Psychosocial Adjustment to Work at Home in Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

In this study, on the convenience samples of 408 respondents from Serbia, 201 from Montenegro, 221 from North Macedonia, and 201 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the authors described psychosocial adjustment to work at/from home in the four Western Balkan countries, similarities and differences among the countries and, using qualitative analysis, they presented the profiles of psychosocial adjustment for each country. For this research, a special questionnaire was constructed with answers on a five-point Likert scale. In the analysis and processing of empirical data, ANOVA was used. The results of the research confirmed the findings of other researchers that the attitudes of the respondents towards various psychosocial aspects of working from home are mostly positive, although there are significant differences among the countries; the biggest differences are between respondents from Montenegro and everyone else. Respondents from Montenegro estimate work at/from homeless favorably than all others; they have less time for activities and hobbies, pay less attention to family and partners, find it harder to separate work from private life, show more tension and anxiety while working, their relatives and friends support them less than other respondents. Jobs that are well below their professional education demotivate them. Respondents from North Macedonia are relatively similar to them, while respondents from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina show a much more optimistic image, which is why they are similar. The lack of social care from the state towards the respondents who work at/from home and remotely is common to all respondents, but it is most pronounced in Serbia.