The relationship between telework from home and the psychosocial work environment: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective Telework from home (TWFH) has become routine for many, yet research on how this may affect the psychosocial work environment is sparse. To understand the effects that TWFH may have on the psychosocial work environment, this systematic literature review identified, evaluated, and summarized findings on the association of TWFH with factors of the psychosocial work environment. Methods Searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, Amed, PsycINFO, and PubMed. The topic of the study reflected TWFH, and subjects should be office workers employed at a company. Outcomes should reflect psychosocial work environment factors. Inclusion criteria stated that studies should be primary, quantitative, and published in a peer-reviewed journal. English language publications dating from January 2010 to February 2021 were included. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale (NOS) and quality of overall evidence using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Results Searches resulted in 3354 publications, and after screening rounds 43 peer-reviewed original studies satisfying predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria were included. Fourteen individual psychosocial work environment outcome categories were studied. Limited overall evidence to support effects of TWFH on the included work environment outcomes, with evidence being rated either of low or very low quality. Flexibility and autonomy are discussed as potential mediating variables in the relationship between TWFH and the psychosocial work environment. Conclusion There is a lack of high-quality research investigating effects of TWFH on the psychosocial work environment. To suggest TWFH guidelines or recommendations, there is a need for research with high-quality longitudinal designs, precise measures of time use and location of work, and validated measures of factors known to be of importance. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021233796.

Office design, telework from home, and self-certified sickness absence: A cross-sectional study of main and moderating effects in a nationally representative sample

“…We found that access to TWFH moderated the relationship between office design and sickness absence, although not as expected; access to TWFH amplified, rather than attenuated, differences between private and conventional open-plan offices. Previous studies have indicated that effects of flexible work arrangements depend on whether the arrangement is perceived as voluntary ( 29 , 39 ). One explanation for our finding could be that employees in private and open-plan offices differ in perceptions of freedom of choice in teleworking from home as a function of the office environment.…”

“…Although some studies have indicated that TWFH increases presenteeism (ie, working while ill) ( 27 ), which could result in an apparent decrease in sickness absence in the short-term, access to TWFH might protect against sickness absence through other mechanisms. As a form of time-spatial flexibility ( 28 ), access to TWFH may reduce sickness absence through increased decision latitude and job autonomy ( 29 ), which are among the strongest and most consistent predictors of outcomes such as sickness absence and disability retirement ( 30 , 31 ). In a similar vein, access to TWFH might buffer some of the negative aspects that pervade shared-room and open-plan offices (eg, distractions, lack of privacy, crowding) by providing ways to regulate input and output privacy ( 32 ) or by reducing time spent coping with environmental stressors ( 33 ).…”

Das Homeoffice-Modul in der Gefährdungsbeurteilung psychischer Belastung mit dem COPSOQ – Genese und Ergebnisse

“…Die für das Homeoffice charakteristische Belastungssituation erweist sich bei den Befragten in "Unternehmensorganisation, Buchhaltung, Recht und Verwaltung" als vielschichtig beziehungsweise ambivalent. Gleiches berichten nicht nur die oben genannten Studien aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum, sondern auch die internationale Literatur (Berling et al 2022;Ipsen et al 2021;Vleeshouwers et al 2022;Koren et al 2023). Auf der einen Seite sind größere zeitliche Spielräume und Einflussmöglichkeiten bei geringeren emotionalen Belastungen festzustellen, während auf der anderen Seite eine vermehrte Entgrenzung sowie schwierigere Vereinbarkeit von Arbeit und Privatleben bei höheren quantitativen Anforderungen berichtet wird.…”

Working from Home: When is it Too Much of a Good Thing?

“…A systematic review by Hackney et al (2022) reports mixed support for working from home on employee productivity across k = 37 reviewed studies, with observed linear relations being either negative, null, or positive across these studies. Similarly, a systematic review by Vleeshouwers et al (2022) concluded that there was mixed evidence for relations between working from home and aspects of the psychosocial work environment (e.g., professional isolation; job satisfaction; k = 43). For example, research has found inconsistent linear relations between working from home and job satisfaction, with some studies suggesting positive and some null relations.…”

“…For example, research has found inconsistent linear relations between working from home and job satisfaction, with some studies suggesting positive and some null relations. Vleeshouwers et al (2022) concluded that there was a pressing need for higher-quality research on working from home to address these questions, including the need for research to consider multi-wave longitudinal designs, include precise measures of time use and location of work, and to use validated measures -each of which we address in the present study.…”