Learning from work-from-home issues during the COVID-19 pandemic: Balance speaks louder than words

Abstract

During the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many employees have switched to working from home. Despite the findings of previous research that working from home can improve productivity, the scale, nature, and purpose of those studies are not the same as in the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied the effects that three stress relievers of the work-from-home environment–company support, supervisor’s trust in the subordinate, and work-life balance–had on employees’ psychological well-being (stress and happiness), which in turn influenced productivity and engagement in non-work-related activities during working hours. In order to collect honest responses on sensitive questions or negative forms of behavior including stress and non-work-related activities, we adopted the randomized response technique in the survey design to minimize response bias. We collected a total of 500 valid responses and analyzed the results with structural equation modelling. We found that among the three stress relievers, work-life balance was the only significant construct that affected psychological well-being. Stress when working from home promoted non-work-related activities during working hours, whereas happiness improved productivity. Interestingly, non-work-related activities had no significant effect on productivity. The research findings provide evidence that management’s maintenance of a healthy work-life balance for colleagues when they are working from home is important for supporting their psychosocial well-being and in turn upholding their work productivity.

The COV-ED Survey: exploring the impact of learning and teaching from home on parent/carers’ and teachers’ mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19 lockdown

“…Only half of teachers believed their students were actively engaged with on-line learning and coping well with home schooling and only a third of parents thought this was true of their adolescent. The results of this COV-ED survey will supplement existing and ongoing research findings regarding the impact of supporting learning from home during the pandemic [ 79 , 80 ] and help inform schools and educational policymakers to better understand the potentially malleable factors at their disposal. This knowledge and awareness may help improve the mental wellbeing of the parents/carers and teachers asked to ‘step-up’ to the challenge of remote learning and home teaching of adolescents during the pandemic.…”

Consequences of COVID-19 on Employees in Remote Working: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities An Evidence-Based Literature Review

“…Interestingly, in a study performed among a group of employees working from home in Hong Kong, stress did not directly impact productivity but promoted non-work-related activities during working hours, such as caring for children, doing housework, or playing video games and sports. However, performing these non-work-related activities did not affect productivity, suggesting that this may effectively counteract stress [ 39 ].…”

“…Several studies highlight how productivity in the workplace is strongly linked with employees’ physical and mental well-being [ 39 , 45 , 50 , 60 ]. The pandemic changed the workers’ routines and lifestyle, generating problems both in physical and mental/psychological health [ 24 ].…”

Working from Home, Telework, and Psychological Wellbeing? A Systematic Review

“…Song and Gao [39] Heiden et al [40] Vander Elst et al [28] Wohrmann and Ebner [30] Wohrmann and Ebner [30] Erro-Garces et al [ In drawing on the proactive work design model, work design conditions were the most studied component regarding telework. For example, working conditions [17], dedicated home office spaces [18,31], flexibility [31][32], and organizational support [17,34] were seen as important contributors to decent work for employees engaging in telework practices. This makes contextual sense given that many studies focused on understanding what drivers effected wellbeing in workplaces where telework was merely a reflection of the same work and work practices occurring offsite.…”