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Does Remote Work Make People Happy? Effects of Flexibilization of Work Location and Working Hours on Happiness at Work and Affective Commitment in the German Banking Sector

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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH)
Authors:
Timo Kortsch at IU International University of Applied Sciences
Timo Kortsch
Ricarda Rehwaldt at IU International University of Applied Sciences
Ricarda Rehwaldt
Manon Elisa Schwake at Freie Universität Berlin
Manon Elisa Schwake
Chantal Licari
Chantal Licari
Chantal Licari
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Abstract

1) Background: In view of the advancing digitalization of the German banking sector, offering remote work can be an opportunity for banks to meet changing customer and employee needs at the same time. It allows flexible consultations at changing locations and, due to the high degree of autonomy, it also increases motivation, meaningfulness, happiness at work, and commitment. (2) Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate how remote work affects happiness at work and affective commitment among employees in a German public bank. Therefore, two groups of customer advisors were examined, who work either remotely (N = 32) or stationary (N = 110) at similar tasks. (3) Results: The group comparisons show significantly higher values overall on three of the investigated four happiness dimensions ("meaningfulness", "self-ac-tualization", and "community professional") for employees in the remote group. Commitment also differs, as employees in the remote group show significantly stronger commitment. The quantitative results were confirmed by qualitative interviews. (4) Conclusions: By investigating the positive effects of remote working, this study shows new findings on what is likely to be a growing design form of New Work in the future. The study provides evidence that self-selected work environments and working hours offer an opportunity to make work more conducive to happiness-even in a sector that still undergoes significant shifts.
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Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,9117.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159117www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Article
DoesRemoteWorkMakePeopleHappy?Effectsof
FlexibilizationofWorkLocationandWorkingHourson
HappinessatWorkandAffectiveCommitmentintheGerman
BankingSector
TimoKortsch
1,
*,RicardaRehwaldt
2
,ManonE.Schwake
3
andChantalLicari
4
1
DepartmentofHealthandSocialWork,IUInternationalUniversity,99084Erfurt,Germany
2
DepartmentofBusinessandManagement,IUInternationalUniversity,99084Erfurt,Germany;
ricarda.rehwaldt@iu.org
3
DepartmentofEducation&SocialSciences,UniversityofHildesheim,31141Hildesheim,Germany;
schwake@mzhost.de
4
FELICICONGmbH,13127Berlin,Germany;chantal.licari@hotmail.de
*Correspondence:timo.kortsch@iu.org
Abstract:(1)Background:InviewoftheadvancingdigitalizationoftheGermanbankingsector,
offeringremoteworkcanbeanopportunityforbankstomeetchangingcustomerandemployee
needsatthesametime.Itallowsflexibleconsultationsatchanginglocationsand,duetothehigh
degreeofautonomy,italsoincreasesmotivation,meaningfulness,happinessatwork,andcommit‐
ment.(2)Methods:Thisstudyusedaquasi‐experimentaldesigntoinvestigatehowremotework
affectshappinessatworkandaffectivecommitmentamongemployeesinaGermanpublicbank.
Therefore,twogroupsofcustomeradvisorswereexamined,whoworkeitherremotely(N=32)or
stationary(N=110)atsimilartasks.(3)Results:Thegroupcomparisonsshowsignificantlyhigher
valuesoverallonthreeoftheinvestigatedfourhappinessdimensions(“meaningfulness”,“self‐ac‐
tualization”,and“communityprofessional”)foremployeesintheremotegroup.Commitmentalso
differs,asemployeesintheremotegroupshowsignificantlystrongercommitment.Thequantita‐
tiveresultswereconfirmedbyqualitativeinterviews.(4)Conclusions:Byinvestigatingthepositive
effectsofremoteworking,thisstudyshowsnewfindingsonwhatislikelytobeagrowingdesign
formofNewWorkinthefuture.Thestudyprovidesevidencethatself‐selectedworkenvironments
andworkinghoursofferanopportunitytomakeworkmoreconducivetohappiness—evenina
sectorthatstillundergoessignificantshifts.
Keywords:remotework;happiness;commitment;bankingsector;quasi‐experimentaldesign;work
design;newwork
1.IntroductionandTheoreticalBackground
Digitalizationisfundamentallychangingtheworldofwork.Oneindustrythatis
intensivelyaddressingdigitalizationstrategiesisthebankingsector[1].Theacceleration
oftechnologicalchangeandfiercecompetitionhaveputcompaniesunderpressureinre‐
centyears[2–4].Previousstudiesondigitalizationinthebankingsectorhavefocusedei‐
theronthestrategicleveloronthecustomerperspective[5].Inadditiontothesetwo
perspectives,banksshouldalsointegratetheemployeeperspective,especiallywithre‐
gardtohappinessatworkandcommitment.Digitalizationoftenleadstoadisproportion‐
ateincreaseinworkintensityinthebankingsector,whichhasbeeninupheavalsincethe
turnofthemillenniumduetoseveralcrises(includingthe2008financialcrisis)[6].Atthe
sametime,thetraditionallocalbranchnetworkisbeingsignificantlythinnedoutinthe
Citation:Kortsch,T.;Rehwaldt,R.;
Schwake,M.E.;Licari,C.Does
RemoteWorkMakePeopleHappy?
EffectsofFlexibilizationofWork
LocationandWorkingHourson
HappinessatWorkandAffective
CommitmentintheGerman
BankingSector.Int.J.Environ.Res.
PublicHealth2022,19,9117.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
ijerph19159117
AcademicEditors:PaulB.
TchounwouandSunghyupSean
Hyun
Received:11May2022
Accepted:22July2022
Published:26July2022
Publisher’sNote:MDPIstaysneu‐
tralwithregardtojurisdictional
claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitu‐
tionalaffiliations.
Copyright:©2022bytheauthors.Li‐
censeeMDPI,Basel,Switzerland.
Thisarticleisanopenaccessarticle
distributedunderthetermsandcon‐
ditionsoftheCreativeCommonsAt‐
tribution(CCBY)license(https://cre‐
ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91172of14
Germanbankingsectorinthecourseofmassivestructuralchange,whichisfundamen‐
tallychangingworkingconditionsforemployees[7].Inaddition,optimizationandcost‐
cuttingdevelopmentsareleadingtoadeclineintheattractivenessofthebankingsector
asanemployer[8],whileemployeesdesireworkingconditionsthatcreatemeaningand
allowforself‐fulfillment[9]andenablehappinessatworkoverall[10,11].Inthisrespect,
banksarefacedwiththedualchallengeofrespondingtochangingcustomerneedsonthe
onehandandbeinginterestingforemployeesinordertoretainthemontheother.Making
workmoreflexiblecanthereforebeanopportunityforthebankingsectortomeetboth
customerandemployeeneeds:Consultationscantakeplaceatindividuallocations(e.g.,
atthecustomer’shome)andatflexibletimesinsteadofbeingboundtofixedopening
hoursandlocations(branches).Thisisalsoreferredtoasremote(e‐)work,whichmeans
“workbeingcompletedanywhereandatanytimeregardlessoflocationandtothewid‐
eninguseoftechnologytoaidflexibleworkingpractices”[12](p.529).Remoteworkis
associatedwithdifferentdimensionsofwell‐being:theassociationsofremoteworktothe
affectiveandprofessionaldimensionofwell‐beingseemtobe,ingeneral,positive[13].
Therelatedconceptoftelecommuting(whichisprimarilyaimedatthefreechoiceofwork
location)isalsopositivelylinkedtojobsatisfaction[14].
Thespatialeffectoftheself‐chosenplaceofwork(asopposedtothepredetermined
officeworkplace)takesonanimportantsignificance:Featuressuchasstimulation,af‐
fordances,andrecreationalqualitiescanhaveapositiveeffectonthepsyche[15]and
changingenvironmentscanhavearestorativeeffectonattention[16,17].Despitethein‐
creasingprevalenceofremotework,itslong‐termconsequences,e.g.,onworkemotions
andemotionalcommitmentofemployees,havenotyetbeensufficientlyinvestigated.The
aimofthepresentstudyisthereforetoexaminethespecificeffectsofremoteworkon
bankemployees’feelingsofhappinessatworkandaffectivecommitment.Forthispur‐
pose,aqualitativepreliminarystudyandaquantitativestudywithaquasi‐experimental
designwereused,inwhichtwogroupsofemployees(branchworkvs.remotework)ofa
Germanpublicbankwereexamined.Theresultsareintendedtoprovideindicationsof
theextenttowhichremoteworkisapossibleflexibleformofworkdesignthatnotonly
takesintoaccountcustomerinterestsbutalsomeetstheneedsofemployeesforself‐ful‐
fillingworkandcanthusberecommendedforthebankingsectorandothersectorsthat
facestructuralchallenges.
1.1.ChallengesoftheGermanBankingSector
TheglobaleconomywashithardbytheCOVID‐19pandemicin2020.GDPgrowth
inGermanyfellby4.8%in2020,endingaten‐yeargrowthphaseandcausingthedeepest
recessionsincethefinancialcrisisin2008[7].Germanindustrywashithardbythedown‐
turnintheglobaleconomy,asitisheavilyinvolvedinglobaltradeandproductionchains
[7].ThebankingsectorinGermanyalsoshowssomepeculiarities:First,Germanyisthe
countrywiththemostbranchesofcreditinstitutionsoutsidetheEU,practicallytwiceas
manyasthesecond‐rankedcountry,Italy[7].Second,thebankingsectorisdividedinto
threepillars:theprivatecommercialbanks,thepublic‐lawbanks,andthecooperative
banks—whichdifferintermsoflegalformandownershipstructure.Thisstudyexamined
thelaborsituationofthesecondpillar:thepublicbankingsector,whichaccountsfor26%
ofbankingsystem’stotalassets(cf.[7,18]).Thisisorganizedasacorporationunderpublic
lawandrestrictsitsactivitiesanddecisions(e.g.,theregionalprinciple,accordingto
whichthesebanksmaybeonlyinitsbusinessterritory)toadelimitedareaandiscon‐
trolledbymunicipalowners.Apartfromtheirregionalfocus,theiractualbusinessdoes
notdifferfromthatofprivatecommercialbanks[7].Differencesarefound,however,in
consolidationbehavior.Inallthreepillars,thenumberofbankshasdeclinedsharply,by
59%since1995.Thisconsolidationhaslargelytakenplacewithintheexistingpillars.
However,inthesavingsbankandcooperativesector(asopposedtomergersintheprivate
sector),consolidationhasoftenbeentheresultofstressratherthanproactivebusiness
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91173of14
considerations.Thesechangesarealsobeingfeltbyemployeesinchangingworkingcon‐
ditions.
ThetransformationoftheGermanbankingsector[19]isdriven,inparticular,byad‐
vancingdigitalization.Digitizationmeansthatfinancialservicesarebecomingmorein‐
terchangeableandarethereforesubjecttostrongcompetitivepressure,especiallyfrom
purelyonlinebanks[19].Bankemployeesareparticularlyburdenedbythis,asjobinse‐
curity,workintensity,andflexibilizationareincreasing[19],leadingtoadditionalpsy‐
chologicalstress[20].Asaresult,thebankingsectorcontinuestoloseitsattractivenessas
anemployer[8].
Opportunitiesforcustomersandadvisorstomeetface‐to‐facehavebecomerarer,as
thenumberofbankbranchesinGermanywasalreadyreducedbymorethanathirdbe‐
tween2001and2013[19].In2020,Germanyagainsawoneofthelargestdeclinesinthe
numberofbranchesintheEU[7].
Thisincreasesthepressureonbankemployeestobepresentandeffectiveinthose
raremomentsofcustomercontact.Therefore,newwaysofdirectcustomercontactare
beingsought.Oneoftheseways—remotework—wasexaminedinthisstudy.Thereisan
urgentneedfortoday’sbankingmarkettocreatenewwaysofinteractionand,thus,drive
workplacedesign[19]toremainattractiveasanemployer.
1.2.RemoteWorkasanAlternativetoWorkDesign
Remoteworkcanbeseenasanalternativeformofworkdesignwhereemployeesare
performing“tasksawayfromtheirprimaryoffices,usinginformationandcommunica‐
tiontechnologies(ICTs)tointeractwithothersinsideandoutsideoftheirorganization”
[20](p.165).Mainlyduetothecoronapandemic[20–22],remoteworkhasbecomeareg‐
ularpartofworkformorethanone‐thirdofallemployeesinGermany[23].Eventhough
theprocessofremoteworkwasacceleratedbytheCOVID‐19pandemic,theproportion
ofremoteworkersalreadytripledfromthe1980stothe2010s[24,25].Thisway,commutes
canbereduced,andthecarbonfootprintofemployeesdecreases[25].Incontrasttosolely
workingathome,remoteworkerscanworkinchangingenvironments(e.g.,onthebal‐
cony,inacafé,inthepark,atthecustomer’spremises,etc.),eachofwhichcandevelopits
ownspatialeffects.Onepossibleexplanationforthepositiveeffectofchangingenviron‐
mentsisofferedbytheattention‐recoverytheory[16,17]:accordingtothis,thechangeof
locationmadepossiblebyremoteworkleadstomorevariedenvironments,whichhavea
recoveryeffect.Empiricalstudiesprovideevidenceoftheimportanceoftheenvironment
forwell‐being.Peopleinnaturalenvironmentsarehappier[26,27].Theverypathways
associatedwithchangesofplacecanhaveapositiveeffect:changesoflocationincrease
thelikelihoodofmovingaroundinnaturalenvironments,andthis,inturn,hasbeen
showntopromotewell‐being[28].
Remoteworkcanalsoincreasemotivation[29]andsenseofmeaning[30]duetoits
highautonomy[14],anditcanalsoincreasehappinessatwork[11]andretention[31].
Studieshaveshownthattheperceptionofaself‐determinedenvironmentwasassociated
withhigherautonomyand,thus,highermotivation[32,33].Ifthechoiceofworkenviron‐
mentinthecontextofremoteworkismadestrategicallytoalignwithpersonalneedsand
goals(e.g.,workinginacafébecausethefeelingofhavingpeoplearoundisliked),this
canbeunderstoodasstructuraljobcrafting[34].Jobcraftingreducesworkstressandcan
thusfurtherenhancethepositiveexperienceofwork[35].
