Work-home Interface Research Articles

Is a web-based Thai version of the work-related quality of work-life scale-2 a reasonable alternative to the paper-based version?

ABSTRACT This study investigates the suitability of a Thai web-based assessment tool for comprehensively evaluating the Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL). A descriptive study was conducted. The web-based questionnaire was distributed to health workers at the University Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine at Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand, via convenience sampling, yielding 290 usable responses after data cleaning. IBM SPSS and AMOS performed Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results revealed enhanced internal consistency upon excluding 1 item (Q24) and delineated dimensions into 5 categories: homework interface and working conditions web-based (HWCW), web-based job and career satisfaction (JCSW), web-based general well-being (GWBW), web-based control at work (CAWW), and web-based stress at work (SAWW). This web-based assessment tool has potential advantages in technological convenience and interpretation accuracy. It offers a robust framework for assessing WRQoL dimensions and advancing workplace well-being assessment methodologies.

Adaptation of the Work-Related Quality of Life-2 Scale (WRQoL-2) among Portuguese Workers

In the present study we aimed to fulfill two main goals. The first was to adapt the WRQoL-2 Scale among Portuguese workers and the second was to verify the associations between WRQoL-2 dimensions and perceived organizational performance dimensions (e.g., social and economic). To reach our research goals, we used a sample of 635 Portuguese workers. The WRQoL Scale has been widely used for academic and practical ends and comprises six dimensions: Job and Career Satisfaction, Control at Work, General Well-Being, Home–Work Interface, Stress at Work, and Working Conditions. Recently, the authors proposed a revised measure—WRQoL-2—in which they added a seventh dimension—Employee Engagement. As this second version had not yet been translated into the Portuguese language for Portugal, this was our first goal. By performing a set of statistical analyses such as EFA, CFA, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and invariant analysis, the results suggested a six-factor structure where the dimensions of Job and Career Satisfaction and Employee Engagement were united. The final structure suggested good reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity as it showcased invariance according to gender and sector. Because there is a lack of studies focusing on the links between quality of work life and organizational performance, we then tested the interplay between WRQoL-2 and perceived organizational performance dimensions, and we verified that, although most are significantly associated, the results suggest a low intensity. This work also presents several theoretical and practical implications.

Work-Related Quality of Life among Physicians in Poland: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Working in a healthcare setting is associated with high levels of stress and burnout syndrome. Work-related quality of life (WRQoL) remains insufficiently evaluated among physicians. The aim of this study is to assess the WRQoL among physicians of interventional, non-interventional, and diagnostic specialties in Poland. Standardized and anonymous WRQoL questionnaires have been filled in by 257 physicians working in Silesia, Poland. After the removal of missing data, 246 individuals were stratified in terms of specialties into the appropriate categories, including interventional, non-interventional, and diagnostics. These categories were compared using the following subscales: general well-being (GWB), home-work interface (HWI), job and career satisfaction (JCS), control at work (CAW), working conditions (WCS), and stress at work (SAW). Out of 246 individuals, 132 were women (53.7%) and 112 (45.5%) were men. There were no differences in terms of WRQoL scores (p = 0.220) and subscales GWB (p = 0.148), HWI (p = 0.368), JCS (p = 0.117), CAW (p = 0.224), WCS (p = 0.609), SAW (p = 0.472) between interventional, non-interventional, and diagnostic specialties. The group of young doctors (age ≤ 30 years) had higher JCS scores than the older ones (mean score [SD], 22.7 [3.98] vs. 21 [4.6]; p = 0.013). Physicians who were not working in hospital had higher WRQoL score than respondents working in hospital (p = 0.061), with significant differences in terms of GWB (mean score [SD], 20.3 [4.93] vs. 22.8 [3.2], p = 0.014), HWI (mean score [SD], 9.1 [=2.65] vs. 10.6 [2.73], p = 0.011), and WCS (mean score [SD], 9.5 [2.61] vs. 10.8 [2.54], p = 0.035). There were no differences considering overall WRQoL between analyzed groups stratified according to specialty. However, we disclosed a significant association between the respondent's WRQoL and age as well as place of work.

