Informal overtime at home instead of telework: increase in negative work-family interface

Abstract

Purpose -The authors aim to compare how formal flexibility, such as telework, differs from informal overtime work at home regarding the work-family interface. Design/methodology/approach -By using data from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Surveys from 2003 and 2008, the positive and negative measures concerning the work-family interface are examined through logistic regression analysis. Findings -Employees doing informal overtime at home are more likely to be affected by negative emotions concerning work disrupting family lives. Additionally, negotiations between couples over the allocation of time become areas of conflict. Only weak evidence is provided for both telework and informal work at home supporting family life. Research limitations/implications -In studying homeworking, it is important to separate between formal and informal flexibility at work. The data exceptionally enable that. The limitations of the data are cross-sectionality and only a few measures for assessing the positive work-family interface. Originality/value -The contribution of the study is to show how informal overtime at home is related with stronger negative implications for work-family interface, when separated from telework. The article discusses how well-intentioned working schedule flexibility results in family life being infringed upon. Informal work may help attain a better work-family interface, but, with dual-earner employment being predominant in Finland, informal overtime work can increase pressures on families. The authors encourage the policy-and organisation-level recognition of informal overtime risks.

New Telework, Time Pressure, and Time Use Control in Everyday Life

“…They represent the kind of highly qualified autonomous workers who have long been closely associated with the telework option. Almost all workers in this group telework regularly, confirming findings by Ojala et al [34] that telework now, among qualified workers, should be regarded as the rule rather than the exception. We also find that about half of the case workers engage in home-based telework, illustrating an ongoing expansion of telework to jobs comprising more routine tasks, previously inflexible and tightly bound to the workplace, but now becoming increasingly digitalized.…”

“…Furthermore, the results indicate emerging divergences in teleworking practices. In particular, unregulated and occasional forms of teleworking being discussed in recent telework literature [3,34] are more employed by the established teleworkers, with the analytical workers more often teleworking outside regular working hours and using smartphones for work purposes to a greater extent. In contrast, the "new" teleworkers-the case workers-are more inclined to adopt traditional (regulated) teleworking practices and technologies.…”

“…In the literature, work that takes place outside regular working hours is rarely included in definitions and empirical investigations of telework. However, some studies have indicated that this practice is extensive and even more common than regular forms of telework [6,23,34]. In this study, this aspect is further explored by distinguishing between teleworking practices taking place during and outside regular working hours.…”

“…Recent telework literature pays attention to how additional forms of flexible work arrangements are added to the menu of options, further extending the concept and reach of telework [3,6,23,[33][34][35]. At the heart of this debate lie ongoing digitalization and the growth of new smart and portable ICTs.…”

“…For example, previous studies have found important differences in terms of gender and family situation, finding that telework usually enhances the work-life balance of families with children, that women more often than men experience negative effects in the family sphere [63,64], and that men more often than women experience positive effects in relation to work and work performance. Previous research has indicated that teleworking practices that entail work outside ordinary working hours are more strongly connected to negative implications, especially in relation to the family sphere [34,35]. As regards technology, studies of the use of pre-smart mobile phones found expectations of enhanced time pressure and private life intrusion to be exaggerated [60,62].…”