Job Quality and Work-Life Balance of Teleworkers.

Paula Rodríguez-Modroño,Purificación López-Igual

doi:10.3390/ijerph18063239

Paula Rodríguez-Modroño, Purificación López-Igual

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063239

Copy DOI

Abstract

As telework and mobile work arrangements become more widespread with new advancements in digitalization, these flexible models of work are rapidly expanding to new categories of employees and completely modifying working conditions and job quality. The aim of this study was to assess how particular types of telework affect different dimensions of job quality. We applied multivariable techniques to a sample of 35,765 workers from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey. Our findings show that gender and types of telework by workplace and ICT-use intensity are crucial factors affecting working conditions and job quality. Occasional teleworkers are the group with the best job quality, while highly mobile teleworkers are those with the worst job quality and work–life balance. Home-based teleworkers, especially women, present better results than highly mobile workers in terms of working time quality and intensity, though in exchange for lower skills and discretion, income, and career prospects. This study contributes to deepening our knowledge on the impacts of flexible arrangements of work, providing an analysis of current data on different dimensions of job quality and work–life balance and including gender as a crucial axis of analysis.

Highlights

The ANOVA tests for each index and type of teleworker as the independent variable confirm the results showing that regular home-based teleworkers, highly mobile teleworkers, occasional teleworkers, and traditional workers statistically differ for the five indices
Results are for the intensity index (F test = 254, p < 0.000), working time quality index (F test = 197.99, p < 0.000), skills and ular home-based teleworkers, highly mobile teleworkers, occasional teleworkers ditional workers statistically differ for the five indices
This study contributes to the debate on the micro-level consequences of these novel flexible arrangements of work, providing a quantitative, more nuanced understanding of the implications of telework on different dimensions of job quality and work–life balance

Summary

Introduction

Our findings show that gender and types of telework by workplace and ICT-use intensity are crucial factors affecting working conditions and job quality. This study contributes to deepening our knowledge on the impacts of flexible arrangements of work, providing an analysis of current data on different dimensions of job quality and work–life balance and including gender as a crucial axis of analysis. Flexible telework arrangements affect working conditions, the work–life balance, performance, and prospects of workers in different ways [6]. The aim of this article is to contribute to this debate, exploring the consequences that working remotely or telework has for several dimensions of job quality and work–life balance, focusing on two crucial axes of analysis: First, the differences by type of remote work, depending on place and frequency of flexible arrangements, and second, gender differences. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion