The Impact of Working From Home on Employee Innovative Work Behaviour

Arguably, one of the most important conduits for new product and process outcomes at the level of the firm is through innovative work behaviour (IWB), which involves idea generation and implementation at employee level. Using data from the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), this paper examines whether physical proximity shapes employee idea generation and implementation (IWB). The results show that employees who work from home daily are less likely to feel involved in idea generation, with the greatest impact felt by employees engaged in hybrid working. Furthermore, the results indicate that employees who work from home daily are more likely to feel involved in idea implementation. Collectively, the results indicate that physical proximity matters for idea generation, suggesting that tasks based on tacit knowledge and creativity necessitate spatial closeness.