The Effects of Involuntary Working From Home on Work-Life Balance, Work-Life Conflict, and Employees’ Burnout

Abstract

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) was supposed to be an HR practice to help employees attain a higher work-life balance. WFH has also been shown in previous research to reduce work-life conflicts. We suggest that these benefits of WFH are specific to voluntary WFH, and cannot be generalized to involuntary WFH, when it is not a choice, but a requirement. Unfortunately, research on involuntary WFH is extremely scarce. Using a time-lagged design, we collected data in three waves during the COVID-19 pandemic to test the effects of WFH on work life balance (WLB), work life conflict (WLC) and burnout. Results show that working from home directly and indirectly affects work-life balance, work-life conflict and burnout. The results also show that emotional exhaustion is the burnout dimension, which is most strongly influenced. Finally, results show that effects of WFH on burnout are mediated through WLB and WLC. These results significantly contribute to the research on working from home and burnout and present important directions for future research. In addition, the results help policy makers and managers in designing better WFH schemes and to develop conditions in which harmful effects of WFH are minimized.