The experiences of academics working remotely during the Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa

Zwelibanzi, Thembakazi

The experiences of academics working remotely during the Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa

Master Thesis

2022

Abstract

Academics needed to urgently move to remote working from their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and develop new ways of teaching and research, to ensure the continuity of the academic project. The purpose of the study was to explore this experience during this uncertain time. Using an interpretive research design, fifteen in-depth semi structured interviews were conducted with academics at a South African university. Following the COVID-19 rules and regulations, all interviews were conducted virtually using Microsoft Teams. Thematic analyses of the data yielded four key themes: (1) Managing work-family boundaries, (2) Exhaustion and institutional support, (3) Remote work as a transition exercise, and (4) The balance between greater flexibility and loss of human interaction. Implications for universities in retaining academics and future research ideas are presented.