Virtual Workplace and Job Satisfaction During Covid-19 Pandemic for Information Technology (IT) SMES in Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This research aims to contribute to the current body of knowledge through new findings on the virtual workplace arrangement for information technology in small medium enterprises, IT SMEs concerning job satisfaction during the pandemic Covid-19. Employee job satisfaction is one of the main keys to the success of an organization. However, current literature on the anecdotes and intriguing prescriptions on the relationship between virtual workplace-job satisfaction especially during a pandemic is vague. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between virtual workplace work arrangements and employees’ job satisfaction. The respondents are from selected IT SMEs in the manufacturing


Mapping the current scenario for virtual workplace and employee satisfaction
Studies to date indicate that employee satisfaction with a company is gaining traction since it can help an employer keep a broader team of workers on board, boosting productivity, overall performance, and profitability.One main reason why the satisfaction of staff is important is that it helps to improve productivity, especially for the remote worker (Miller, 2020;Pemble, 2020).For most employees, job satisfaction is of the utmost importance (Hashim, Bakar, Noh, & Mahyudin, 2020).To date, there are limited studies on job satisfaction, especially during pandemics (see Sun et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2021).Job satisfaction is a key construct of an organization's psychology to achieve goals (Paposa & Kumar, 2015;Unanue et al., 2017).Positive working experiences even during a pandemic will result in a greater level of job satisfaction (Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker, 2021).In contrast, negative working experiences result in a lower level of job satisfaction (Mafini & Dlodlo, 2014;Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker, 2021).The degree of an individual's job satisfaction results in his or her productivity at work (Paposa & Kumar, 2015) such as job performance and absenteeism (Alghamdi, 2015).Thus, understanding factors that contribute to higher job satisfaction is vital to an organization, especially during a pandemic (Simanjuntak & Desiana, 2020;Dang, & Hong, 2020).In the last 20 years, researchers have found inconsistent results with employee job satisfaction when analyzing the consequences of the virtual workplace (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007;Golden, 2006;Milliken, Kneeland, & Flynn2020).However, recently more researchers are studying the potential positive and negative consequences of the virtual workplace (see Milliken, Kneeland, & Flynn, 2020), due to changing work dynamics via virtual workplace (e.g., Ferguson et al., 2016).A rapidly changing business environment requires specialized skills and innovative capabilities in the workforce to compete accordingly.It imposes a challenge on employees to keep performing exceptionally well.Moving on, previous studies about job satisfaction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have found inconclusive findings on factors influencing it (i.e., Alzailai et al., 2021;Alshibani et al., 2020).For example, Alzailai et al (2021) found that organizations needed to provide appropriate facilities and situations for their staff.Besides that, they also found that demographic and work characteristics had influenced job satisfaction.Lately, according to Badr et al (2021), some problems arise among employees involving commitment, sense of belonging, and time management.This is likely to be due to the unsatisfactory level of job satisfaction (Badr, et al., 2021).Thus, further study on this issue is warranted.
Virtual workplace arrangement has become the "new normal," almost overnight (Kniffin et al., 2020;Lee & Sirgy, 2019).Therefore, research is required to find out virtual workplace factors that may positively affect employee job satisfaction.As a result of this study, business organizations will receive distinct orientations on how to motivate their human resources more competitively and to the company's advantage.It also helps to give direction on how to improve individual employees' learning possibilities as well as collective organizational innovative capacities.
To achieve Saudi's 2030 goals, the contribution of IT SMEs cannot be underestimated (Alshuaibi, 2017;Nurunnabi et al., 2020).The authors suggested that IT has contributed greatly to the creation of a good business environment by enhancing government relationships with firms especially by ensuring smooth operations for the latter.This will lead to increased production, employment opportunity, and increased revenues for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, thus improving the country's GDP (Alshuaibi, 2017, Nurunnabi, Alhawal, & Hoque, 2020).As such, technology should be considered a necessity in the realization of Saudi's Vision 2030.Thus, further investigations to understand this phenomenon in IT industry are warranted.Moreover, because almost none of those studies were conducted during a period when the virtual workplace was used on such a massive scale as it was during the pandemic, and because of the unique demands at the time, some of the previously accumulated knowledge on virtual workplace may be out of date in the current Covid-19 crisis (Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker 2020).At the least, there is the need to investigate how this context has shaped the experience of working remotely for employees in selected SMEs in Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Further, research about virtual workplace-job satisfaction especially during pandemics mostly occurs in America and Europe (see Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker, 2020;Agba, Ocheni & Agba, 2020).Thus, investigation on the relationship of these variables in an area where it is still plausible such as The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is justified.Hence, that is why this study has been undertaken as it scopes greater employee satisfaction through virtual workplace arrangements.The target population is IT employees from the top 12 IT SMEs in Riyadh (see SaudiYP, 2021).Employees associated with SMEs are prone to distress more frequently (Sudha & Singh, 2021).Thus, grounded on a study by Lee & Sirgy (2019); Thomason & Williams (2020); Hafeez & Akbar (2015); Agha et al (2017), and other relevant literature, this study puts forward the argument that the studied variables can be taken as a starting point in designing studies relating to central issues relevant for an understanding how virtual workplace arrangement influence job satisfaction.The finding will be used to guide the progress of policies and programs that can enhance the employees' job satisfaction.Moreover, the findings of this study will benefit both managers and employees.To address the issue of well-being and job satisfaction, organizations should consider evaluating the virtual workplace arrangement of their employees.Studies to date indicate that employee satisfaction with a company is gaining traction since it can help an employer keep a broader team of workers on board, boosting productivity, overall performance, and profitability.One main reason why the satisfaction of staff is important is that it helps to improve productivity, especially for the remote worker (Miller, 2020;Pemble, 2020).

