Should I Stay or Should I Go (to the Office)?-Effects of Working from Home, Autonomy, and Core Self-Evaluations on Leader Health and Work-Life Balance.

Abstract

Leaders represent a high-demand group in organizations. The effects of leaders' personal and workplace resources on their health and work-life balance have often slipped under the radar, as most studies are directed outwardly and focus on follower outcomes. With this study, we closed a gap in the research and investigated the positive effects of remote work, autonomy, and leaders' core-self evaluations (CSE) on two important leader outcomes: health and work-life balance. We hypothesized that the relationship between remote work and the outcomes would be moderated by leaders' CSE and their autonomy-in such a way that leaders with lower resources benefit more from remote work and achieve better health and work-life balance the more days they spend working from home. A sample of 367 leaders reported their frequency of working from home, their autonomy, and CSE. Their health and work-life balance were assessed five months later. Results showed a moderating effect of CSE on both outcomes, indicating that leaders with low CSE benefit more in terms of health and work-life balance. There was no moderating effect of autonomy. Leaders with high resources (autonomy and CSE) had overall higher levels of health and work-life balance regardless of work location. Practitioners in organizations should consider working from home as a resource for leaders, particularly if personal resources are lower.