- demographic characteristics (e.g., gender and marital status)

- individual work

- family demands and characteristics

- personality

Factors Influence/Predict Work-Life Balance

Antecedents: 
- Work-related
- Family-related

Categories:
- Role stressors
- Role involvement
- Social support 
- Work or family characteristics 

Four Primary Categories of Antecedents that Impact Work-Life Balance

1) Offer remote work as an option

2) Prepare to support transition and remote work

3) Provide ongoing support to sustain remote work

Practical Suggestions to Support Remote Work and Work-Life Balance

Boundary management discusses how individuals establish, maintain, or change boundaries in order to effectively navigate the world around them, including their work and nonwork roles 

Boundary Management

Individuals are likely to feel more effective in their work and nonwork roles when their boundary management preferences are aligned with their environment. 

Boundary Theory

Family-supportive supervisor behaviors are voluntary behaviors that the supervisors show which tend to be supportive in their employee’s families’ situations and conflicts

Family-supportive supervisor behaviors 

The stereotype content model explains how warmth and competence are the  two most vital aspects in social situations and how employees interpret others. 

Stereotype Content Model

Enabling the workforce to become adaptive and agile at all times and all stages of the crisis.

Role of Human Resource Development (HRD) During COVID-19

Work-Family schedule fit is creating a work schedule that fits your employee’s schedule based on their likings.

Work-Family Schedule Fit 

The Social Role Theory proposes that our ideas about people are formed because of our social experiences. 

Social Role Theory

**Fit** is defined as the congruence between an individual's attributes and the characteristics of their environment.

A lack of fit, or incongruence, develops when a person's experiences do not match their expectations of a work or nonwork role (e.g., when working remotely). This mismatch often leads to stress and conflict. Conversely, achieving a fit between work and family demands and resources is positively associated with work and life satisfaction, better work-life balance, and overall individual well-being.

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. 

New York 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

Shirmohammadi, M., Au, W. C., &amp; Beigi, M. (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. https://doi.org/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

• 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)

• 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

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