.
In the case of LTR, one of the employees from customer service faces issue related to
mental health support and increase the stress and uncertainty from on-going pandemic that
increases the isolation. That is why, they also requested to the company to provide more
consideration to mental health support programs and initiatives. Sultana and et.al., (2021) shared
their own opinion that employees at remote working needs to be multitasking because they have
to look after their parents and other family members. Thus, it may decrease their ability to focus
and causes them more stress. Thus, it causes them feelings of inadequacy which directly causes
negative impact upon their mental health. So, it is reflected that remote working can bring new
challenges as well as hardship for employees and that is why, it will be necessary for the
organizations to look after the situation and also prioritize their employee’s health.
Recommendations
From the above, it has been analysed that the major concerns raised by the employees of
LTR are demotivation, use of technology, health. Thus, company should implement the strategy
in order to improve the overall performance, for those different strategies are as mentioned
below:
 In order to increase the motivation among employees, it is suggested to the LTR to
conduct online session where all the team members are connected. Always use the

informal communication which helps to increase the motivation level among employees.
In this situation, employees does not feel isolation and allow them to take break so that
they will be free for sometime (Wang and et.al., 2021).
 In addition to this, for motivation, employees may request different office furniture to
make their work from home more comfortable. This allows the employees to work in the
offices and generate a sense of responsibilities among them that assist to increases their
overall working performance.
 In order to improve the communication between the employees and other team members,
it is suggested to stop using application like Zoom and email. Instead of this, LTR may
use Slack, Microsoft Team and Discord as well as Flowdock which in turn increases the
interest of the employees to use such advance technologies. Along with this, it is also
identified that using new platform will be highly preferred by the employees and creates a
sense of involvement within the working performance. Earlier, the employees face issue
and internet distortion by using Zoom so it will be beneficial for the company to use such
advance technique in order to improve the overall performance.
 Further to increase the health fitness, it is also suggested to the company to make a
guideline for their employees in order to stick in their normal habits although they are
working from home (The impact of remote working on employee’s work motivation &
ability to work, 2020). For example, to have a breaks and especially to be active during
those breaks in order to increase one’s alertness. During breaks, employees must do
exercise and stretching instead of sitting. This in turn also increases their employee
motivation and raises the ability to work in a long run.
 Moreover, it is also suggested to the company to decrease the long working hours of the
employees because it definitely increase the level of stress and demotivate them as well.
Instead of long working hours, it is suggested to the company to allot the work in 2 to 3
shifts. This strategy assists employees to perform the work in a specific deadline and does
not increase their mental illness. Working in a shift helps them to provide personal time
to their families, otherwise remote working makes employees to work for their company
only.

CONCLUSION
By summing up above it has been concluded that employees of LTR faces numerous
issues related to remote working which includes demotivation, negative impact upon their health,
and use of advance technology. Moreover, the pandemic also causes negative impact upon the
overall performance of a cited organization. Due to sudden announcement of national lockdown,
companies like LTR does not prepare themselves in order to cope up with the situation and this
in turn causes adverse impact upon the employee’s performance. That is why, most of the
employees have range of concerns that affect the overall performance in negative manner.
Further, there are many suggestions provided to the companies in order to let them understand
the situation and implement the strategies accordingly so that it does not cause any negative
impact upon the performance.