1.3.EffectsofRemoteWorkonHappinessatWork
Remoteworkisassociatedwithseveralpositiveeffectsonemployees.Forexample,
remoteworkofferstheopportunitytobreakroutinesorescapemanagerialcontrol[36].It
hasapositiveimpactonthework‐lifebalance[37]andcanleadtobetterperformanceand
increasedjobsatisfaction[14,22,37,38].Itthusprovidesspaceforthedevelopmentofpos‐
itiveemotionsandhappinessatwork.
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91174of14
Studiesshowavarietyofbeneficialeffectsofpositiveemotionsatwork:peopleina
positivemoodshowhigherratesofcognitiveperformance[39],cancombineworksteps
moreefficiently[40],andcanmakedecisionsfaster[41].Theyaremorecreativeandex‐
hibithighproblem‐solvingskills[42].Studiesalsoshowthathappyemployeeshavesig‐
nificantlyfewersickdays[43,44].Thecorporaterelevanceofhappinessatworkisjusti‐
fied,amongotherthings,bythefactthathappinessleadstoincreasedcustomerloyalty
andproductivity[45].Bothaspectsareofgreatimportance,especiallyinthebankingsec‐
tor,ascorporatedevelopmentsfocusonsimplifyingandstandardizingprocesses.
AccordingtoRehwaldt(2017)[11],happinessatworkisdeterminedbythefactor’s
meaningfulness,self‐actualization,andcommunity.Meaningfulnessariseswhenemploy‐
eesfeeltheyarecontributingtothebiggerpictureorhelpingsomeone[11].Remotework
couldstrengthenemployees’senseofmeaningthroughon‐siteappointmentswithcus‐
tomers,asthefeelingofsupportingandhelpingcomestothefore.Self‐actualizationis
promotedthroughthescopeforactionandtheuseofone’sownskillsandpotential[11].
Thefactorofself‐actualizationalsomovesfurtherintofocusinthecontextofNewWork
[9]andNewLearning[46]inthesenseofdoing“whatyoureallyreallywant”.Freedom
ofactionconcerningworklocationandworkinghourssupportsself‐actualizationinthe
contextofwork.Thecommunityfactorarises,amongotherthings,throughthesocialin‐
teractionofteammembersonaprofessional(rathertask‐related)andafamiliar(rather
emotional)level[11].Task‐relatedinteractionsarealsopossibledigitally(albeitwithlim‐
itations),buttheemergenceoftrustandteamcohesionisprimarilypossiblewhenreal
andregularencountersalsotakeplace[47].Forexample,teamswhoworktogethervirtu‐
allyperceivealackofimportantinformation,namelyteamfeedback[48,49].Onerecent
studyontheeffectsofremoteworkshowedthatthecommunicationbetweenremote
workersbecomesmoreasynchronous,thecommunicationmediaarelessrich(e.g.,email)
intermsofmediarichness,andcollaborationbecomesmoresiloed[50].
Buildingontheseconsiderations,wethereforeassumethefollowing:
Hypotheses1aand1b.Remote‐workingemployeeshavehighervaluesonthehappinesssubscales
self‐actualization(1a)andmeaningfulness(1b)thanbranchsalesemployees.
Hypothesis1cand1d.Remote‐workingemployeeshavelowerscoresonthehappinesssubscales
communityprofessional(1c)andcommunityfamiliar(1d)thanbranchsalesemployees.
1.4.EffectsofRemoteWorkonCommitment
Tobesuccessful,companiesarenotonlydependentonmotivatedandcommitted
employees,butalsoonkeepingtheemployeesandtheirknow‐howwithinthecompany.
Therefore,theimportanceofaffectivecommitmentisbecomingincreasinglyimportant
forcompanies.Thereareatleasttworeasonsforthis:Ontheonehand,thedependence
ofemployeesontheircompaniesisdecreasing,and,thus,measurestoincreasethereten‐
tionofqualifiedpersonnelarecomingintofocus[51].Secondly,affectivecommitment
promotesperformanceandcreativity[52]andthewillingnesstoworkforthecompany
[53].Foremployeeswithhighaffectivecommitment,theirworkalsorepresentsapartof
theirownidentity[54].
Meta‐analyticalevidencesuggeststhattelework,arelatedconstructtoremotework,
ispositivelyassociatedwithcommitment[55,56].Onereasonmightbetheflexibilityof
remotework[38].Flexibilizationmeasuresreduceabsenteeism,i.e.,absenceduetoillness
[57],andarealsoofgreatimportancetojobapplicants[58].Meta‐analyticalstudieshave
shownthatflexibilityinone’sworkschedulereducestheintentiontochangejobsand,
thus,increasesemployees’loyaltytothecompany[31].Bjärntoftetal.(2020)[59]citean
increaseinperceivedautonomyandflexibility—whicharealsofundamentalinintrinsic
motivationprocesses[29]—asthereasonfortheincreasedwork‐lifebalancethroughjob
flexibility.Affectivecommitmenttothecompanycouldbeincreasedthroughfreedomin
workdesign,e.g.,throughremotework[60].We,therefore,assumethefollowing:
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91175of14
Hypotheses2a–2c.Remote‐workingemployeesshowhigheraffectivecommitmenttothecompany
(2a),tothejob(2b),andtheteam(2c)thanbranchsalesemployees.
2.MaterialsandMethods
2.1.Pre‐Study
Toverifythehypothesesforthecompanyunderinvestigation,threequalitativein‐
terviewswereconductedforeachsub‐sample.Thisnotonlyenabledapracticalconfirma‐
tionofthehypothesesderivedtheoreticallysofar,butalsoprovidedinsightsintopossible
causesandcausalities.Thetotalofsixinterviewslastedeachbetween20and35min.One
managerandtwoemployeesfromeachsubgroup(i.e.,branchandremote)wereinter‐
viewed.Theemployeeswereoneexperiencedpersonandonenewcomer(joiningthe
companyaboutayearago)tothedepartment.Thesemi‐structuredinterviewswerebased
onaguidelinethatfocusedontherelationshipwiththemanagerandthecolleagues,as
wellasthefeelingofhappinessandthechallengesatwork.Theinterviewsservedtogain
adeeperinsightintothedifferencesbetweenemployeesworkinginthebranchandthose
workingonthemove.
Theimpressionsfromtheinterviewscanbesummarizedincategoriesasfollows:
Employeesintheremotegroupprimarilystrivedforpersonalautonomyandroomfor
maneuverandemphasizedaspectsofself‐actualization,suchastherealizationofideas
andtheopportunitiestoshowinitiativeandtocontributeideas.Similarly,remoteworkers
emphasizedthecommunityaspectssuchassupportandexchangeamongcolleaguesand
theimprovedopportunitiestobuildanindividualandauthenticcustomerrelationship.
Thiscanbeseen,forexample,inthequotesinTable1.
Themembersofthebranchgroupprimarilyemphasizedthecommunalrelationships
thatcreateasenseofbelongingthroughfixedcommunicationstructuresandfixedaffili‐
ationsandlocations.ThisisreflectedinthesamplequotationsinTable2.