Literature Review Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is a wide term that relates to an employee's overall attitude about their work.It is the most important model in organizational culture, and it is linked to ethical, economic, organizational, and individual results (Balzer et al., 1997;Gözükaraa & Olakolub, 2016).There are several definitions and ways to job satisfaction that are discussed in the literature.
The definition proposed by Locke is supported by current research.Job satisfaction is described by Locke (1976Locke ( , p.1304) ) as "a happy or good emotional state arising from the evaluation of one's job or job experiences."Job satisfaction, according to some experts, is described as an individual's reaction to their work or organization (Porter et al., 1975) and as well as an individual's affective commitment to his/her organizational role (Lease, 1998).In addition, Aziri (2011) discussed that the definition of job satisfaction offered by Spector, according to whom job satisfaction has to do with how individuals feel about their job and its many elements, is one of the most frequently cited.It has to do with how much individuals like or dislike their work.That is why job satisfaction and discontent may occur in every workplace; and according to (Davis et al.,1985), Job satisfaction can also be defined as a combination of positive and negative sentiments about one's employment.Meanwhile, when a worker is hired in a business entity, he carries with him his own set of needs, desires, and experiences, all of which determine expectations that he has previously rejected.Job satisfaction is a measure of how realistic expectations are in comparison to actual rewards.Furthermore, when it comes to the efficiency and success of corporate organizations, job satisfaction is one of the most important aspects.Indeed, the new management paradigm, which emphasizes that employees should be regarded and viewed mainly as human beings with their own goals, requirements, and personal aspirations, is a solid sign of the role of job satisfaction in today's businesses.With that being said, 'a satisfied employee is a happy employee, and a happy employee is a successful employee, according to the logic of job satisfaction' (Aziri, 2011).Spector (1997) identifies three key characteristics of work satisfaction.First and first, human values should govern companies.Such businesses will prioritize treating employees fairly and respectfully.In such circumstances, job satisfaction may be used as a good indication of employee productivity.Employees with high levels of job satisfaction may be in a healthy emotional and mental condition.Second, the conduct of employees is influenced by their degree of job satisfaction, which has an impact on the organization's business operations and activities.From this, it may be inferred that job satisfaction leads to positive conduct, whereas job dissatisfaction leads to negative behaviour.Third, job satisfaction may be used as a measure of organization development.Various levels of satisfaction in different organizational units may be identified by job satisfaction evaluation, which can then serve as a good indicator of which organizational unit adjustments that would enhance performance should be undertaken (Aziri, 2011).