PART 2
Reflective statement
The best way to describe individual own learning and skills development, is a concept
that has been available in the world and utilized by many people or leaners, in order to define
what they have and what they learn from specific module or event (Adeani, Febriani and
Syafryadin, 2020). Gibbs reflective model is the best concept as it encompasses 6 key stages that
help user to share their learning experience.
By referring to Gibbs reflective concept, I want to describe my learning experience that I
have gained during this unit which is based on Luton town residence case study. I had some key
skills like, effective communication that I used to communicate with people for purpose of
collection information about overall organizational situation and culture. Along with this I have
developed certain abilities like work with others that I use in the future as team working skill. I
want to define the benefits that I had taken due to having ICT skill, which help me in my further
projects and units for that a conduct varied activities and gain more experience during these. My
overall experience is quite useful as I had determined my weakness along with key strengths,
which may put negative impact on my efficiency and productivity related to variety of activities
like research, data analysis, decision making, etc. I also want to describe that I had developed
numeracy skill during this unit, by analysis data.
Before start ready case study and taking any form of information about it, I was so
existed and happy as I am curious to know more about what happening in the organization and
how it affects staff performance. I feel that research base on key points may be easy, but it is not.
My excitement vanishes away when I faced key challenges related to data privacy on certain
link, where I found a lot of data in the context of this unit. Just because of this and other things, I
feeling covered into threat as I had identified certain weaknesses about myself that hamper my
work more than earlier period. Lack of knowledge about team working, and problem solving
skills leads to make my work slow. Just like strength, weakness also impact my productivity, but
in opposite manner. I feel worried about how to improve these and which approach will take into
consideration for the same that provide desire outcomes.

I had evaluated that by using effective communication both written and verbal and ICT
skills, I came closer to my objective achievement, for which I attempt to achieve in term of
proper finding related to case study. However, I possess poor knowledge about problems solving,
and team work skills that affect my work and performance in negative manner. These
capabilities I want to improve through an action plan and appropriate methods. Due to
communication skill I realize that I am able to gain the trust of other people, who have better
knowledge about “What happening in the company and how its workers felt about everything is
going at workplace as it affects their performance or not”.
The overall performance of the project is so interesting because I have improved
numerous skills such that communication. Through this, I am able to communicate my views to
others easily and also let them all understand about my opinion pertaining to any situation.
Further, I also raise my ICT skills and Numeracy skills because I used Microsoft Office
programs through out the unit. Also, I am able to use the data and statistics provided within the
study that helps me to improve the Numeracy skills (Rosseel and Anseel, 2021). On the other
side, throughout the evaluation, I also examine that I am not comfortable working in a team,
though it is one of the most preferable work used by many organization because exchanging
information with each other will be more beneficial, along with provide accurate results. That is
why, there is a need to improve the same. Moreover, I also analyzed that due to lack of critical
thinking abilities I am not able to developed the problem solving skills. It can be developed when
I started working in a team where all team members offer range of solution for a specific
situation. Therefore, there is a need to work on the weakness so that effective results will be
generated.
By summing up above it has been concluded that it was one of the best module because I
improve range of skills which will definitely use in the near future. Further, through evaluation
part, I examined that the numeracy and ICT skills assist me to present the entire findings of LTR
case study in effectual manner. It is because I have good knowledge of Microsoft office which
helps to present the findings effectually (Mansournia and et.al., 2021). Moreover, through
effective communication skill, I am able to present the key recommendation to the team
members and also with the help off written communication, I am able to write the entire study in
effective manner. However, on the other side, I also identified my weakness pertaining to the

report such that I am not able to working with others due to not having effective problem solving
skills, which needs to be overcome through action plan.
In order to improve the weakness which I had identified from the module is such that
working with others. To convert the same into strength I will start working with small team and
as I already have a strong communication skills which assist me to share the key point to the
other team members. After that, I discuss my views to others and with proper support from tutor,
I try to solve difficult task that assist me to improve the problem solving skills. Thus, the same
will be repeat within next 2 to 3 months and will able to improve the overall skills so that in
future, I will be able to perform the task in more efficient manner. In addition to this, it has been
realized that that working in a team will be more beneficial because each individual will share
own views in order to improve the critical thinking abilities. That is why, working in a team will
be more beneficial instead of working individual.

REFERENCES
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Online
The impact of remote working on employee’s work motivation & ability to work. 2020. [Online].
Available through: <https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/347416/The
%20Impact%20of%20Remote%20Working%20on%20Employees
%E2%80%99%20Work%20Motivation%20%26%20Ability%20to%20Work_Bachelor
%27s%20Thesis_Milana%20Virtanen.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y >.