AN EVALUATION OF WORK-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG GENERAL SURGERY RESIDENTS WORKING IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Work-related quality of life (QoL) assessment has become indispensable due to the increasing number of occupational health issues among doctors. Despite their role in promoting community well-being, doctors' health is often neglected. The demanding working hours and significant daily stress of surgical residents have negatively impacted their WRQoL. Objective: This study aims to assess the factors affecting the quality of life, particularly among general surgery residents in our hospital, using the WRQoL questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Surgery at DHQ hospitals. Data were collected electronically via email and WhatsApp messages from all general surgery residents from January 2024 to March 2024. A total of 84 resident surgeons participated in the study. The WRQoL questionnaire, comprising 23 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale, evaluated various aspects of their work-related quality of life. Data analysis used appropriate statistical methods to determine satisfaction levels across different parameters. Results: The study revealed that the home-work interface and stress at work were less satisfactory among the residents. In contrast, the overall general well-being and control at work were rated acceptable. These findings highlight areas where improvements are necessary to enhance the WRQoL for surgical residents. Conclusion: Despite the unsatisfactory home-work interface and stress at work, the overall quality of life among our surgical residents is satisfactory. However, further studies are needed to compare the QOL of different specialties and to examine differences between male and female residents.

Burnout and Quality of Work Life among Physicians during Internships in Public Hospitals in Thailand.

Physicians are exposed to occupational stress and burnout, which have been identified as contributing to a decrease in the quality of work life (QWL). Thailand's medical education program, consisting of a six-year curriculum with government tuition support followed by three years of internships, provides the context for this investigation. This study aimed to assess the QWL among intern physicians (IPs) in public hospitals and investigated the association between burnout and QWL. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 241 IPs in public hospitals in Thailand utilizing an online self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included a Thai version of a 25-item QWL scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. Data analysis was performed using multivariable logistic regression. A significant proportion of IPs experienced low to moderate QWL (72.6%), with low levels of home-work interface (39.4%) and employee engagement (38.6%). In the exploratory model, after adjusting for sex and age, IPs with high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment demonstrated an association with low QWL (adjusted OR, aOR 2.08, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.31; aOR 2.74, 95% CI 1.40 to 5.39). Healthcare organizations should regularly assess intern physicians' QWL and burnout, prioritizing interventions; ensure reasonable work hours, schedule adjustments, and open communication; and develop support systems for cost-effective interventions. Further research on the dynamic relationship between burnout and QWL is crucial for targeted and culturally sensitive interventions.

Reporting good news but not bad: the dual effect of employee stewardship behavior on work–family interface

PurposeStewardship behavior is an important embodiment of the spirit of employee ownership, which is critical to the sustainability of companies, especially under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic. Most previous studies have focused on how to motivate employees’ stewardship behavior, but little is known about how stewardship behavior affects employees themselves. The purpose of this study is to explore how employee stewardship behavior affects their work-family interface based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, structural equation modeling was conducted using two-wave survey data from 323 employees through three internet companies in Southern China.FindingsResults reveal that engaging in stewardship behavior is positively correlated with both positive emotion and emotional exhaustion. Positive emotion and emotional exhaustion, in turn, mediate the effects of stewardship behavior on work–home interface. Family motivation influences the strength of the relationships between positive emotion or emotional exhaustion and work–family interface, that is, high family motivation strengthens the positive association between positive emotion and work–family enrichment and weakens the positive association between emotional exhaustion and work–family conflict.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that managers should give employees more support and care to ease the worries of engaging in stewardship behavior. Also, organizations should recruit employees with high family motivation, which can reduce the negative effects of stewardship behavior on work–-family interface.Originality/valueBased on an actor’s perspective, this study examines both the positive and negative effects of stewardship behavior on employees themselves, thereby increasing understanding of the dual effect of stewardship behavior. In addition, this study further elucidates the mechanisms that moderate the positive and negative effects of individual family motivation on their engagement in stewardship behavior within the COR theory.

