The Impact of Working from Home during COVID-19 on Time Allocation across Competing Demands

Abstract

(1) Background: We apply the Total Leadership approach to better understand how employees allocate their time across the domains of work, family, community, and self at three points: pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 restrictions. (2) Methods: The study employed a mixed methods design with qualitative and quantitative survey data from 106 Australian employees who worked from home during the pandemic. (3) Findings: Three categories of participants emerged: work-centric, family-centric, and self-centric. The results showed a reduction in time allocated to work during restrictions, an anticipated further reduction post-restriction, and significant increases in the family and self domains. Qualitative analyses confirmed the shift away from work and a divergence between those who preferred the integration of domains verses those who preferred a segmentation approach. (4) Implications: The Total Leadership approach is relevant to this shift in values and priorities away from the work domain, since it encourages employees and employers to take a holistic perspective on their lives. This rethinking could help to reduce burnout and employee turnover—which are particularly salient due to the ‘great resignation’—and could contribute to the sustainability of workforces, as organisations strive to retain and recruit employees who increasingly value work–life balance and wellbeing. (5) Originality: The application of the Total Leadership approach provides a novel theoretical foundation to investigate how employees allocate time across different domains of their post-COVID-19 lives.