Issues of Job Satisfaction for SMEs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Even while unemployment among young Saudis remains high, the job sector in Saudi Arabia is largely dominated by expatriates, who are primarily low-skilled employees (Alshanbri et al., 2014;Alzalabani, 2004;Mellahi, 2007).The kingdom's own citizens' indifference for private work, along with the fear of exploitation and abuse by the private sector, may stick a pin in its industrial growth trajectory, which it would like not to happen.On the one hand, rising unemployment and the religious, social, and cultural stigma associated with private employment have made it increasingly important for the government to secure the welfare and benefits of the current workforce.In light of this, it would be fascinating and worthwhile to investigate the employment satisfaction of Saudi nationals working in both the commercial and public sectors after nearly two decades of government-led Saudization, and if the primary goal of this Saudization has been met.Job satisfaction is one of the strongest measures of an organization's current work environment.While some studies claim that public employees are more pleased, others claim that private-sector employees are more satisfied (Paillé et al., 2015).Job happiness cannot be regarded in isolation, according to several studies, and the influence of multiple elements such as workplace violence, job stress, and role clarity must be addressed (Alzalabani, 2017).

The Utilization of Virtual Workplace Work Arrangement for SMEs during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
SMEs are the backbone of the economy of any country, whether it is a developed or developing country (Tripathi, 2019), since these enterprises provide lots of job opportunities, in addition to their low need of capital to start their activities, their ability to employ the skilled and unskilled labor, and their low risk compared to other enterprises.SMEs endeavor to the continuous development through investing the modern techniques and new methods of work, such as virtual workplace and other methods that reflects positively on work in general (Pasnicu 2018).According to Dahlan, Abdullah & Suhaimi, (2018), a virtual workplace is "Where people, technology, and the workplace combine to increase agility, productivity, and engagement,".Virtual workplaces, according to Stich (2020), allow workers to work from anywhere at any time utilizing information and communication technology, blurring the temporal and geographical boundaries of work.The motivations for employing virtual workplace within SMEs are due to changes in the regulatory environment and developments that occur to it, scientific and technical progress, the development of the means of technology used in the work environment, the tendencies of the business or management personnel, the general policies, in times of crisis, emergency, and the spread of epidemics and diseases such as the Covid-19 virus, and limiting the spread of the virus (Ministry of Development and Local Resources, 2020).The breakout of Covid-19, according to Amuso, Poletti, and Montibello (2021), has prompted organizations to consider how technology may stimulate creativity and how innovation might influence their long-term survival.As a result, SMEs have turned to virtual work arrangements to help them improve their competitiveness while also supporting sustainable development and labor safety, allowing them to streamline product development, marketing, and problemsolving (see Casalino, uchowski, Labrinos, Munoz Nieto, & Martn, 2019;Nurunnabi, Alhawal, & Hoque, 2020).The results of the study by Oshi & Nwuche (2020) study revealed that small and medium-sized companies also have adopted the virtual workplace arrangements strategy as a method to face the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.Further, according to them, adopting Flexible Work Patterns is no longer a luxury or a thing of choice, since the entire business world now becomes a "virtual village"; therefore, any business that is unable to catch up will most likely not be able to survive.The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates has granted new and creative interactive capabilities to the virtual labour market platform in order to assist businesses and employees affected by state-imposed preventive measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus (Emirates Today, 2020).These privileges have included providing the procedure of enterprises' owners and private sector employers, "long-distance" interviews with those who want to obtain job opportunities for them, providing short videos for workers registered on the platform with ways to define their strengths and present their job expertise during job interviews, also providing a new dashboard design to show the recruitment process details, and giving direct communication potential from the companies registered on the platform with employment and recruitment teams (Emirates Today, 2020).In light of the recent health crisis, studies by Al-Youbi, Al-Hayani & Rizwan (2020), and Kumar & Ayedee (2021) have underlined the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's employment in both the public and private sectors, as well as virtual workplaces for doing business.Furthermore, 26% of Saudi entrepreneurs have expanded their digital marketing efforts to attract more customers (Saudigazette, 2021), according to the GoDaddy 2022 Entrepreneur Survey.Igwe, Rahman, and Saif (2020) provided a series of answers to the challenges that virtual work arrangements face.Since the use of alternative work, arrangements are not limited to the Covid-19 crisis but for the long term, these solutions were embodied in regulatory laws, financial incentives, training, and programming courses on how to utilize information technology at work.

