Investigation of a home office environment and lifestyles of workers that affect their perceived comfort in work-from-home

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the living environment at home that is comfortable and less burdensome for workers, targeting work-from-home, which has increased rapidly since the Corona disaster. To this end, a questionnaire survey was conducted on workers' satisfaction, stress reaction, and work engagement, as well as their work status, living space, and living conditions. By analysing the relationships among these factors, the study aims to comprehensively investigate the living environment of workers from home, including not only their physical condition and facilities but also their daily rhythm and relationship with their roommates, and to examine measures for creating a more favourable living environment for workers from home. The work environment during work from home was examined from various perspectives based on the framework of the SHEL model: software (work content, lifestyle, etc.), hardware (furniture, equipment, etc.), environment (indoor environment), and liveware (relationships with family members who live together). Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the effects of each explanatory variable related to the living environment on the objective variables (satisfaction, work engagement, and stress reaction) related to comfort while working at home. The results suggest that job autonomy and interruptions due to household chores significantly impact the comfort level of work-from-home.