• Less balance

• More work-life conflicts

• Creates "greater work-related fatigue"

• If the employee does not like their remote work environment, work-life balance decreases due to a stress increase

• Hours increase and employees feel as though they are always connected to work

• Isolation


University of California, Davis

Tulane University

Remote Workplace design focuses specifically on remote work settings in which the employee has more control over design aspects. The employees have more control over the efficiency of the workspace as it is generally their home or a non-designated work location. The role of the company is to provide employees with the technology and resources to complete their job efficiently and from a variety of different locations. This can be seen as (but not limited to) a medium for social interaction/connection with other employees for work and social benefits. When working remotely it's important for a company to support and help their employees create/maintain a good work-life balance. 



Remote Workplace design

Work-home interference, ineffective communication, loneliness, procrastination, and boundary management.

Challenges Associated with Remote Work

Melika Shirmohammadi, Wee Chan Au & Mina Beigi (2022) Remote work and work-life balance: Lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic and suggestions for HRD practitioners, Human Resource Development International, 25:2, 163-181, DOI: 10.1080/13678868.2022.2047380

Remote work and work-life balance: Lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic and suggestions for HRD practitioners

Bellmann, L. and Hübler, O. (2021), "Working from home, job satisfaction and work–life balance – robust or heterogeneous links?", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 424-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-10-2019-0458

Working from home, job satisfaction and work–life balance – robust or heterogeneous links?

Palumbo, R. (2020), "Let me go to the office! An investigation into the side effects of working from home on work-life balance", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 33 No. 6/7, pp. 771-790. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-06-2020-0150

Let me go to the office! An investigation into the side effects of working from home on work-life balance

Remote work is a flexible working arrangement or environment that allows one to work outside of the on-site workplace. The versatility in remote work allows for temporary or permanent arrangements, part-time or full-time arrangements, and occasional or frequent arrangements. Remote work is often facilitated through online programs and collaborative platforms such as zoom, google meets, Microsoft teams, etc. Typically, remote work is organized into groups or teams that hold metting through their respective platform.

Remote Work

• No commute (depending on remote location)

• If the employee likes their remote work environment, work-life balance increases

• Flexibility increases work-life balance

• Increase family time

Remote Work-life Balance (Pros)

Remote Work-life Balance (Cons)

• Employers have less control

• Compensate by increasing trust in employees

• Employees must assume responsibility for themselves and their work

• Employees must be proactive

• Ex: ask for help when needed, complete assignments, communicate with others, ... etcetera

• Newer employees have a more difficult time asking for what they need/taking initiative

Remote Work Employee Expectations

• Increase in formal meetings

• Less engagement during meetings

• Less use of email, more use of digital tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts

• "Information overload" - especially with digital tools

• Written communication can lead to misinterpretation

• Need to write a formal email/schedule a meeting for something that could have been said in person if onsite - creates more work

• More work creates burnout within employees that can affect the overall efficiency of work production

Remote Work Communication (Cons)

• Less use of email, more use of digital tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts

• Written communication increases clarity

• Written communication provides a record of everything

• Faster response times with written communication

Remote Work Communication (Pros)

• Provide remote employees with basics: chair, desk

• Make sure their employees have the "mental tools" to handle working remotley

Remote Work Employer Expectation

When employees are satisfied with the amount of physical and psychological input to their work and nonwork roles, they achieve a work-life balance. It should be considered from an individual perspective, in which the conflict between employees' family and work roles is minimized. 

Work-Life Balance

Home-to-work interference refers to interruptions from family or other household members that negatively impacts productivity. Conversely, work-to-home interference occurs when one's work seeps into their home life and familial obligations.

Work-Home Interference

Inefficient methods of contact, such as through ICTs instead of face-to-face communication.

Ineffective Communication

Procrastination

Sadness resulting from the lack of opportunity to socialize with colleagues, friends, or romantic partners.

Loneliness

Employees who receive more social support will experience less procrastination, work-home interference, and loneliness.

Social Support and Remote Work Challenges

- Having a working situation that reduces boundaries such as working from home would lead to misalignment with workers’ preferences.
- Remote work alters the traditional boundaries between work and nonwork domains, which may make it difficult to balance between work and nonwork. 
- Workers are more likely to experience poor work-family outcomes if their boundary management preferences and the degree of satisfaction to their preferences do not match.

Challenges of Boundary Management Caused by Remote Work

In the short run, stressors or shock events will negatively impact individuals' well-being, but in the long run, individuals adapt to their new situation and well-being returns. The rate of adaption varies across life events, and the adaptation pattern has been observed to respond to various stressors as a function of individual differences.

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