Covid-19, which emerged in the last month of 2019 and spread worldwide starting from China, is not the first pandemic our world has experienced. However, as transportation and communication networks are tighter than ever in history, the pandemic's psychological, sociological, and economic effects seem to be beyond our estimation. Turkey entered the pandemic process in March 2022, and it was tried to be overcomed with the least possible damage through many measures and full lockdowns from time to time.
Businesses, especially SMEs, have been affected by these restrictions and lockdowns. For instance, remote working has become a common practice. It is beyond doubt that most companies felt the need for software, hardware, and, most importantly, human resources necessary for a smooth remote working practice. However, the needs were not only quantitative, but qualitative qualifications such as moral behavior became vital. Because remote working definitely has brought with it brand-new moral problems.
The subject of this project carried out by our research center is measuring and classifying moral perceptions developed by white-collar technical and office workers working in Organized Industrial Zones regarding remote working practices. For this purpose, questionnaires and interviews were conducted with technical and office personnel working in OIZs located in Istanbul, Kocaeli, Bursa, and Ankara.
The results obtained from this study will practically provide a guide for company managers to make more ethical decisions in their future remote work or hybrid applications. Furthermore, managers who are aware of the perceptions and ethical approaches of the employees regarding the remote working process will be able to manage the process more effectively and efficiently.
The following relations were tried to be clarified with the data collected from the participants:
1) Under what conditions did white-collar workers work during the pandemic? What are their satisfaction levels with these conditions? How did the work experience during the epidemic affect the employees' future choices?
2) Which teleworking practices do employees find more immoral?
3) Are employees' moral judgments more based on deontological or teleological assumptions?
4) How are employees' perceptions of the morality of practices related to demographic variables (age, gender, marital status, parenting status, length of work experience, geographic and sectoral distribution)?
In the coming months, the project results will be presented to academia through articles in English and Turkish languages and the business world with the project report.
Project Research: Prof. Mahmut Arslan & Assist. Prof. Sümeyye Kuşakcı