Impact of Learn from Home and Work from Home on Work-Life Balance during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of MBA Students from a Leading State University in Sri Lanka

Abstract

COVID-19 Pandemic instantaneously turned the companies to run their operational activities in Work from Home (WFH) and the learning activities to implement through an online platform of Learn from Home (LFH). This has converted a significant impact on working students' Work Life Balance (WLB). This study investigates the WLB of the working MBA students during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of WFH and LFH. WFH and LFH are considered independent, while WLB is considered the dependent variable. Primary data were collected from MBA students at the University of Kelaniya to measure WFH, LFH and WLB. Simple random sampling technique was applied to select the sample, and the final sample consisted of 221 MBA students. Data were analyzed using correlation and regression with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science). The results showed that Work from Home and Learn from Home positively and significantly affect the Work-Life Balance. Result of the study further reveal that most of the students/employees wanted to practice ‘learn and work’ from home as a hybrid model during the post-pandemic.