Remote work-related barriers: exploring how grit relates to self-reported productivity during COVID-19 lockdown

Remote work has become increasingly common due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this has presented workers with new difficulties and barriers that may have an effect on their performance and productivity. In this paper, we explored the barriers to remote work and how a certain personality trait—grit: passion and perseverance in achieving long-term goals—could influence how workers copied with this reality. A total of 203 participants (69.5% female) with mean age of 41.90 (SD= 12.60) years completed an online survey, during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Portugal, investigating grit, perceived stress/anxiety, perception of remote work as a barrier, and self-reported productivity during this period. The findings suggest that grit negatively predicts the number of barriers identified during the transition to remote work and consequently positively predicts worker self-reported productivity. Thus, self-reported productivity is positively related to grit, and this relationship is mediated by the number of identified barriers. Future research should extend this study using longitudinal data, exploring the impact of core variables on career progression and the role of grit in worker resilience across various sectors and work environments, including the influence of events like the COVID-19 pandemic.