Links Between Telecommuting, Social Support and Mental Well-Being Among Teleworkers – A Literature Review

Abstract

Importance of the topic: Through limited communication possibilities, social support can be provided via structural distance only in a limited way. But exactly social support is a buffer to reduce work-related stress and diseases. The issue of workplace health promotion has so far received little attention in teleworking. The issue of workplace health promotion has so far received little attention in teleworking, which is incomprehensible, because healthy employees are the basis of an agile and competitive company. Aim of the study: The objective of this study is to identify and synthesize what is known about telecommuting, social-support and mental well-being of employees, and how these constructs are linked. Therefore the respective understandings of social-support and of healthy work behind the background of telework has to be elaborated, to develop the underlying interpretations of subjectivity, in order to propose a perspective for empirical investigations of health-oriented (tele-)working conditions. Methods: The study was carried out as a literature review, consisting information found in general and relevant science literature as well as scientific publications researched in common journal-databases. To gain a better understanding of how the constructs are linked, a conceptual model and testable hypotheses are provided. Findings: Proactive work-support, good workplace-relationships, but also support from non-work contexts are closely related to teleworkers' mental well-being. The question, as to why some employees in the field of telework are mentally stable and can cope with perceived, unfavorable working conditions or lower social support and others fail, can be answered by individual's Sense of Coherence (SoC), a health-related resource and their ability to use available General Resistance Ressources (GRR).

After the Pandemic: Tech, Work, and the Tech Workforce

“…We predict that many companies will adopt a hybrid or flexible model. To succeed in the integration of people of different abilities into this model, companies need to proactively and fully support these employees [77,78]. We also hope this will help to destigmatize disability.…”

Why Telecommuting Became Redundant During the COVID‐19 Pandemic?

“…Life satisfaction develops among employees when they have positive feelings over negative feelings [32]. Therefore, management can create a supportive environment that can assist employees to fulfill their responsibilities [16]. A virtual working environment is a feasible option during a pandemic situation where mobility is restricted.…”

“…Though this is an ideal situation to work in a virtual environment, there can be some issues of those old generations like generation X, who are not familiar with Information Technology (IT) literacy than millennials. Before the pandemic, female workers have had social support at home to handle cooking, laundering, taking care of children and other family members like children and elders [16]. However, with social distancing imposed in the pandemic situation, social supports were prevented at least temporarily [17].…”

Teletrabajo en tiempos de COVID-19

“…De acuerdo con (Tavares, 2017), el impacto en la salud mental como consecuencia del teletrabajo aparece cuando se extiende la jornada laboral. Otros aspectos que también afectan la salud mental se relacionan con el aislamiento social y las capacidades de tener control en relación a las actividades que se realizan durante el teletrabajo (Hager, 2018).…”