Contextualizing work-family experiences in India: sex, gender role perception and urbanization

PurposeDespite the recognition that contextual factors play a key role in shaping individuals’ work-family (WF) interface, empirical research that simultaneously considers individual, roles and contextual factors is scarce. Drawing on the pyramid model of work-home interface, we delve into the intersection among sex, gender role ideology (GRI) and urbanization (URB) in relation to WF conflict and enrichment in India. Specifically, we explored whether and how sex (male vs female), GRI (traditional vs egalitarian) and URB (big vs small city) interact to predict WF conflict and WF enrichment.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 586 full-time employees working in both more and less urbanized cities in India. Moderation analyses were utilized to study the interaction effects on WF conflict and enrichment.FindingsResults indicate that GRI is a stronger driver of WF experiences, especially WF enrichment, for women regardless of location. The study contributes to the understanding of WF experiences in India and addresses the complexity of WF experiences, especially with respect to sex and gender.Originality/valueOur study offers a nuanced understanding of WF experiences in India by integrating micro- to macro-level antecedents, thereby addressing the complexity of WF experiences. While a lot of research explains sex and gender differences in WF experiences, our study highlights how these experiences vary with the degree of URB.

The influence of sociodemographic and health-related factors, clinical education status, and sleep quality on work-related quality of life among dental students.

With the premise that the demanding educational process and associated factors could influence the work-related quality of life (WRQoL) of dental students, this study aimed to investigate the influence of diverse sociodemographic and health-related factors, clinical education status, and sleep quality on the WRQoL of dental students. A three-part questionnaire was administered to a group of preclinical and clinical dental students studying in different classes. The first part of the questionnaire included various sociodemographic and health-related questions. In the second part, the multidimensional 23-item WRQoL scale, with established validity and reliability, was applied to evaluate the WRQoL of the students. The last part of the questionnaire included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, comprising 19 items. General linear models were created to predict subscale scores using sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, as well as univariate significant independent variables. It was observed that the majority of the participants (78.2%) had poor sleep quality. Being clinical dental students had a significant and positive effect on the stress at work domain of WRQoL (p = .006), while it had a significant and negative effect on the home-work interface domain (p < .001). The decrease in sleep quality had a significant and negative effect on all domains of WRQoL (p < .05) except for the stress at work domain. Clinical education status, regular smoking, and sleep quality significantly affect different domains of dental students' WRQoL. Changes in these factors should be considered in approaches to increasing students' WRQoL.

Motivational drivers and psychological detachment in shaping the work–home interface for Saudi women

PurposeThis study examines the role of Saudi women’s work motivational drivers on work–home conflict (WHC) and work–home enrichment (WHE). It considers the moderating role of psychological detachment from work during the evening between one workday and the next and how it impacts on the mediating role of WHC and WHE on work performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on self-determination theory and enrichment and depletion perspectives on the work–home interface, the study employs a quantitative lagged study over a period of three consecutive working days, with data collected from 358 Saudi women working in academia.FindingsModerated mediation structural equation modelling (MMSEM) analysis reveals that intrinsic motivation is significantly, positively related to WHE and home–work enrichment (HWE), whereas extrinsic motivation is only significantly and positively related to home–work conflict (HWC). Results show that detaching from work weakens the positive association between intrinsic motivation and HWE. In line with predictions, WHE is significantly, positively related to citizenship behaviour towards both individuals and organizations, whilst HWE is significantly related to citizenship behaviour towards individuals only. HWC is only significantly related to citizenship behaviour towards the organisation.Social implicationsThe research highlights the enriching experiences for Saudi women, who have the opportunity to pursue a career and highlight benefits of their ongoing empowerment.Originality/valueThis research brings a unique motivational perspective to work–life research and addresses a shortcoming of work–life research in considering an understudied culturally distinct population. It emphasises on the enriching experiences of Saudi women who have the opportunity to pursue a career, highlighting the benefits of their ongoing empowerment.

Extending the job demands-resources model to understand the effect of the interactions between home and work domains on work engagement.

