Is working from home going to solve your work-life balance problems?

Despite seemingly widespread support among individuals for continued homeworking, many organisations are enticing, or requiring, employees to return to the office. Where we land in terms of the extent and type of remote work that persists is now being worked out in homes and workplaces. Yet as we do so, it’s important to take stock of extensive research on the impacts of remote working, which shows mixed effects, particularly for some members of traditionally disadvantaged and equity-deserving groups.

The pandemic has had evolving effects on expectations and experiences of working from home. On the one hand, many people were suddenly thrust into full-time remote work, to widespread consternation and discussion of how families could cope with co-location and strains around homeschooling of children. News headlines such as this one from The New York Times were common: “‘It was just too much’: How remote learning is breaking parents.” Academics, despite prior experience with flexible work, were not immune from these strains. Yet we adjusted, to the point that as the pandemic waned, news reports shifted to the threat of the “great resignation” and then “quiet quitting” should extensive working from home be curtailed.

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Reviews of research conducted before the pandemic showed that telecommuting from home can have many of the benefits that are the intent of such policies. Workers, for example, can experience more autonomy, with reductions in the extent to which work interferes with family. At the same time, reviews also pointed to the prospect of harmful outcomes in some cases, such as worsened co-worker relationships and inequality, as well as work intensification and exhaustion.

During the pandemic, a new wave of research on working from home highlighted different impacts for women, racialised individuals and members of other traditionally disadvantaged groups. For example, parenting status, gender and race have been shown to affect faculty members’ manuscript submissions and productivity, with black females and white mothers disproportionately disadvantaged during the remote work of the pandemic. Research has also shown that disabled workers felt less supported by organisations during the pandemic than their colleagues with no disability.

Does this mean that we should all return to the office full-time? No. Although current research does not present a simple or uniformly positive picture of working from home, it does offer lessons for both organisations and individuals for how to get the most benefit from flexibility. Here are some tips for organisational leaders:

1. First, implementation matters, and control, in particular, is key. Flexible work practices are intended to have dual benefits for both organisations (for example, productivity) and individuals (work-life balance), premised on the idea that workers themselves, once given control, can best optimise their work and the relation between their work and non-work demands. Practices such as remote work are most effective when this control is real and not undermined by other inconsistent workplace policies or practices (for example, performance of work in the office receiving higher career rewards) or values that prioritise face time in the office. Leaders can help ensure that the culture of the workplace doesn’t stigmatise those who work from home or otherwise provide disincentives to make use of flexibility.
2. Where possible, offer workers an array of flexible work options, not only working from home. Different flexible work practices might work better for some individuals. For example, workers with complex family structures might not find home spaces conducive to work, or conversely workers who live alone might find it socially isolating. Providing other flexible work options (reduced load or flexitime) can help address the needs of a diverse university workforce.
3. Pay attention to equity and inclusion dynamics within departments and teams. To ensure efficient coordination, remote work arrangements are best considered across work groups, rather than on an ad hoc individual basis. Work group members can collaborate to jointly manage work demands in the most flexible way, but for members of a work group to openly share their home needs to adjust remote work arrangements depends on the work-life climate of the institution. You might need to make changes to ensure an inclusive work culture so that vulnerable team members will feel truly free to make their needs visible.

And some tips for individuals:

1. Working from home is not a panacea. Success with this work form requires actively managing how your work and non-work demands and time affect each other. Some individuals prefer to separate work and non-work and will find remote work more challenging. Taking steps to draw boundaries (such as working in a dedicated space) can be helpful. Others are more comfortable with life and work fluidly mixing and will find remote work easier. For both types, remember that time and focus can be lost with every work/non-work transition, and try to limit interruptions.
2. Watch for escalating expectations from others (friends, family) to take on additional home demands when working from home. This is not just about you as an individual – these expectations reflect the cultural context you live within and so may not be easy to shift.
3. Avoid extensive telecommuting from home. In one study, workers’ job satisfaction increased when they telecommuted up to 15 hours a week but after that hit a plateau and declined.

In the end, working from home can be sustainable and help to enhance your work-life balance – but only if it’s implemented well by you and your organisation.

Brenda Lautsch is the Beedie professor of management and organisation studies and associate dean, faculty, at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business.

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