Overall,theassumptionwasconfirmedthatemployeesintheremotegroupwould
reportdifferentlyabouttheirwork,haveadifferentmindset,andappearmorecommitted
overall.
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91176of14
Table1.Remotegroup(shortenedversion).
CategorySampleQuotes
Personalautonomyandscopeforaction
“Theyletmeworkhereinaself‐determinedway”(Employee).
AslongasImakemynumbers,Icouldalsostartworkat4pmandbeathomebythen,bakingcakesanddoingthelaun‐
dry.That’suptome”(Employee).
“[…]Organizethemselvesathome,gotothecustomer”(Manager).
Innovation,initiative,ideas
“Themanagementisalsoalwaysreadytosay,we’lltrysomethingnew.Andifitworks,thenit’sgreat.Ifitdoesn’t
work,youjusthavetodoitdifferently”(Employee).
“SowhatIcansaythatmakesremotecounsellingworkistheissueofpersonalresponsibilityandinitiative”(Manager).
Customerorientationorrelationshiporientation
“Superadvantageousfortheclient,becauseyoucometohishome.Sologically,differentatmosphereaswell.Thecus‐
tomerfeelsmorecomfortable”(Employee).
“Becausewhenyouleavethebranch,everythingisquiteregimentedanduniformed,that’smyexperience.Andbeing
differentisstupid.Here,beingdifferentisintentional.Becausewehavetoadjusttocustomers,andtheydon’twantsol‐
diers,theywantauthenticgodfathersateyelevel”(Manager).
Supportandexchangewithcolleaguesandman‐
ager(community)
“Despiteallthat,weexchangealotofinformationandsay,‘Hey,howwouldyouapproachthiscase?OrcanIgiveyou
somefeedback?’Wedothatalot,especiallythemanagement”(Employee).
“Inaddition,Ialsohaveaface‐to‐facesituationwitheachindividualemployeeeveryweek”(Manager).
Table2.Branchgroup(shortenedversion).
CategorySampleQuotes
Belonging
“SoIneedthathomefeelinghere”(Employee).
“ButtodayIamalsosatisfiedthatIamhere.Why?BecauseIamapermanentmemberoftheteamhereandhaveafixedlocation”(Employee).
Fixedcommunication
structures
“Iseemymanagereveryday.Wetalkeveryday.[…]Butwealsohelpeachother”(Employee).
“Ihaveameetingwithallmystaffeveryweekthatisfixedandscheduled”(Manager).
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91177of14
2.2.StudyDesignandSample
Employeesfromapublicbankwhoeitherhadfixedworkinghoursandafixedwork‐
placeduetobranchopeningtime(branchgroup)orworkedflexiblyintermsoflocation
andtime(remotegroup)weresurveyedthroughaquestionnaire.Thiscreatedtwonatu‐
ral,non‐manipulatedgroupsthatweretobecomparedwitheachother,asistypicalfora
quasi‐experimentaldesign.Theemployeesinbothgroupsperformedthesametasksin
termsofcontent,buttheydifferedgreatlyintermsoftheirworkingconditions.
Intheremotegroup,thesurveywasconductedviae‐mail,withthecompletedques‐
tionnaireshandedinbye‐mailorasaprintoutdirectlyintheoffice.Initially,therewasa
responseofN=17.Toreachtherelativelysmallsub‐sampleofremoteworkersascom‐
pletelyaspossible,theopportunitytotakepartinthesurveywasgivenagainatanannual
kick‐offevent.Here,anotherN=15employeestookpart.Thus,atotalofN=32employees
fromtheremotegrouptookpart(responserateof86.5%ofallemployeeswhoworkre‐
motely).Inthebranchgroup,thesurveywasconductedexclusivelybye‐mailduetothe
widedistributionofbranches.Inthebranchgroup,employeescouldreturnthecompleted
questionnaireanonymouslybyinternalpostorbye‐mail.AsampleofN=110employees
wasreached(responserate:23.2%).Bothgroupsweresimilarintermsofsamplecharac‐
teristics(withsmalldifferences;seeTable3).Amongtheemployeesinthebranchgroup,
therewereslightlymorewomen(54.55%vs.46.88%);theywere,onaverage,slightlyolder
(thelargestagegroups:49.09%inthe46–55agegroupvs.43.75%inthe36–45agegroup),
andmorethantwo‐thirds(71.82%vs.56.25%)oftheemployeeshadmorethan20years
ofservice;theemployeesintheremotegroupworkedmoreofteninfull‐time.
Table3.Distributionofsamplecharacteristicsintheremoteandbranchgroupsincomparison.
Characteristic BranchGroup
(N=110)
RemoteGroup
(N=32)
Gender(%female) 54.55% 46.88%
Proportionofmanagers 17.27%18.75%
Agegroups:  
18–25years 5.45% 3.13%
26–35years 13.64% 28.13%
36–45years 20% 43.75%
46–55years 49.09% 21.88%
56–65years 11.82% 3.13%
Employmentrelationship:  
Full‐time,permanent 75.45% 96.88%
Full‐time,limited 1.82% 3.13%
Part‐time,unlimited 18.18% 0.00%
Part‐time,limited 4.55% 0.00%
Lengthofservice:
0–5years 2.73% 3.13%
5–10years 7.27% 18.75%
10–15years 10.91% 12.5%
15–20years 7.27% 9.38%
Over20years 71.82% 56.25%
2.3.Instruments
Happinessatwork.HappinessatworkwasmeasuredwiththevalidatedHappi‐
nessandWork‐Scale[10].TheHappinessandWork‐Scalemeasuresthefourformativehap‐
pinessfactorswiththreeitemseach:meaningfulness(e.g.,“WithmyworkIactivelycon‐
tributetothewell‐beingofothers”),self‐actualization(e.g.,“InmyworkIhavealotof
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91178of14
freedom”),communityprofessional(e.g.,“Evenintensesituationsnooneinourcompany
shiftsresponsibilitytosomeoneelse”),andcommunityfamiliar(e.g.,“IfIhaveprivateprob‐
lems,Idiscussthemwithmycolleagues”).Thesearesurveyedbyusingafive‐pointLikert
scale,from1=“donotagreeatall”to5=“agreecompletely”.Reliabilitiesrangedfromα
=0.66(subscalecommunityfamiliar)toα=0.83(subscalemeaningfulness).
Commitment.AffectivecommitmentwasmeasuredbyusingtheCOMMITquestion‐
naire[61].Eachoftheselectedfociismeasuredbyusingthreeitems:Company(e.g.,“Ifeel
astrongsenseofbelongingtothe[companyname]”),Team(e.g.,“Ifeelclosetomyteam”),
andOccupation(e.g.,“Ienjoymycurrentjob”).Thesearerecordedbyusingafive‐point
Likertscale,from1=“stronglydisagree”to5=“stronglyagree”.Thereliabilitieswere
betweenα=0.86(subscalecommitmenttothecompany)andα=0.91(subscalecommitment
totheteam).
