Is Working from Home Good for Work-Life Balance, Stress, and Productivity, or does it Cause Problems?

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of employee productivity while working from home for a long period due to the COVID-19 pandemic quantitatively from the aspects of work-life balance, and employee stress levels. Several previous studies have explained that working from home (WFH) is known to contribute positively to work productivity. However, in contrast, several other studies have shown that working from home harms employee productivity. This research was conducted in Jakarta, Indonesia. The study sample comprised 135 employees who worked from home and the analysis was carried out using LISREL 8.5. The results of this study indicate that work-life balance and work-related stress affect work productivity. Meanwhile, working from home does not affect work productivity. The findings of this study show surprising results and can influence changes in organizational policies and strategies for collaborating between working from home and working from an office for employees. Contribution/Originality:This study contributes to the existing literature related to work from home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research has never been carried out by previous research regarding the impact of work from home on work-life balance, stress, and work productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Review of work from home empirical research during Covid-19

“… Green Leadership challenges and mental health outcomes Crisis management ( Appelgren, 2022 ), ( Stoker et al, 2022 ) 16 Journalism Studies Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Journal of International Women's Studies Frontiers in Education International Journal of Sexual Health Mental health ( Subha, R, & Thomas, 2021 ), ( Zapata-Garibay et al, 2021 ), ( Prabowo et al, 2022 ) Yellow Work-related outcomes Work engagement ( Palumbo, 2020 ), ( Albro & McElfresh, 2021 ; Negi, Pant, & Kishor, 2021 ), ( Mehta, 2021 ). ( Negi et al, 2021 ) 263 International Journal of Public Sector Management Journal of Academic Librarianship Transnational Marketing Journal Journal of Public Affairs Sustainability (Switzerland) Organizational Dynamics Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Journal of International Women's Studies International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction Humanities and Social Sciences Letters Asian Social Work and Policy Review Work stress ( Molino et al, 2020 ), ( George, Atwater, Maneethai, & Madera, 2022 ), ( Joshi et al, 2020 ), ( Wiradendi Wolor et al, 2021 ), ( Subha et al, 2021 ; Syed et al, 2021 ) Work-life balance ( Wiradendi Wolor et al, 2021 ), ( Palumbo, 2020 ), ( Jasrotia & Meena, 2021 ), ( Subha et al, 2021 ) Purple ...…”

“…Productivity : Research has found that productivity increases due to WFH ( Danker et al, 2022 ; Feng & Savani, 2020 ; Stoker et al, 2022 ; Tanpipat et al, 2021 ; Wiradendi Wolor et al, 2021 ). This is due to low-stress levels, managerial support ( Danker et al, 2022 ), changes in leadership behavior ( Stoker et al, 2022 ), high job motivation, norms in remote working ( Tanpipat et al, 2021 ), and increased work-life balance ( Wiradendi Wolor et al, 2021 ). Besides, one study found that WFH harms productivity ( Beno & Hvorecky, 2021 ).…”

“…Work stress: ICT tools ( Molino et al, 2020 ) and intrusion of work into personal life ( George et al, 2022 ; Joshi et al, 2020 ) are predictors of stress in WFH. The WFH creates work stress ( Wiradendi Wolor et al, 2021 ), particularly for women ( Subha et al, 2021 ; Syed et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Work-life balance: WFH affects the work-life balance ( Wiradendi Wolor et al, 2021 ). Notably, work-family balance is reduced ( Palumbo, 2020 ) for women as an extended period of work is conducted from home ( Jasrotia & Meena, 2021 ; Subha et al, 2021 ).…”

Towards work-life balance or away? The impact of work from home factors on work-life balance among software engineers during Covid-19 pandemic

“…Results showing that working conditions do not have a significant impact on work-life balance is surprising, compared to previous studies carried out. Since Wolor, Nurkhin and Citriadin [ 48 ] have identified in a study in Indonesian context that having the right conditions while WFH does have a significant impact on work-life balance. A study conducted in Japan by Bannai and Tamakoshi [ 19 ] claim that higher working hours would result in an imbalance of work and life.…”