Virtual Workplace and Job Satisfaction
The effects of the virtual workplace on job satisfaction have been reported to have mixed conclusions whether it has positive or negative effects (Miller, 2020;Gandhi, Madan, & Arora, 2021).For example, there are some researchers accentuate the positive virtual workplace effect on job satisfaction (Miller, 2020;Gajendran & Harrison, 2007, Gimenez Nadal et al., 2018, Wheatley, 2017) and some have found support for the linear relationship between virtual workplace and job satisfaction, suggesting that employees who work remotely more are more satisfied with their jobs (Gandhi, Madan, & Arora, 2021;Schall, 2019;Guimaraes & Dallow, 1999;Dubrin, 1991).However, other researchers have shown that virtual workplace reduces job satisfaction or that employees who work remotely more are less satisfied with their jobs (Cooper & Kurland, 2002;Pinsonneault & Boisvert, 2001).According to Arroyo, (2020) and Cho, (2020), a virtual workplace is presumably promoted job satisfaction but only up to a certain point.In short, the researchers postulate that the relationship could be due to the increase of virtual workplace intensity which causes the paucity of social interaction with co-workers and the increased perception of isolation (Allen et al. 2015).Nevertheless, current findings by Miller, (2020); and Gandhi, Madan, & Arora, (2021) confirmed that virtual workplace was positively associated with job satisfaction.Thus, the current study will be done to explore whether the positive effect is still applicable for SMEs in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Sample and Procedure
The sample includes employees at twelve (12) potential SMEs from Information Technology (IT) companies located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Participation was optional, and all data were collected through a survey link via Google Surveys.The distribution of questionnaires was through sending formal emails to the SMEs to be given to their employees.As well as posting URL links of the questionnaire on the employee's open websites of social media.The criterion for selecting the respondents is that they work in IT SMEs that have employed virtual workplace arrangements for at least one year.The total population is estimated to be 765.The sampling method that the researcher used is convenience sampling.According to Krejci and Morgan (1970), with an approximate number of total populations 765, the minimum sample size needed is 254.

Measurement of the Variables Demographi
In the first section of the questionnaire, inquiries into the background of the respondents are made.These concerned their age, gender, marital status, number of children, organizational tenure, organizational position, and highest education.It was expected that the findings from this section would provide an opportunity to explore the understanding of the characteristics of the employees.

Virtual Workplace
Four items were created to measure whether participants engaged in virtual workplace arrangements based on a study by Schall ( 2019) and Sumaiti, (2010).The items were, "Do you feel engaged in virtual work arrangements during the workweek" and "Working from home will help me to establish a better work-life balance".

Job Satisfaction
The Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index (Brayfield & Rothe, 1955) is a five-item scale that was selected to measure the overall job satisfaction levels of all employees.Items included "I feel fairly satisfied with my present job" and "I find real enjoyment in my work."Demographic

Data analysis strategy
The data for this analysis was evaluated in accordance with multiple regression standards and procedures.

