Die glückliche Organisation

Does Remote Work Make People Happy? Effects of Flexibilization of Work Location and Working Hours on Happiness at Work and Affective Commitment in the German Banking Sector

“…At the same time, the traditional local branch network is being significantly thinned out in the German banking sector in the course of massive structural change, which is fundamentally changing working conditions for employees [ 7 ]. In addition, optimization and cost-cutting developments are leading to a decline in the attractiveness of the banking sector as an employer [ 8 ], while employees desire working conditions that create meaning and allow for self-fulfillment [ 9 ] and enable happiness at work overall [ 10 , 11 ]. In this respect, banks are faced with the dual challenge of responding to changing customer needs on the one hand and being interesting for employees in order to retain them on the other.…”

“…Remote work can also increase motivation [ 29 ] and sense of meaning [ 30 ] due to its high autonomy [ 14 ], and it can also increase happiness at work [ 11 ] and retention [ 31 ]. Studies have shown that the perception of a self-determined environment was associated with higher autonomy and, thus, higher motivation [ 32 , 33 ].…”

“…According to Rehwaldt (2017) [ 11 ], happiness at work is determined by the factor’s meaningfulness, self-actualization, and community. Meaningfulness arises when employees feel they are contributing to the bigger picture or helping someone [ 11 ].…”

“…According to Rehwaldt (2017) [ 11 ], happiness at work is determined by the factor’s meaningfulness, self-actualization, and community. Meaningfulness arises when employees feel they are contributing to the bigger picture or helping someone [ 11 ]. Remote work could strengthen employees’ sense of meaning through on-site appointments with customers, as the feeling of supporting and helping comes to the fore.…”

“…Remote work could strengthen employees’ sense of meaning through on-site appointments with customers, as the feeling of supporting and helping comes to the fore. Self-actualization is promoted through the scope for action and the use of one’s own skills and potential [ 11 ]. The factor of self-actualization also moves further into focus in the context of New Work [ 9 ] and New Learning [ 46 ] in the sense of doing “what you really really want”.…”