• 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

University of California, Davis

Remote workplace design focuses on remote work environments where employees exert greater control over their workspace design and efficiency (e.g., home offices or third places). In these settings, employers support performance by providing necessary technology and resource infrastructure, facilitating virtual social connection, and helping employees maintain a healthy boundary between work and personal life.

Remote Workplace Design

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

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

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

• 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


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. 

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