Impact of COVID-19 on Workforce Productivity: A Comparative Efficiency Analysis of Remote vs. On-Site Models in Health, Banking, and Insurance Sectors of Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Abstract

The COVID-19 epidemic triggered an extreme reorganization of the relationships in the workplace, imposing a dichotomy of remote and on-site patterns of activity all over the world. Whereas the metropolitan centers were able to quickly adapt owing to already developed digital infrastructures the Tier-2 Indian cities encountered individual and under-explored issues. This paper examines the relative efficiency, labor productivity and psychological involvement in three different industries such as Healthcare, Banking, and Insurance in Raipur, Chhattisgarh within the critical time frame of 2020 2022. The study is based on the Job Demands- Resources (JD-R) theoretical framework and compares the impact structural changes in modalities of work created on output and employee well-being. A cross-sectional, mixed-method design was used based on retrospective time-tracking data and standardized psychometric measures (UWES-9, OLBI) of a stratified sample (n=342, n=120 Healthcare, n=112 Banking, n=110 Insurance). In particular, the paper will examine the effectiveness of digital collaboration applications and compare the usefulness of Microsoft Teams and Zoom, as well as quantify the productiveness paradox in sectors. Findings show that there is a great sectoral divergence (p < 0.001). The Insurance industry was used to show a 14.5% increment in task-based productivity under remote models, which is caused by high autonomy and effective usage of Zoom in acquiring external clients. The hybrid model was resilient in the Banking industry, as Microsoft Teams is preferred due to its secure, asynchronous collaboration features. On the other hand, the Health care industry, which has to be on-site, registered a statistically significant decrease in per-unit efficiency even though working hours have been increased 22 percent, due to the depletion of resources and mental fatigue. The results indicate that remote work was more effective in the productivity of financial services in Raipur as it removed the commute stressors and leveraged the digital resources; however, the absence of the structural resources of the job in on-site healthcare environments triggered the efficiency-destroying burnout. The presented insights play a central role in developing sector-specific hybrid work policies in the developing urban economies.