Results and Discussion ata screening
Before conducting the regression analysis, the relevant assumptions of this statistical analysis were tested.A reliability test was conducted to focus on the consistency of the measuring instrument in supplying the results for this research study.Despite the general acceptance of the value of 0.7 as the cut-off point of the reliability measure, the satisfactory level of reliability also depends on how a measure is used.'In the early stages of research on predictor tests or hypothesized measures of a construct, one saves time and energy by working with instruments that have only modest reliability, for which purpose reliabilities of 0.60 or 0.50 will suffice (Sekaran,2003).Next, the multivariate outliers testing was conducted using Mahalanobis Distance.An examination of the Mahalanobis distance scores indicated two multivariate outliers, according to Chi-square statistics table P=.001 and the 1 independent variable is 10.83.No outliers were identified in the initial data screening.In addition, results from the Komogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk and Skewness and Kurtosis test, show that the residuals are all distributed normally.Next, the Durbin-Watson value was 2.470 indicating non-autocorrelation both positive and negative, occurs between the residuals in the regression models.Further, the VIF results prove that the multicollinearity issue does not occur in this research.Finally, the assumption of homoscedasticity is supported in this research.The higher VIF based on the result is 3.962 for the virtual workplaces.

Descriptive Study
This study consists of 255 respondents from IT SMEs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.For gender, 78 (30.6%) of the participants were females, and 177 (69.4%) participants were males.This makes the majority of respondents consist of male employees.In addition, results also show that single and married status dominated most of the responses with an astounding 96.5% of the population.To be exact, 51.4% are married and 45.1% are single, and only 3.5% are divorced.As for the number of children of respondents, who are under the age of 18 years old and living at home.Data shows that 147 (57.6% 4) have no children, 45 (17.6%) have one child, 60 (23.5%) have 2 to 4 children, and only 3 (1.2%)have more than 4 children.Next, as for the organizational tenure of the respondents.53 (20.8%) of the respondents have been working for less than one year in their organization, 41 (16.1%) have been working for 1-2 years, 72 (28.2%) for 3-4 years, 64 (25.1%) for 5-10 years, and 25 (9.8%) for more than 10 years.Results also show the organizational position of the respondents.38 (14.9%) of the respondents are working in an administrative position, 56 (22.0%) are in an entry-level position, 25 (9.8%) an executive position, 105 (41.2%) as Mid-Management positions, 11 (4.3%) as upper management position, and 20 (8%) are working as other positions in their organizations.Finally, in terms of education, the highest education levels achieved by the respondents, where 9 (3.5%) have a high school education, 19 (7.5%) have diplomas, 188(73.7%)have Bachelor's degrees, 33 (12.9%) have Masters or Ph.D., and 6 (2.4%) have other education.<.000 N 255 255 Pearson correlation was used to see whether there is a relationship between independent and dependent variables (Sekaran and Bougie, 2014).If the coefficient is 0, it indicates that there is no linear relationship between the two variables.However, if the r coefficient of Pearson Correlation is near to positive 1, it indicates that there is a positive linear relationship between the variables.If the r coefficient is near to -1, it indicates that there is a negative relation between the variables.According to Cohen (1988), r = 0.10 to 0.29 is considered as small, r = 0.30 to 0.49 is interpret as medium and large value for correlation is 0.5 to 1.0.Based on the results in Table 1, there is a medium and small correlation linear relationship between virtual workplace work arrangement (IV), and job satisfaction (DV).10, the R 2 value of the model is 0.340 and the adjusted R 2 is 0.333.Therefore, the model which is consisted of a virtual workplace arrangement explains 33% of the variance in explaining job satisfaction.The f value for the model in Table 19 is 20.482 (p<0.001)indicating that the model is significant and all the independent variables significantly explain the dependent variables.3 indicate that virtual workplace arrangement was found to have a significant contribution to job satisfaction which is (H1) (β = 0.04, p<0.05).This shows that there is a significant relationship between virtual workplace arrangements and job satisfaction.