3.Results
3.1.StatisticalAnalyses
TheprogramJASP(version0.14.1)[62]wasusedforhypothesistestingandtheasso‐
ciatedcalculations.Inviewofthedifferentgroupsizes,bothgroupswerecomparedby
usingnon‐parametrictests(Mann–WhitneyUtest).
3.2.ResultsfortheHypotheses
Duetothesignificantlydifferentgroupsizes,Mann–WhitneyUtestswereconducted
tocomparethetwogroups.Thetestsrevealedsignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwo
groupsforthehappinessscalesself‐actualization(W=2790.00,p<0.001),meaning(W=
2695.00,p<0.001),andcommunityprofessional(W=2655.50,p<0.001);ineachcase,the
valuesintheremotegroupweresignificantlyhigher(seeTable4).Theeffectscanbeclas‐
sifiedaslarge[63].Ontheotherhand,therewasnosignificantdifferenceinthecommu‐
nityfamiliarscale(W=2120.00,p>0.05).Thus,hypotheses1aand1bcouldbeconfirmed,
whilehypotheses1cand1dcouldnotbeconfirmed.
Table4.Descriptivestatisticsandgroupcomparisonsonhappinessfactors.
HappinessFactorGroupNMSDCohen’sdGroupComparison
W
p
Self‐actualizationRemote324.130.511.032790.00<0.001
Branch1113.370.78
MeaningfulnessRemote324.290.590.952695.00<0.001
Branch1113.610.75
CommunityprofessionalRemote324.260.400.882655.50<0.001
Branch1113.640.77
CommunityfamiliarRemote323.980.640.362120.00>0.05
Branch1113.700.82
Notes:GroupcomparisonsduetolargedifferencesingroupsizeusingthenonparametricMann–
WhitneyUtest.
Thetestsshowedsignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsforthethreefoci
commitmenttothecompany(W=2308.00,p<0.01),commitmenttothejob(W=2597.50,
p<0.001),andcommitmenttotheteam(W=2356.00,p<0.01);thevaluesintheremote
groupweresignificantlyhigher(seeTable5).Theeffectscanbeclassifiedasmediumto
large[63].Hypotheses2a,2b,and2carethusconfirmed.

Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,91179of14
Table5.Descriptivestatisticsandgroupcomparisonsonthecommitmentscales.
CommitmentFocusGroupN M SD Cohen’sdGroupComparison
Wp
Commitmenttothecompany Remote324.490.920.412308.00<0.01
Branch1114.120.90
CommitmenttothejobRemote324.161.210.542597.50<0.001
Branch1113.660.81
CommitmenttotheteamRemote324.410.480.652356.00<0.01
Branch1113.801.02
Notes:Groupcomparisonsduetolargedifferencesingroupsize,usingthenonparametricMann–
WhitneyUtest.
4.Discussion
Digitalizationisleadingtoasteadilyincreasingflexibilizationofworkandonce
againraisesthequestion:Whereandhowdopeoplewanttowork?FortheGermanbank‐
ingsector,thisstudyshowsthatremoteworkcanbeawaytoofferemployeesworking
conditionsthatpromotehappinessandcommitment,whileatthesametimeresponding
tochangingcustomerneeds.Self‐determinationofworklocationandworkinghours
playsacentralroleinthis.Thestudywasaquasi‐experimentaldesignthatshowed,in
linewiththehypothesis,thatemployeesintheremotegrouphadsignificantlyhigherval‐
uesfortwoofthefourhappiness‐promotingfactors(“meaningfulness”and“self‐actual‐
ization”)comparedtothebranchgroup.Theinterviewsfromthepreliminarystudycon‐
cretizedwhatismeantbythis,namelythatpersonalautonomyandscopeforactionare
seenasverycentral.Thus,remoteworkasaworkdesignmeasureseemstohavefurther
triggeredtheindividual“jobcrafting”[34]oftheemployees,whichcanthenbeperceived
asaresource,especiallyinthecontextofadditionalchallenges,e.g.,duetothecorona
pandemic[22].
Surprisingly,therewerealsohighervaluesforthecommunity‐relatedhappinessfac‐
torsinthegroupofremoteworkers—oncesignificantly(“communityprofessional”)and
oncetendentially(“communityfamiliar”);thisfundamentallycontradictedthehypothe‐
sesthatassumedasignificantlylowervalueintheremotegroup.Theinterviewsalsocon‐
tradictedthehypothesesregardingthecommunityfactors;acommunitywasalsoexperi‐
encedintheremotegroup.Onereasonforthismaybetheingroup–outgroupeffect(cf.
Reference[64]):Theremoteworkersperceivethemselvesasagroupduetothespecial
workingconditions,and,therefore,theyalsosupporteachother.Thismayhavebeenad‐
ditionallyreinforcedbyaself‐selectioneffectintheremotegroup:itispossiblethatthose
whochosetoworkremotelyaresimilartoeachother(e.g.,samplecharacteristicsindicate
aloweragethaninthebranchgroup),andthismayhavefurtherreinforcedthegroup
feeling.Thus,asenseofcommunityemergedamongtheremoteworkerstothesameora
higherdegreethanamongtheemployeesinthebranchgroup.Thecommitmentvalues
weresignificantlyhigherfortheremotegroupthanforthebranchofficegroupforall
threefoci:company,job,andteam.Atthesametime,however,itwasfoundthatthelevels
ofthehappinessfactorsandthecommitmentfacetswerealsointhepositiverangeofthe
scaleinthebranchofficegroupandthatthecommitmenttothecompanywasevenvery
pronounced.Inthisrespect,remoteworkseemstobeawayofgeneratingpositiveeffects,
evenamongalreadyhappyandcommittedemployees.
4.1.TheoreticalImplications
Severaltheoreticalimplicationsfollowfromthisstudy.First,aqualitativeprelimi‐
narystudyandaquasi‐experimentaldesigndemonstratedpositiveeffectsofremotework
onhappinessandcommitment.Thus,thisstudycomplementspreviousfindingsonthe
effectsofremotework(seeReferences[12,13],forexample),withfindingsontworelevant
constructs.Atthesametime,thestudyexpandsthefindingswiththeGermanbanking
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,911710of14
sector,asectorthathasalreadybeenconfrontedwithmassiveupheavalsincetheturnof
themillennium.However,mostresearchfocusedonthefinancialimpactsofthese
changes(seeReference[18],forexample).Thus,thebankingsectorcanalsobeseenas
exemplaryforsectorsthatareundergoingmajorupheavals(e.g.,theautomotivesector)
orwhereupheavalsareimminent.
Secondly,thestudysupportsthetheoryofhappinessatwork[11]withfurtherem‐
piricalfindings.Inparticular,thedifferentresultsonthecommunityfactorscommunity
professional,andcommunityfamiliarseemtobefruitfulforfurtherresearch.According
tothis,itisnotonlyimportantfortheexperienceofhappinessinaprofessionalcontext
whetheroneexperiencessocialinclusion[29],butalsowhatqualitythissocialinclusion
has—accordingtoRehwaldt(2017)[11],boththeopportunityforprofessionalexchange
andtheexperienceofpersonalclosenessareoptimal.