Scholars have extensively used the job demands-resources model to explain the dynamics underlying work engagement and proposed several versions of the model. However, in theoretical terms, nonwork elements have not been incorporated into the model. This study investigated the roles of home demands and resources in the model by testing the boost/buffer hypotheses for work engagement from the perspective of the work-home interface. We demonstrated that (1) the demands of a domain boost the positive impact of resources drawn from another domain on work engagement, (2) the resources of a domain buffer the negative impact of demands derived from another domain on work engagement; and (3) the buffering and boosting effects of home demands and resources impact work engagement. We conducted a diary study on a group of coffee shop employees in Ireland. The results partially supported the proposed hypotheses but nevertheless indicated support for the cross-domain boost/buffer hypotheses with regard to work engagement. The proposed model may serve as a theoretical foundation for research on issues related to the impact of work and nonwork domains on work engagement.

Work-related stress and associated factors among health professionals working in Ambo town public health facilities, West Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesTo assess work-related stress (WRS) and associated factors among health professionals working in Ambo town governmental health facilities, in 2021.DesignInstitution-based analytical cross-sectional study.SettingInstitution-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Ambo...

We were all in it together: Managing work from home as dual‐earner households with school‐age children

SummaryWe examine how professional dual‐earner couples, with school‐age children, who worked from home during the COVID‐19 lockdown, adjusted to the changes it brought to their lives. To do so, we conducted a qualitative study of 28 dual‐earner households that had at least one school‐age child, resided in China, Iran, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, or the United States, and worked from home during their local lockdown period. In each household, we interviewed the parents (56 total), and we asked at least one child to draw their perception of their parents' work‐from‐home experience and narrate the drawing (31 total). Informed by work–home interface and family stress scholarships, we outline the resources and demands generated by working at home as a family, as well as the strategies families employed to manage their collective work from home. We extend work‐from‐home scholarship beyond the individual level by accounting for the roles of all collective members in the work‐from‐home experience. We complement the research that has studied individual‐ and couple‐level work–family strategies by theorizing the supportive, attentive, relational, delegative, and compromising strategies families adopted to generate changes in resource‐demand dynamics. In doing so, we introduce family adaptive capability for the context of adjusting to work from home and define it as a collective ability to initiate strategies to meet remote work demands with resources generated from the new work arrangement. At a practical level, the strategies presented in our work can inform employers of dual‐earner couples and families experiencing similar dynamics.

Unraveling the Puzzle of Turnover Intention: Exploring the Impact of Home-Work Interface and Working Conditions on Affective Commitment and Job Satisfaction.

This study investigates the antecedents of turnover intention among Vietnamese nurses at a hospital in Quang Ninh Province, North Vietnam. This study evaluates the relationship between home-work interface (HWI) and working conditions (WC) on intrinsic job satisfaction (IJS) and extrinsic job satisfaction (EJS), the relationship between intrinsic job satisfaction (IJS) and extrinsic job satisfaction (EJS) on affective commitment (AC) and turnover intention (TI), and the relationship between affective commitment (AC) and turnover intention (TI). The study employs cross-sectional data and a questionnaire survey to collect the data. The 306 qualified questionnaires were collected, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the research model and test the hypotheses. The study reveals that working conditions and the home-work interface affect intrinsic job satisfaction. Intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction affect affective commitment. Interestingly, affective commitment and intrinsic job satisfaction were not significantly affecting turnover intention. The present study develops and empirically examines a conceptual framework by providing theoretical insight and managerial implications into the turnover intention's antecedents in Vietnamese nursing care at the hospital.

“Technology is killing me!”: the moderating effect of organization home-work interface on the linkage between technostress and stress at work

