TY - JOUR

T1 - Working from home, job satisfaction and work–life balance

T2 - robust or heterogeneous links?

AU - Bellmann, Lutz

AU - Hübler, Olaf

PY - 2021/5/19

Y1 - 2021/5/19

N2 - Purpose: It is analyzed whether working from home improves or impairs the job satisfaction and the work–life balance and under which conditions. Design/methodology/approach: Blocks of influences on job satisfaction and work–life balance – personal traits, job characteristics, skills and employment properties – are estimated separately and in combination. To select the variables, the least angle regression is applied. The entropy balancing approach is used to determine causal effects. The study investigates whether imbalances are determined by private or job influences, whether firm-specific regulations and the selected control group affect the results and whether it only takes place during leisure time. Findings: No clear effects of remote work on job satisfaction are revealed, but the impact on work–life balance is generally negative. If the imbalance is conditioned by private interests, this is not corroborated in contrast to job conditioned features. Employees working from home are happier than those who want to work at home, job satisfaction is higher and work–life balance is not worse under a strict contractual agreement than under a nonbinding commitment. Originality/value: A wide range of personality traits, skills, employment properties and job characteristics are incorporated as determinants. The problem of causality is investigated. It is analyzed whether the use of alternative control and treatment groups leads to different results. The empirical investigation is based on new German data with three waves.

AB - Purpose: It is analyzed whether working from home improves or impairs the job satisfaction and the work–life balance and under which conditions. Design/methodology/approach: Blocks of influences on job satisfaction and work–life balance – personal traits, job characteristics, skills and employment properties – are estimated separately and in combination. To select the variables, the least angle regression is applied. The entropy balancing approach is used to determine causal effects. The study investigates whether imbalances are determined by private or job influences, whether firm-specific regulations and the selected control group affect the results and whether it only takes place during leisure time. Findings: No clear effects of remote work on job satisfaction are revealed, but the impact on work–life balance is generally negative. If the imbalance is conditioned by private interests, this is not corroborated in contrast to job conditioned features. Employees working from home are happier than those who want to work at home, job satisfaction is higher and work–life balance is not worse under a strict contractual agreement than under a nonbinding commitment. Originality/value: A wide range of personality traits, skills, employment properties and job characteristics are incorporated as determinants. The problem of causality is investigated. It is analyzed whether the use of alternative control and treatment groups leads to different results. The empirical investigation is based on new German data with three waves.

KW - Effects on employees

KW - Job satisfaction

KW - Remote work

KW - Telecommuting

KW - Work–life balance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089782761&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/IJM-10-2019-0458

DO - 10.1108/IJM-10-2019-0458

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85089782761

VL - 42

SP - 424

EP - 441

JO - International journal of manpower

JF - International journal of manpower

SN - 0143-7720

IS - 3

ER -