Overview of Research Question
This research aims to contribute to the current body of knowledge through new findings of the virtual workplace for IT SMEs concerning job satisfaction during pandemic Covid-19.This study investigates the relationship between virtual workplace and job satisfaction of employees during the Covid-19 pandemic for IT SMEs in Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

RQ1: What is the relationship between virtual workplace work arrangement and job satisfaction of employees during Covid-19 pandemic for IT SMEs in Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
This study revealed the relationship between virtual workplace work arrangement and job satisfaction occurred in the organization (β = 0.04, p<0.05).This shows that there is a significant relationship between virtual workplace arrangement, work-life balance and job satisfaction.The independent variable is proven to have important influences on job satisfaction for employees in IT SMEs in Riyadh.This supported the findings by several researchers (Schall, 2019;Nakrosiene, Buciuniene, and Gostautaite, 2019) who stress that virtual workplaces will result in a positive influence on job satisfaction.In addition, existing knowledge of the virtual workplace can be questioned in an extraordinary pandemic context (Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker 2020).The findings of this research were conducted to explore the challenges experienced by the employees at this time.It is therefore critical that, in the age of rising technological society, if businesses want to remain viable and competitive, a better understanding of the consequences of the virtual workplace is necessary for the workplace's future.Further, since the establishment of Saudi Arabia's National Digital Transformation Unit in 2017, the government has spent 15bn on ICT infrastructure.Thus, with the extensive amount of investment, proven benefits, and support by the government in promoting virtual workplaces during pandemics is supported.Next, since almost none of those studies was conducted at a time when the virtual workplace was practiced at such an unprecedented scale as it has been during the pandemic, coupled with unique demands at this time, some of the previously accumulated knowledge on virtual workplace might lack contextual relevance in the current Covid-19 crisis (Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker 2020).At the least, the present research investigates how this context has shaped the experience of working remotely for employees in selected SMEs in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.This contributes to the literature as research about virtual workplace-job satisfaction especially during pandemics mostly occurs in America and Europe (see Wang, Liu, Qian, & Parker, 2020;Agba, Ocheni & Agba, 2020).Thus, investigation on the relationship of these variables in the area where it is still plausible such as The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is beneficial.Further, results for RQ1 of this research contributes to the improvement of the organization, talent development, and empower quality human capital and it can be used as a guideline for improvement and implementations in the IT organization from Riyadh, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's industries and in a way helps to contribute to better performance and achieving SDGs as follows: 1.
SDG 8 -Decent Work and Economic Growth -Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 2.
SDG 9 -Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation

Conclusion
Overall, it can be concluded that there is a significant and positive relationship between virtual workplace and job satisfaction among IT employees in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, during the Covid-19 pandemic.The researcher argues that the current study provides insights into the influence of virtual workplaces on employee satisfaction.The researcher also believes that this approach could be developed further to offer new insights into research on employee satisfaction beyond seeing only (virtual workplace and work-life balance) as predictors.Although the relationship between them has an essential contribution to the understanding of employee satisfaction, much more research is needed with more variables.This study does not only contribute to academics but also to different organizations such as IT organizations etc.To conclude, this research revealed that for increasing job satisfaction, virtual workplace arrangements act as a strong predictor.Nevertheless, this study has addressed the gaps in the study of Virtual Workplace Arrangement-Job Satisfaction and contributes significantly to the literature on this topic.Results confirmed that industries need a psychological element to remain competitive.Besides this, it contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring the work process through the applicability of the psychological and behavioural theory in the situation of IT SMEs worker's job satisfaction.It is expected to improve the methodical and theoretical bases for the examination of job satisfaction and other investigations within the area and develop knowledge of social relevance that government and other stakeholders may benefit from.

Table 1
Correlations table

Table 3
Multiple Regression analysis