Benefits of working from home depends on family demands

Does working from home help reduce work exhaustion caused by juggling work and family commitments? The answer may depend on the level of conflict you have between work and home and your ability to recharge your batteries adequately, according to Professor Timothy Golden, from New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

In a study of 316 adults working for a large computer company, participants were asked about the levels of work-to-family conflict they experienced, including whether work kept them from family activities more than they would have liked, and whether they were too stressed to do the things they enjoy at home due to pressures at work.

Golden also looked at levels of family-to-work conflict e.g. time spent on family responsibilities interfering with work responsibilities, and difficulties concentrating on work because of stress from family responsibilities. Levels of work exhaustion and the extent and timing of telework were also assessed.

The study concluded that the more work and family demands conflicted, the more people suffered from exhaustion. Those with already high levels of work-family conflicts suffered higher exhaustion when they spent extensive time working from home, irrespective of whether they worked during traditional or non-traditional work hours.

However those who had lower levels of work-family conflicts suffered less exhaustion, which was further reduced by teleworking during either traditional or non-traditional work hours.