Work-From-Home During COVID-19 Lockdown: When Employees’ Well-Being and Creativity Depend on Their Psychological Profiles

Abstract

With the COVID-19 pandemic, governments implemented successive lockdowns that forced employees to work from home (WFH) to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This crisis raises the question of the effects of mandatory work from home on employees’ well-being and performance, and whether these effects are the same for all employees. In the present study, we examined whether working at home may be related to intensity, familiarity with WFH, employees’ well-being (loneliness at work, stress, job satisfaction, and work engagement) and creativity (‘subjective’ and ‘objective’). We also examined whether the psychological profile of employees, combining preference for solitude and associated personality variables from the Big Five, may influence the effects of WFH. The data were collected via an online survey from November 13th to December 15th 2020 among 946 employees from various organizations during the second lockdown in France. In addition to identifying two distinctive psychological profiles for employees having to WFH, results revealed that those with a “Solitary” profile reported higher loneliness at work, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of job satisfaction and work engagement than those with an “Affiliative” profile. It was also found that employees with a “Solitary” profile perceived themselves as less creative and produced objectively fewer ideas than individuals with an “Affiliative” profile. The present study suggests the necessity to distinguish the profiles of teleworkers and to offer a stronger support for the less affiliative employees when working from home.

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

“…Other studies dealt with dispositional traits related to individual well-being. For example, from a study carried out among a group of employees working from home, it emerged that those with a “solitary profile” (i.e., high levels of preference for solitude and neuroticism, low levels of extraversion and agreeableness, and moderate levels of conscientiousness and openness) reported higher loneliness at work, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of job satisfaction and work engagement than those with an “affiliative” profile (i.e., low levels of preference for solitude and neuroticism, high levels of extraversion and agreeableness, and moderate levels of conscientiousness and openness) [ 79 ].…”

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

“…Likewise, emotional exhaustion was considered higher in women [53], but relaxation levels were also higher in women. A key area that requires greater clarity includes stress [39], depression symptoms [54,27], and loneliness [20]. This understanding will help organizational strategists and managers develop work-based responses that may support greater gender equality.…”

Work schedule flexibility and teleworking were not good together during COVID-19 when testing their effects on work overload and mental health

“…Because WFH is not identical to teleworking, transferability of data from studies conducted prior to the pandemic is now complicated (Kniffin et al, 2021). As Michinov et al (2022) stated, WFH differs from teleworking in that it is mandatory, and requires fulfilling multiple personal and work roles simultaneously, with restricted mobility and physical space. Pulido-Martos et al (2021) also hold that the abrupt and unplanned adoption of the WFH modality transformed the psychosocial environment at work, shifting various labor and personal resources in workers, making it essential to explore its consequences on employee health.…”

“…However, as a consequence of the pandemic, some FWAs, such as teleworking, were not optional, due to the need to remain in our homes for safety reasons, a condition known in the literature as “Mandatory Work From Home” or “Working From Home (WFH).” Because WFH is not identical to teleworking, transferability of data from studies conducted prior to the pandemic is now complicated ( Kniffin et al, 2021 ). As Michinov et al (2022) stated, WFH differs from teleworking in that it is mandatory, and requires fulfilling multiple personal and work roles simultaneously, with restricted mobility and physical space.…”

“…FWAs are strategies facilitating work, and, if applied correctly, function as resources. These enhance work engagement and well-being, reduce work overload, and improving worker well-being and performance ( Michinov et al, 2022 ). However, the literature shows that both WSF and teleworking could have either positive or negative outcomes ( Shiri et al, 2022 ).…”