Meta-analytical research has demonstrated the benefits brought by telecommuting to wellbeing. However, we argue that such a setup in the course of the coronavirus disease pandemic exerts negative effects. On the basis of conservation of resources theory, this study determined how telecommuting depletes wellbeing (defined by job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion) through obstructing psychological detachment from work. Moreover, we incorporated family interfering with work and family–work enrichment as moderators that can buffer the negative effect of telecommuting on psychological detachment from work. Time-lagged field research was conducted with 350 Chinese employees, and findings largely supported our theoretical hypotheses. The elevated level of telecommuting results in minimal psychological detachment from work, which then leads to low wellbeing. Meanwhile, the negative effect of the extent of telecommuting on psychological detachment from work is reduced by family interfering with work. These findings extend the literature on telecommuting and psychological detachment from work through revealing why teleworkers present negative feelings during the pandemic.

Exploiting the 2014 Environmental Protection Law (EPL) in China as quasi-natural experiments, we adopt a difference-in-differences approach to examine the impact of environmental regulation on corporate cash holdings. We document that heavy-polluting firms increase their cash holdings 15% more than non-heavy-polluting firms due to stringent environmental regulation. Further tests show that the heightened environmental uncertainty, the limited access to bank loans, and the decline in obtaining government subsidies for heavy-polluting firms are three plausible channels that allow environmental regulation to increase corporate cash holdings. The effects of environmental regulation on cash holdings are stronger for firms without political backgrounds and those in regions with less dependent on the secondary sector. Overall, our results offer original evidence showing how environmental regulation in emerging economies affects firms’ liquidity management decisions and support the precautionary effect of cash holdings.

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