Thirdly,thisstudythusshowsthatremoteworkasaworkdesignmeasurecombines
employeeandcompanyinterestsandappearstobeaprofitablemeasure,atleastregard‐
ingthedimensionsofhappinessandcommitmentthatwereexamined.Intermsofsocial
exchange[60],remoteworkersexperiencemorehappinessatwork,and,atthesametime,
theircommitmenttothecompanyincreases.
4.2.PracticalImplications
Forcompanies,thestudyprovidesinsightfulfindingsregardingtheuseofremote
work,asremoteworkhaspositiveeffectsondesiredoutcomescomparedtotraditional
non‐remotework.
Firstly,remoteworkseemstobeaneffectivetoolforpromotingthehappinessfactors
ofmeaningfulness,self‐actualization,andcommunityprofessional(cf.Reference[11]),as
theremotegrouphadsignificantlyhigherscoreshere.Theeffectsofthethreehappiness
scaleswerelarge.Studiesshowthatvariedworkenvironmentshaveapositiveeffecton
well‐being[16,17]andnaturalenvironmentscontributetoanincreaseinhappiness[26,27]
Inthisrespect,employerscanenhancethehappinessperceptionofemployeesbyusing
remoteworkasahealth‐promotingjobdesignmeasureinatargetedmannerandsupport
it,forexample,withthetrainingofjobcraftingstrategies[34].However,personalinter‐
actionsshouldbeoffered,especiallyfortheaspectoftrust(familiarityfactor),butalsoto
avoidfeelingsofloneliness[38].Onepossibilityforthiswouldbeweeklymeetings,but
alsomethodssuchas“WorkingOutLoud”[65],inwhichgroupsmeetweeklyovera
longerperiodoftimetoworkonaself‐selecteddevelopmenttopic.
Secondly,remoteworkappearstobeaneffectivetoolforincreasingaffectivecom‐
mitment.Thestudyshowedthatremoteworkpromotescommitmenttothecompany,to
thejob,andtotheteam.Remoteworkcanthereforebeaninterestingwayforcompanies
toremainanattractiveemployerandtogainaboostinattractiveness[66].Especially
whenspacedesigninofficesisnotpossible,remoteworkoffersavariantofdesigninga
healthyworkingenvironment.Thiscanadditionallybecombinedwiththeestablishment
ofdigitalexchangeroomstoreducethenegativeeffectsonthecommunitydimension
(professionalandfamiliar)[25].Dependingonthebusinesssector,itispossible,forexam‐
ple,tooffer“dailyscrums”[67]ordigitalcoworking.Inaddition,community‐building
measuressuchasteam‐buildingeventscanbeofferedtopromotegettingtoknoweach
otherandtoallowfamiliaritytodevelop.Thefeelingofhappinesscanalsobefurther
enhancedthroughrelationship‐basedleadership[59].
4.3.LimitationsandFurtherResearch
Eventhoughthestudyprovidesnewinsightsintotheeffectofremoteworkinthe
bankingsector,therearesomelimitations.Whilepositiveeffectsofremoteworkcouldbe
demonstrated,theyareassociatedwithchallengesthatshouldbefurtherinvestigatedin
additionalstudiestogainfurtherclarityontheeffectsofremotework.Itisknownthat
remoteworkfavorsablurringoftheboundarybetweenworkandprivatelife(seeRefer‐
ences[22,25,68]).Thisisassociatedwithpermanentaccessibility[69]andworkingafter
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,911711of14
hours[70],whichwillcontinuetoincreaseduetotheincreasingvirtualityofcollaboration
(see[47,71]).Highervirtualitymayalsodecreasecreativity[72]andincreasesilothinking
[50].Furthermore,certainleadershipbehaviors(e.g.,intrusiveleadership)heavilyinter‐
ferewithremotework[70].However,itseemsthatitisnottheextentofaflexiblework
arrangementsuchasremoteworkitselfbuttheassociatedjobcharacteristics(e.g.,auton‐
omy)thatcancausenegativeeffects[73].Itis,therefore,allthemoreimportanttodesign
remoteworkwelltominimizerisks.
Amethodologicallimitationofthestudyisthatthedatacollectionoftheremote
grouphadtotakeplacepartlywithintheframeworkofateamevent,asaresultofre‐
sponseproblems.Althoughthissignificantlyincreasedtheresponserate,thisteamevent
couldhavehadadditionalpositiveinfluencesonthehappinessexperienceoftheremote
group.Evenifthecharacteroftheeventwasratherformal,theemployeesofthisgroup
meteachotherinthissettingandwere,thus,possiblyabletoexperienceasenseofcom‐
munity—becausethepromotionofinterpersonalrelationshipsisoneofthefourcon‐
firmedeffectivecomponentsofsuchteamevents[74].However,thefactthatnosignifi‐
cantdifferenceswerefoundinthedimension“communityfamiliar”speaksagainstthis
confoundingeffect.Onthisdimension,withthehighestaffectivityofthefourdimensions,
effectswouldhavebeenmostlikelytobeexpectedthroughsuchanintervention[74].
Otherthingstonotearethedifferentgroupsizesandtheslightlydifferentsample
characteristics.Forexample,theremoteworkerswereallemployedfull‐timeandtended
tobeyoungerthantheemployeesinthebranch.Here,onecannotexcludeacertainself‐
selectionofworkingconditions(remotevs.branch),whichcouldhaveinfluencedthere‐
sults.Thisisreinforcedsinceworkersintheremotegroupcouldchoosewhethertowork
inthebranchorremotely.Evenifitmakessensetoletemployeeshaveavoiceregarding
theworkingconditionsunderwhichtheywork(inthiscase,remotevs.branch),thisis
notalwayspossible(e.g.,inthewakeofthecoronapandemicorduetocost‐cutting
measures).Therefore,thepresentstudyshouldbereplicatedwithadifferentsampleand
differentmethods(e.g.,randomizedgroupassignmentorcontrolforbaselinelevelsof
happinessbeforethestartoftheintervention)inthefuture.However,currentdatasets
fromthecoronaperiod,incontrasttothisstudy,maybeinfluencedbyconfoundingfac‐
torsthatoccurredasaresultoftheCOVID‐19pandemic,suchasincreasedanxietyabout
one’shealth.
5.Conclusions
Inviewoftheadvancingdigitalization,workwillcontinuetobecomemoreflexible
inthefutureinordertobettertakeintoaccountemployeeandcustomerinterests.This
meansthatthespecialflexibleformofremoteworkwillalsoincrease.Throughthepresent
results,itcouldbeshownthattheincreasingflexibilizationandgrowingdecision‐making
possibilitieshaveapositiveinfluenceontheperceivedhappinessatwork.Thecommit‐
mentofremoteworkers(towardtheteam,thecompany,andthejob)isalsogrowing.
Particularlyduetothecoronapandemic,itisofthehighestsocialrelevancetofurther
researchtheinfluencesofremoteworking,whichalsoincludesthehomeoffice.