PurposeThe fear of the pandemic, confinement at home and the need to work created a unique situation. The pandemic catalyzed work-from-anywhere practice by adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) across all industries. While ICT saved organizations, it increased technostress among the workforce. A better understanding of the adverse effects of ICT usage might enable organizations to manage the mental well-being of the workforce. While technostress is gaining increasing interest, scholarly work investigating the dimensions of technostress and its impact on creating stress across various employee demographics and industry types is missing. Contrary to the prevalent assumptions, the authors theorized and tested the adverse moderation effect of the home-work interface on the linkage between technostress dimensions and stress. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.Design/methodology/approachThe study captures dimensions of technostress and the resulting stress at work using a survey-based analysis of 881 working employees in India, representing multiple industries and functions.FindingsThe study indicates that techno-overload, techno-complexity and techno-invasion significantly impact employees during the pandemic. The authors further found that the home-work-interface is a powerful factor in understanding the complex linkage between dimensions of technostress and its outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the Conservation of Resources Theory and the Job-Demand-Resources model, this study highlights the adverse impact of this trend on employee well-being. However, the study suffers from a cross-sectional research design. The technostress research has focused primarily on static, at-premise environments and mostly on high ICT usage industries. Due to the pandemic, it has neglected the impact of various technostress dimensions across employee cohorts subjected to rapid technology-enabled working. Further, most studies focus on the voluntary choice of remote work. Employees struggle with the unexpected and involuntary shift to technology-enabled remote work. This study contributes to the literature by examining the consequences of technostress in the context of non-voluntary remote work. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, this study highlights the adverse effect of organizational home-work interface in influencing ICT-created stress.Practical implicationsThe increasing use of ICT enables telecommuting across the workforce while increasing organizational productivity. Due to the pandemic, these trends will likely change the future of work permanently. To minimize employee stress, practitioners need to reconsider the dimensions of technostress. Further, the study cautions against the prevalent interventions used by practitioners. While practitioners facilitate a home-work interface, it could have adverse consequences. Practitioners may consider the adverse consequences of home-work interface while designing organizational policies.Social implicationsThis study during the pandemic is crucial as research forecasts the likelihood of other cataclysmic events, such as future pandemics and political or climate change events, which may sustain technology-driven remote work practices and remain a feature of the future workplace. Hence understanding the implications of the dimensions of technostress would help organizations and policymakers to implement necessary interventions to minimize employee stress.Originality/valueThe present study examines the dimensions of technostress across multiple industries and job functions in an emerging market marked by a high economic growth rate and an Eastern cultural context. This study presents the dark side of excessive ICT adoption and indicates how organizations and HRM practices can help mitigate some of these effects.

Quality of Life Among Residents of General Surgery Residency Training Program in Saudi Arabia: A Nationwide Study.

Introduction The General Surgery Residency Training Program is known to be one of the most challenging programs, which greatly impacts the resident's quality of life (QoL) during their training years. Undertraining residents are usually the first providers of patients' healthcare in medical facilities. They often get exposed to continuous pressure and stress, especially during long working hours. Aim This study aims to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of general surgery residents in Saudi Arabia and investigate the personal and workplace determinants associated with the level of quality of life. Subjects and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among general surgery residents in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered online questionnaire was distributed among the target residents. The questionnaire includes sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., gender, region of the training center, and residency level) and Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale to measure the residents' quality of life at work. Results Of the 239 residents, 64.9% were males, and 27.2% were residentlevel 1. Among WRQoL components, only home-work interface (HWI) (mean score: 9.87 out of 15 points) and general well-being (GWB) (mean score: 20.6 out of 30 points) had average ratings, while control at work (CAW), job and career satisfaction (JCS), stress at work (SAW), and working conditions (WCS) were classified as good. The overall WRQoL was deemed good (mean score: 81.3 out of 115 points). Being a female and practicing residency inside central region were the factors associated with better WRQoL. No significant differences were observed between WRQoL in terms of residency level, marital status, and previous visitation to a psychiatrist or psychologist (p>0.05). Conclusion Nearly one-third of the general surgery residents perceived their WRQoL as good. Female residents practicing in the central region demonstrated better quality of life as compared to the rest of the residents. Further research is needed to establish the level of WRQoL and its effect on general surgery residents during residency training.

Opening the doors for spillovers: a contingency view of the effects of work from home on the work-home interface.

Why do employees experience work from home (WFH) differently? We draw on boundary theory to explain how WFH influences employees' work-home interface. WFH intensity increases negative spillovers (i.e., work-to-home conflict and home-to-work conflict) and positive spillovers (i.e., work-to-home enrichment and home-to-work enrichment) between the work and home domains. Negative spillovers can be mitigated through high-quality work equipment and beneficial spatial conditions at home. Domain centrality predicts who can benefit from increased WFH intensity. We test our theory with a sample of 545 employees, obtained through a two-step random sampling procedure in the city of Munich/Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that WFH intensity increases work-to-home conflict and home-to-work enrichment, affecting employees' relationship satisfaction and job satisfaction. High-quality work equipment mitigates the detrimental effects of WFH. Employees with a high family centrality can reap benefits of more WFH because they experience more home-to-work enrichment. The simultaneous desirable and detrimental effects of WFH intensity can partly explain why studies have found heterogenous WFH experiences among employees.

