The Importance of Teleworking and Its Implications for Industry 5.0: A Case Study

Teleworking became popular in the 1970s as a response to the energy crisis resulting from the rise in oil prices, and its adoption increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic as an isolation measure to avoid contagion and ensure business continuity. Industry 5.0 companies, among others, had to rapidly embrace teleworking during the pandemic, which involved taking risks such as allowing remote access to data and services without complete control over technical infrastructure and trusting employees to remain productive without direct supervision. This paper aims to explore the perceptions and expectations of Industry 5.0 employees about the adoption of teleworking under regular conditions after the pandemic, addressing concerns about productivity, supervision, cyberattacks, and potential additional investments. The objective is to provide comprehensive data that allow companies to make informed decisions about whether to continue teleworking in the future. It also presents a causal model that explains the intention to adopt teleworking and provides insights for managers of Industry 5.0 companies to make decisions related to this issue.