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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of remote e-working on the key research areas of work-life balance, job effectiveness and well-being. The study provides a set of generalisable themes drawn from the key research areas, including building trust, management style and the quality of work and non-working life. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is an exploratory study into the psychological factors affecting remote e-workers using qualitative thematic analysis of eleven in-depth interviews with e-workers, across five organisations and three sectors. All participants worked remotely using technology independent of time and location for several years and considered themselves to be experts. Findings -The paper provides insights into the diverse factors affecting remote e-workers and produces ten emerging themes. Differentiating factors between e-workers included access to technology, ability to work flexibly and individual competencies. Adverse impacts were found on well-being, due to over-working and a lack of time for recuperation. Trust and management style were found to be key influences on e-worker effectiveness.Research limitations/implications -Because of the exploratory nature of the research and approach the research requires further testing for generalisability. The emerging themes could be used to develop a wide-scale survey of e-workers, whereby the themes would be further validated. Practical implications -Practical working examples are provided by the e-workers and those who also manage e-workers based on the ten emerging themes. Originality/value -This paper identifies a number of generalisable themes that can be used to inform the psychological factors affecting remote e-worker effectiveness.

PurposeThe objective of the present study is to develop and provide initial validation for the new E-Work Life (EWL) Scale. This measure assesses a range of theoretically relevant aspects of the e-working experience related to four main areas: job effectiveness, relationship with the organisation, well-being and work-life balance. Design/methodology/approachStructured item development is presented. Internal validity and reliability were tested on a sample of 260 e-workers (65% female, age range 25-74). Correlations of the EWL scale with a measure of General Health were tested on as subsample of 119 e-workers to provide initial evidence of construct validity. FindingsExploratory factor analysis supported a 17-item scale assessing four factors: Work-Life Interference, Productivity, Organisational Trust and Flexibility. Individual well-being was measured and a pattern of significant correlations against four factors as indicators of general health were found, including mental health and vitality. Research limitations/implicationsA new sample would confirm the strength of the EWL scale alongside further tests of validity.Coping strategies related to the scale would aid mapping of individual competencies for eworking to promote e-workers' self-management, management style and organisational policy. Practical implicationsThe EWL scale helps organisations to evaluate and support the well-being of e-workers. It provides measurement on three levels: individual, supervisory and organisational, whereby practical strategies for improvement can be linked to the scale. Originality/valueThe EWL scale completes a gap in the research by providing a measure aiding organisations to evaluate and support e-worker well-being.

PurposeThis present qualitative study explores the impact of the remote e-working experience on employees’ well-being.Design/methodology/approachForty (23 male) remote e-workers working for a British IT company were interviewed about their work-related well-being. Semi-structured interviews were framed within an existing theoretical of work-related well-being; hence, questions targeted five distinct dimensions of affective, professional, social, cognitive and psychosomatic well-being. However, data collection was not constrained by this model, allowing the exploration of other aspects interviewees considered relevant to their work-related well-being. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis, where key themes emerged.FindingsFindings support the relevance of a multidimensional approach to understanding remote e-workers’ well-being as it provides an in-depth understanding of the inter-connectedness between relevant dimensions. Further insight into the overlooked issues of detachment from work and health-related behaviours when e-working remotely is also provided.Practical implicationsThis study proposes practical implications related to the organisational, managerial and individual level; providing individuals tailored guidance on how to remote e-work effectively and raising the importance of cultural change to support remote e-workers to be open about their working preferences.Originality/valueAn original contribution to the field of remote e-working is provided, by adopting a holistic approach to explore well-being, disentangling the interconnections between different well-being dimensions and discussing pivotal contributing factors that seemed to be understudied within extant remote e-working literature.

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