AuthorContributions:Conceptualization,R.R.andC.L.;methodology,T.K.andM.E.S.;software,
T.K.;validation,T.K.,R.R.,M.E.S.andC.L.;formalanalysis,T.K.andR.R.;investigation,R.R.and
C.L.;resources,R.R.andC.L.;datacuration,T.K.andR.R.;visualization,T.K.andM.E.S.;writing—
originaldraftpreparation,T.K.,R.R.,M.E.S.andC.L.;writing—reviewandediting,T.K.,R.R.,
M.E.S.andC.L.;supervision,T.K.andR.R.;projectadministration,R.R.Allauthorshavereadand
agreedtothepublishedversionofthemanuscript.
Funding:TheAPCwasfundedbyIUInternationalUniversityofAppliedSciences.
InstitutionalReviewBoardStatement:Allproceduresperformedinthisstudywereapprovedby
theethicscommitteeofIUInternationalUniversity,Germany.Thestudywasconductedinaccord‐
ancewiththeDeclarationofHelsinki.
Int.J.Environ.Res.PublicHealth2022,19,911712of14
InformedConsentStatement:Informedconsentwasobtainedfromallsubjectsinvolvedinthe
study.
DataAvailabilityStatement:Thedatapresentedinthisstudyareavailableuponrequestfromthe
correspondingauthor.Thedataarenotpubliclyavailableinordertopreventdrawingconclusions
aboutparticipatingsubjectsandtheparticipatingbank.
ConflictsofInterest:Theauthorsdeclarenoconflictofinterest.Thecompanyhadnoroleinthe
designofthestudy;inthecollection,analyses,orinterpretationofdata;inthewritingofthemanu‐
script,andinthedecisiontopublishtheresults.
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... However, the authors emphasize that Generation Z showed the greatest increase in employee engagement because of work flexibility. Kortsch et al. [67] examined two groups of client advisors who worked remotely (N = 32) or directly in the bank (N = 110) in similar positions. The research indicated that the commitment of employees who work remotely is significantly higher than that of employees who work physically in the bank. ...
... The results showed that flexible work arrangements have a statistically significant direct effect on employee commitment and performance, while the effect on innovative work behavior was not statistically significant, leading to the rejection of this hypothesis. These findings are consistent with previous research, which confirmed the positive impact of flexible work arrangements on employee commitment [2,[63][64][65][66][67] and employee performance [72][73][74][75][76][77]. In analyzing the mediating role of employee commitment, it was determined that employee commitment fully mediates the relationship between flexible work arrangements and innovative work behavior, while partial mediation is confirmed in the relationship between flexible work arrangements and employee performance. ...
The Key Role of Employee Commitment in the Relationship Between Flexible Work Arrangements and Employee Behavior
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2024
The research’s main objective is to examine the mediating role of Employee Commitment (EC) in the relationship between Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) and employee behavior (Innovative Work Behavior (IWB) and Employee Performance (EP)) among employees in the Republic of Serbia. The research consists of a theoretical part (review of the literature on previous theoretical and empirical findings) and an empirical part (Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis conducted on a sample of 582 employees in Serbia). The main findings have determined that there is full mediation, as the indirect effect of FWAs on Innovative Work Behavior through employee commitment is significant, and partial mediation, as the indirect effect of FWAs on Employee Performance through Employee commitment. The flexibility provided by FWAs not only increases employee satisfaction and loyalty but also motivates them to reciprocate through improved behavior and employee performance. In this way, employee commitment becomes a key factor that links organizational flexibility policies with positive outcomes in employee behavior. Flexible work arrangements are key to HR sustainability by enabling a better work-life balance, reducing stress, increasing employee commitment, and fostering long-term innovation and productivity. The mediating role of employee commitment in the relationship between flexible work arrangements and employee behaviors, such as innovative work behavior and employee performance, is particularly important. A high level of commitment, which stems from flexible work conditions, significantly contributes to innovative practices and improved performance, further strengthening the sustainability of organizations.
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... 3). On the other hand, with less travel time, remote working also provides more relaxing time and time to spend with the family and a personalised workspace to work, which might positively lead to psychological wellbeing (Kortsch et al., 2022). ...
... In respect to remote working, findings related to workers' hedonic wellbeing vary. According to Kortsch et al., (2022), remote working workers avoid commuting which leads to having extra time to engage in daily activities and they feel more relaxed and enhances their hedonic wellbeing. Moreover, spending more time with family and having extra time to engage in hobbies also leads to more life satisfaction (Ng et al., 2022). ...
The Impact of Remote Working on Information Technology Workers’ Psychological Wellbeing
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
This study is based on a systemic review of related literature on how remote working impacts Information Technology workers’ psychological wellbeing. Remote working is a unique working environment that limits social interactions and faceto- face communication. Therefore, there is a concern that it has the potential to create adverse psychological effects such as isolation and lack of belongingness. Conversely, it might also positively facilitate psychological wellbeing because of increased flexibility and more time to invest in one’s personal life. Significantly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of remote working has increased, and for Information Technology workers this has become a key component. Their jobs can be efficiently conducted in remote working settings. Although numerous studies focused on the general wellbeing of remote workers, the psychological wellbeing of remotely working Information Technology workers has been under-investigated. Examining this area would help recognise unique and challenging areas that Information Technology workers encounter in remote working environments and take the required measurements to address them. The objective of this study is to identify how remote working affects the Information Technology worker’s psychological wellbeing under remote working conditions. The study was conducted based on systematic analysis of 30 peer-reviewed journal articles published in reputed journals. The critical evaluation of the systematic literature review found that remote working resulted in feeling left out, overworking, and lacking work-life boundaries, which negatively impacted Information Technology remote workers’ psychological wellbeing. Also, this study uncovered that improved family relationships, less commute stress, and more time for leisure activities helped improve psychological wellbeing and happiness. These findings will contribute to understanding the nature of Information Technology remote workers’ psychological wellbeing and how psychological wellbeing practices of organisations can be embedded.
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... In line with other studies (Dettmers 2017;Dettmers et al. 2016b;Thörel et al. 2022;Vieten et al. 2022), extended work availability was shown to be an important barrier to psychological detachment in this study. Clear regulation of work availability is particularly important for work from home, as spatial flexibility is often accompanied by temporal flexibility of work (Kortsch et al. 2022). Recommendations for reducing extended work availability address three aspects that have been identified in a study based on qualitative interviews and a written survey as typical causes of extended work availability (Pangert et al. 2017). ...
... Surveys demonstrate that even after the coronavirus pandemic, employees are interested in working remotely more often than before (Barrero et al. 2021;Frodermann et al. 2021). The study by Kortsch et al. (2022) also found that employees working from home reported greater job satisfaction and affective commitment than their onsite counterparts. However, the predictors of psychological detachment identified in the present study, namely the quality of manager-employee communication and extended work availability should be considered when designing health-promoting hybrid work arrangements. ...