Staff quality of working life and turnover intentions in municipal nursing care and social welfare: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundNurses and social workers are two common professions with a university degree working within municipal nursing care and social welfare. Both groups have high turnover intention rates, and there is a need to better understand their quality of working life and turnover intentions in general and more specifically during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study investigated associations between working life, coping strategies and turnover intentions of staff with a university degree working within municipal care and social welfare during the Covid-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional design; 207 staff completed questionnaires and data were analyzed using multiple linear regression analyses.ResultsTurnover intentions were common. For registered nurses 23% thought of leaving the workplace and 14% the profession ‘rather often’ and ‘very often/always’. The corresponding figures for social workers were 22% (workplace) and 22% (profession). Working life variables explained 34–36% of the variance in turnover intentions. Significant variables in the multiple linear regression models were work-related stress, home-work interface and job-career satisfaction (both for the outcome turnover intentions profession and workplace) and Covid-19 exposure/patients (turnover intentions profession). For the chosen coping strategies, ‘exercise’, ‘recreation and relaxation’ and ‘improving skills’, the results (associations with turnover) were non-significant. However, comparing the groups social workers reported that they used ‘recreation and relaxation’ more often than were reported by registered nurses.ConclusionsMore work-related stress, worse home-work interface and less job-career satisfaction together with Covid-19 exposure/patients (Covid-19 only for turnover profession) increase turnover intentions. Recommendations are that managers should strive for better home-work interface and job-career satisfaction, monitor and counteract work-related stress to prevent turnover intentions.

The moderating role of rational beliefs in tackling the negative impact of work–home interface on self-rated job performance via a motivation path.

The moderating role of rational beliefs in tackling the negative impact of work–home interface on self-rated job performance via a motivation path.

Digging into “Zoom Fatigue”: A Qualitative Exploration of Remote Work Challenges and Virtual Meeting Stressors

Purpose: With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees suddenly had to work remotely and realize all work-related social interaction in virtual formats. The sudden shift to the virtual format came with new workplace stressors. To understand the stressors of remote work and videoconferences, we present two qualitative studies. The aim of this study is to better understand the stress associated with remote work and videoconferencing, with an emphasis on how workers cope with the added stress. Methodology: We applied thematic analysis to open-ended survey data from employees in the US (n = 349) and in-depth telephone interviews of 50 meeting leaders from the US and Germany. Findings: We identified the work–home interface, technology, and communication issues as key challenges of remote work. Further, we found camera usage, early meeting phases, and multitasking to be central stressors of videoconferences. Finally, we identified individual- and team-level coping strategies to reduce the impacts of virtual meeting stressors on employees. Originality: Our research contributes to the emerging field studying the effects of virtual work and videoconferences on employees. We provide an overview of the challenges of remote work at the early stages of the pandemic, and we present an overview of the stressors that emerge in virtual meeting environments. We discuss insights into why videoconferences may fatigue employees. Including German and US samples, our research allows a cross-cultural comparison of videoconferencing stressors. Finally, we present actionable practical recommendations to improve videoconferences.

A systems model for the design of occupational health and safety management systems inclusive of work-from-home arrangements

The study addressed an important knowledge gap in the literature by co-designing a model for OHS management systems inclusive of workers who work-from-home, with a focus on psychosocial risks. This qualitative research study utilised a series of co-design focus groups involving Australian regulators, health and safety managers and practitioners, senior managers, middle managers and workers who work-from-home, to better understand the types of measures that organisations can apply to improve their health and safety management systems. Using a systems approach, consideration was given to the organisation of the remote working system, the home-work interface for remote workers, the competencies of managers and employees in regard to their occupation health and safety (OHS) responsibilities, and the complexity of identifying, reporting and monitoring psychosocial hazards for employees working from home. The study identified a need for tools designed to support both managers and workers in promoting psychologically safe working from home.