Accessing the Impact of Physical Isolation on Job Satisfaction of Private Sector University Academics in Sri Lanka during Covid - 19 Pandemic

Abstract

Organizations have transformed into remote working or work from home idea any place conceivable due to Coronavirus sickness after the Sri Lankan government has declared a country wide curfew to reduce the spread of virus. Therefore, most of the universities in Sri Lanka have had to shift the majority of their learning activities online. The shift is challenging in that it requires both social and technological transformations that may somehow have been arranged out over an any longer period, however have been compelled to quickly actualize changes to accomplish the educational mission despite the disruption. This empirical study attempts to investigate how physical isolation in the workplace during the Covid 19 pandemic related to and its impact on job satisfaction of academics in private campuses in Sri Lanka. Mixed method pragmatism was used as the research design of the study. Data collection was conducted through self-administered questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Sample size is 100 and used convenient sampling technique to collect data. Data analysis was conducted by using correlation analysis, regression analysis, and triangulation. The study results revealed that physical isolation has a significant negative relationship and a negative impact on job satisfaction. The findings of the study conclude that physical isolation results in reduced job satisfaction of academic-related people in a remote setting and remote teaching during the nation nationwide curfew period. Also, it is recommended to provide careful attention to ensure the optimization of academics. Further, the study recommends the it important to identify competencies in the 21st century and revealing deficiencies in order to deliver online academic process smoothly in emergency situations to get adapted to the available technologies and to enhance the participation of academics throughout the process to face this challenge in a remote setting.

Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, Job satisfaction, Physical isolation, Remote setting