Telework in Baltic Countries during the Pandemic: Effects on Wellbeing, Job Satisfaction, and Work-Life Balance

Abstract

As a result of the rapid and unplanned adoption of telework by European companies during the pandemic, specific telework characteristics have arisen. Thus, employees’ experience of telework requires further analysis. Based on the “Living, Working, and COVID-19” results for Baltic countries, this paper studies the effect of telework experience on wellbeing, both directly and mediated by Work-Life balance and job satisfaction, through structural equation modelling. After verifying the significant differences in telework preferences, the model is also tested in high versus low telework preference groups. The main findings corroborate the effect of a positive telework experience on perceived wellbeing, but only indirectly via Work-Life balance. Additionally, data from the group with a high telework preference best fits the proposed model, revealing not only the mentioned indirect effect, but also the direct positive effect of telework experience on wellbeing. Thus, employees with a negative experience of telework during the pandemic will be more reluctant to accept telework over more traditional work arrangements. The implications as well as some limitations to be examined in further studies are also presented.

Exploring the nexus of social support, work–life balance and life satisfaction in hybrid work scenario in learning organizations

“…This study also highlights the importance of SS and the employees who receive and are very satisfied with the support from their family as well as the co-workers tend to report higher WLB and SWL (Skountridaki et al , 2021). Erro-Garcés, Urien, Čyras & Janušauskienė (2022) also reported the effect of HW in terms of telework on the well-being of the individuals via WLB in European nations in COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are in contradiction to the results of Peters and Batenburg (2015), which iterated that the management support in terms of telework/flexible work resulted in increased productivity as well as social cohesion providing an additional explanation for actualization and formalization of flexible work practices in the organizations.…”

Analisis Pengaruh Work Life Balance Dan Person Job Fit Terhadap Affective Organizational Commitment

“…Sulitnya untuk memisahkan secara jelas antara domain pekerjaan dan kehidupan pribadi dapat mempengaruhi persepsi karyawan atas terpenuhinya work life balance (Erro-Garcés et al, 2022 Rasa keterikatan karyawan terhadap perusahaan mengacu pada keyakinan bahwa perusahaan memberikan perhatian atas kebutuhan dan kesejahteraan karyawan (Ogunbanjo et al, 2022). Karyawan yang berkomitmen terhadap perusahaan akan menjaga hubungan baik dengan sesama karyawan dalam perusahaan sehingga mendukung kinerja perusahaan (Setiawati, 2020).…”

The impact of COVID-19 on work from home of ethnic groups in the USA: evidence from time-use data

“…The sudden shift to WFH during the pandemic presented several risks and challenges related to working time: working long hours, blurring of boundaries between work and home life, and work-life balance (Predotova and Vargas Llave, 2021;Erro-Garcés et al, 2022). The impact of COVID-19 on the time allocated to WFH has received surprisingly little attention in the literature.…”