Telework during the Covid-19 pandemic and the work-nonwork conflict
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1108/REGE-07-2021-0116Keywords:
Telework, Work-Family Conflict, Work-Nonwork Conflict, Boundary TheoryAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to analyze the relationship between telework and teleworkers’ characteristics and the work-nonwork conflict (WNWC) in the Brazilian context, investigating time spent in eight nonwork dimensions and the more affected dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach: The study was quantitative and descriptive. A survey was conducted with 299 professionals teleworking in Brazil. Data analysis was conducted through descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and analysis of variance.
Findings: Results show diversified interests other than work and family among teleworkers, variation within the affected nonwork dimensions in the WNWC, and that teleworkers’ WNWC is negatively associated with time flexibility and manager support and positively associated with individual preference for segmentation as a boundary management strategy.
Research limitations/implications: The study highlights the need to include more nonwork aspects in telework studies to influence organizational practices. The main limitation is the non-probabilistic sample.
Practical implications: Knowing more about teleworkers’ WNWC will help organizations improve lives by implementing practices and building a cultural environment that preserves nonwork time.
Social implications: The study reinforces demands from new family arrangements and an aging society: organizations have to prepare to have teleworkers who want or need to dedicate time to interests besides family or children.
Originality/value: It progresses towards a broad understanding of nonwork besides family to understand teleworkers’ WNWC.
Downloads
References
Aboelmaged, M. G., & Subbaugh, S. M. El. (2012). Factors influencing perceived productivity of Egyptian teleworkers: An empirical study. Measuring Business Excellence, 16(2), 3–22.
Allen, T. D., Golden, T. D., & Shockley, K. M. (2015). How effective is telecommuting? Assessing the status of our scientific findings. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 16(2), 40–68.
Allen, T. D., Johnson, R. C., Kiburz, K. M., & Shockley, K. M. (2013). Work-Family Conflict and Flexible Work Arrangements: Deconstructing Flexibility. Personnel Psychology, 66(2), 345–376.
Anderson, S. E., Coffey, B. S., & Byerly, R. T. (2002). Formal Organizational Initiatives and Informal Workplace Practices: Links to Work-Family Conflict and Job-Related Outcomes. Journal of Management, 28(6), 787–810.
Ashforth, B. E., Kreiner, G. E., & Fugate, M. (2000). All in a Day’s Work : Boundaries and Micro Role Transitions. The Academy of Management Review, 25(3), 472–491.
Bailyn, L. (2006). Breaking the mold: Redesigning work for productive and satisfying lives. 2. edição. ILR Press.
Bentley, T. A., Teo, S. T. T., McLeod, L., Tan, F., Bosua, R., & Gloet, M. (2016). The role of organizational support in teleworker wellbeing: A socio-technical systems approach. Applied Ergonomics, 52, 207–215.
Çoban, S. (2022). Gender and telework: Work and family experiences of teleworking professional, middle‐class, married women with children during the Covid‐19 pandemic in Turkey. Gender, Work & Organization, 29(1), 241-255.
Daniels, K., Lamond, D., & Standen, P. (2001). Teleworking: Frameworks for organizational research. Journal of Management Studies, 38(8), 1151–1185.
Ellison, N. B. (1999). Social impacts - New perspectives on Telework. Social Science Computer Review, 17(3), 338–356.
Filardi, F., Castro, R. M. P. D., & Zanini, M. T. F. (2020). Vantagens e desvantagens do teletrabalho na administração pública: análise das experiências do Serpro e da Receita Federal. Cadernos Ebape. br, 18(1), 28-46.
Gajendran, R. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2007). The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown About Telecommuting: Meta-Analysis of Psychological Mediators and Individual Consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1524–1541.
Gouvêa, M. A. (2013). Notas de aula/seminário – Modelos Multivariados Aplicados à Administração I e II, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração, Departamento de Administração da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of Conflict Between Work and Family Roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tathan, R. L. (2009). Análise multivariada de dados. Bookman Editora.
Hilbrecht, M., Shaw, S. M., Johnson, L. C., & Andrey, J. (2008). “I’m home for the kids”: Contradictory implications for work - Life balance of teleworking mothers. Gender, Work and Organization, 15(5), 454–476.
Hill, E. J., Ferris, M., & Märtinson, V. (2003). Does it matter where you work? A comparison of how three work venues (traditional office, virtual office, and home office) influence aspects of work and personal/family life. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(2), 220–241.
Hill, E. J., Miller, B. C., Weiner, S. P., & Colihan, J. (1998). Influences of the virtual office on aspects of work and work/life balance. Personnel Psychology, 51(3), 667–683.
Hirata, H., & Kergoat, D. (2003). A divisão sexual do trabalho revisitada. In: Maruani, M. & Hirata, H. (Eds) As novas fronteiras da desigualdade: homens e mulheres no mercado de trabalho, pp. 111–123. São Paulo: Editora Senac.
Hirschi, A., Herrmann, A., Nagy, N., & Spurk, D. (2016). All in the name of work? Nonwork orientations as predictors of salary, career satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 95–96, 45–57.
Hornung, S., Rousseau, D. M., & Glaser, J. (2008). Creating Flexible Work Arrangements Through Idiosyncratic Deals. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 655–664.
IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Dados sobre teletrabalho em 2020 (2020), available at: https://covid19.ibge.gov.br/pnad-covid/. Accessed 03/20/2021.
IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Estatísticas de Gênero (2019), available at: https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/multidominio/genero/20163-estatisticas-de-genero-indicadores-sociais-das-mulheres-no-brasil.html?=&t=resultados. Accessed 03/20/2021.
Johnson, A., Dey, S., Nguyen, H., Groth, M., Joyce, S., Tan, L., Glozier, N., & Harvey, S. B. (2020). A review and agenda for examining how technology-driven changes at work will impact workplace mental health and employee well-being. Australian Journal of Management, 45(3), 402–424.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D., & Rosenthal, R. A. (1964). Organizational stress. Wiley.
Kattenbach, R., Demerouti, E., & Nachreiner, F. (2010). Flexible working times: Effects on employees’ exhaustion, work-nonwork conflict, and job performance. Career Development International, 15(3), 279–295.
Keeney, J., Boyd, E. M., Sinha, R., Westring, A. F., & Ryan, A. M. (2013). From “work-family” to “work-life”: Broadening our conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 82(3), 221–237.
Kossek, E. E., Lautsch, B. A., & Eaton, S. C. (2006). Telecommuting, control, and boundary management: Correlates policy use and practice, job control, and work-family effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68(2), 347–367.
Leite, A. L., & Lemos, D. D. C. (2020). Teletrabalho durante a pandemia: experiência do corpo técnico da universidade do estado de Santa Catarina–UDESC. Pensamento & Realidade, 35(3), 87-109.
Lemos, A. H. D. C., Barbosa, A. D. O., & Monzato, P. P. (2021). Mulheres em home office durante a pandemia da Covid-19 e as configurações do conflito trabalho-família. Revista de Administração de Empresas, 60, 388-399.
Messenger, J. C., & Gschwind, L. (2016). Three generations of Telework: New ICTs and the (R)evolution from Home Office to Virtual Office. New Technology, Work and Employment, 31(3), 195–208.
Nakrošienė, A., Bučiūnienė, I., & Goštautaitė, B. (2019). Working from home: characteristics and outcomes of telework. International Journal of Manpower, 40(1), 87–101.
Nippert-Eng, C. (1996). Calendars and keys: The classification of “home” and “work”. Sociological Forum, 11(3), 563–582.
Nguyen, M. H., & Armoogum, J. (2021). Perception and preference for home-based telework in the covid-19 era: A gender-based analysis in Hanoi, Vietnam. Sustainability, 13(6), 3179.
Oliveira, E. C., & Casado, T. (2021). Work-nonwork conflict: an urgent situation for Brazilian women. RAUSP Management Journal, 56(1), 71-87.
Oliveira, L. B. de, Cavazotte, F. de S. C. N., & Paciello, R. R. (2013). Antecedentes e consequências dos conflitos entre trabalho e família. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 17(4), 418–437.
Oliveira, E. C. (2017). O conflito trabalho-não trabalho e sua relação com os sucessos objetivo e subjetivo na carreira. Tese de Doutorado. Universidade de São Paulo.
Oliveira, M. A. M., & Pantoja, M. J. (2020). Desafios e Perspectivas do Teletrabalho nas Organizações: Cenário da Produção Nacional e Agenda de Pesquisa. Revista Ciências Administrativas, 26(3).
OMS – Organização Mundial da Saúde. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public (2020), available at: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public. Accessed 12/25/2020.
Pandini, L. S., & dos Santos Pereira, E. (2020). O teletrabalho no contexto de pandemia de Covid-19: a percepção de servidores públicos do Judiciário brasileiro e MPU. Caderno de Administração, 28(2), 55-81.
Pereira, J. J., Barbosa, J. K. D., & Saraiva, C. M. (2021). Sobre o tempo livre na era do teletrabalho. Caderno de Administração, 29(1), 114-131.
Pierce, J. L., & Newstrom, J. W. (1983). The design of flexible work schedules and employee responses: Relationships and process. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 4, 247–262 apud PROGEP – Programa de Gestão de Pessoas (2020), “Satisfação e desempenho na migração para o home office: Um estudo sobre a percepção de gestores, técnicos de nível superior e professores”, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX_ByioOxIo. Accessed 04/02/2022.
PROGEP – Programa de Gestão de Pessoas (2021), “Satisfação e desempenho no home office: avanços e desafios após um ano de migração”, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJiG07lFh9E. Accessed 03/31/2022.
Golden, T. D., Veiga, J. F., & Simsek, Z. (2006). Telecommuting's differential impact on work-family conflict: Is there no place like home? Journal of applied psychology, 91(6), 1340.
Raghuram, S., & Wiesenfeld, B. (2004). Work-nonwork conflict and job stress among virtual workers. Human Resource Management, 43(2–3), 259–277.
Russell, H., O’Connell, P. J., & McGinnity, F. (2009). The impact of flexible working arrangements on work-life conflict and work pressure in Ireland. Gender, Work and Organization, 16(1), 73–97.
Sampieri, R. H., Collado, C. F., & Lucio, P. B. (2006). Metodologia de Pesquisa. McGraw-Hill.
Shirmohammadi, M., Au, W. C., & Beigi, M. (2022). Remote work and work-life balance: Lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic and suggestions for HRD practitioners. Human Resource Development International, 1-19.
Solís, M. S. (2016). Teletrabajo: Condiciones que impactan de manera positiva y negativa el conflicto trabajo-familia. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administracion, 29(4), 435–449.
Zhang, S., Moeckel, R., Moreno, A. T., Shuai, B., & Gao, J. (2020). A work-life conflict perspective on telework. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 141, 51-68.