Effects of hybrid work on psychological detachment
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2024
After the coronavirus pandemic, hybrid work has become firmly established in many companies. This study investigated the relation of hybrid work and relevant working conditions with the psychological detachment of employees. A written online survey was conducted among 250 employees of a company in the mechanical engineering industry in Germany who worked from home at least part of the time. Multiple hierarchical regression was used for the analysis. The results show that, as expected, the quality of manager-employee communication has a positive (β = 0.13, p < 0.05) and extended work availability a negative effect (β = −0.35, p < 0.001) on psychological detachment. Contrary to the assumptions, however, the proportion of work from home has a positive effect on detachment (β = 0.15, p < 0.05). Regarding the demographic variables, female employees are better able to detach from work (β = −0.36, p < 0.01). The quantitative demands initially show a significant effect, but this disappears as soon as the extended work availability and the proportion of work from home are included in the analysis. The included predictors explain 19% (p < 0.001) of the total variance. Practical Relevance Hybrid work offers the opportunity to organize work more flexibly and thus to adapt it more closely to the needs of employees. The results of this study show that work from home can foster psychological detachment from work, provided that health-promoting working conditions are in place.
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... FWAs can bring happiness to individuals (Medina-Garrido et al., 2017), they are also beneficial to promoting employee health and attendance (Shifrin & Michel, 2021). Moreover, FWAs have been proven to have other positive impacts on employees' well-being, including but not limited to increasing pleasure, alleviating stress, and promoting personal growth (Alsulami et al.,2023;Kortsch et al.,2022;Anderson & Kelliher,2020). How exactly do flexible work arrangements affect employees' well-being? ...
How Flexible Work Arrangements Improve Employee Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Chinese Programmers
Article
  • Mar 2025
Introduction: Work-life imbalance has emerged as a critical challenge in knowledge-intensive industries, necessitating systemic interventions. Global organizations increasingly adopt flexible work arrangements (FWAs) to enhance employee satisfaction and performance. However, flexible work arrangements may be a double-edged sword; their impact on well-being requires further exploration, particularly in technology-driven professions. Objectives: This study examines FWAs' impact on Chinese programmers' subjective well-being (SWB), aiming to:1) quantify their subjective well-being levels under flexible work arrangements policies; 2) assess the association between flexible work arrangements and subjective well-being; 3) compare differential impacts of flexible work arrangements types (e.g., flextime, telecommuting) across subjective well-being (emotional, psychological, social). Methods: We conducted a random online survey of programmers in five core cities in China known for rapid technological innovation and development in the Internet and high-tech industries field. 625 valid survey data were used for multiple linear regression analysis to explore the relationship between flexible work arrangements and subjective well-being. Results: The findings indicate that Chinese programmers exhibit a high level of subjective well-being (mean = 3.8). Among its dimensions, emotional well-being has the highest perceived level (mean = 3.85) compared to the social and psychological dimensions. Flexible work arrangements significantly enhance subjective well-being through compressed work hours (β = 0.086), telecommuting (β = 0.089), part-time (β = 0.252), and job-sharing (β = 0.22), whereas the effect of flexitime is not statistically significant. Overall, flexible work arrangements contribute positively to the subjective well-being of Chinese programmers, with part-time exerting the most substantial influence, followed by telecommuting. Conclusions: Flexible work arrangements with flexible tasks and flexible locations are more conducive to the improvement of employees' subjective well-being than simple flexible time arrangements. Therefore, this study recommends that authorities and organizations prioritize employees' demands for task-oriented flexibility and location autonomy when optimizing workplaces, while preserving access to traditional office-based models. Such a balanced approach mitigates risks associated with excessive flexibility—including mental health deterioration, social isolation, and weakened organizational belongingness—by allowing self-determined transitions between structured collaboration and independent work modes.
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... FWAs can bring happiness to individuals (Medina-Garrido et al., 2017), they are also beneficial to promoting employee health and attendance (Shifrin & Michel, 2021). Moreover, FWAs have been proven to have other positive impacts on employees' well-being, including but not limited to increasing pleasure, alleviating stress, and promoting personal growth (Alsulami et al.,2023;Kortsch et al.,2022;Anderson & Kelliher,2020). How exactly do flexible work arrangements affect employees' well-being? ...
How Flexible Work Arrangements Improve Employee Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Chinese Programmers
Article
  • Mar 2025
Introduction: Work-life imbalance has emerged as a critical challenge in knowledge-intensive industries, necessitating systemic interventions. Global organizations increasingly adopt flexible work arrangements (FWAs) to enhance employee satisfaction and performance. However, flexible work arrangements may be a double-edged sword; their impact on well-being requires further exploration, particularly in technology-driven professions. Objectives: This study examines FWAs' impact on Chinese programmers' subjective well-being (SWB), aiming to:1) quantify their subjective well-being levels under flexible work arrangements policies; 2) assess the association between flexible work arrangements and subjective well-being; 3) compare differential impacts of flexible work arrangements types (e.g., flextime, telecommuting) across subjective well-being (emotional, psychological, social). Methods: We conducted a random online survey of programmers in five core cities in China known for rapid technological innovation and development in the Internet and high-tech industries field. 625 valid survey data were used for multiple linear regression analysis to explore the relationship between flexible work arrangements and subjective well-being. Results: The findings indicate that Chinese programmers exhibit a high level of subjective well-being (mean = 3.8). Among its dimensions, emotional well-being has the highest perceived level (mean = 3.85) compared to the social and psychological dimensions. Flexible work arrangements significantly enhance subjective well-being through compressed work hours (β = 0.086), telecommuting (β = 0.089), part-time (β = 0.252), and job-sharing (β = 0.22), whereas the effect of flexitime is not statistically significant. Overall, flexible work arrangements contribute positively to the subjective well-being of Chinese programmers, with part-time exerting the most substantial influence, followed by telecommuting. Conclusions: Flexible work arrangements with flexible tasks and flexible locations are more conducive to the improvement of employees' subjective well-being than simple flexible time arrangements. Therefore, this study recommends that authorities and organizations prioritize employees' demands for task-oriented flexibility and location autonomy when optimizing workplaces, while preserving access to traditional office-based models. Such a balanced approach mitigates risks associated with excessive flexibility—including mental health deterioration, social isolation, and weakened organizational belongingness—by allowing self-determined transitions between structured collaboration and independent work modes.
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... Happiness, a highly valued goal in organisations, has become increasingly important in recent years as organisations have become more interested in the well-being of their employees (Fisher, 2010;Singh & Aggarwal, 2018). NWW provide employees with greater autonomy and flexibility, which may initially help to reinforce the idea that these variables could contribute to positive emotions and employees' e-wellness (Kortsch et al., 2022). We define e-happiness at work as a set of positive emotions employees experience in e-work contexts. ...
The effects of new ways of working (NWW) on employees’ well-being and happiness. A theoretical overview
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2025
Purpose: New ways of working (NWW) is an emerging trend in contemporary organisations, driven by the need to be flexible and adapt quickly to changes. Thus, NWW provides employees with greater control over their working time, also increasing their autonomy with the support of ICTs. However, the adoption of flexible work arrangements can be a source of a wide range of concerns, which can influence employees’ well-being and happiness at work. This research aims to develop an overall framework to guide future research on new flexible work models. Methodology: This theoretical overview proposes to analyse the influence of e-demands (technostress, e-work-life balance, etc.) resulting from NWW adoption on employees’ e-well-being (e-psychological well-being, e-emotional exhaustion, etc.) and e-happiness. To mitigate the potential negative effects of NWW practices, both organisations and employees should identify personal e-resources (e-psychological capital, e-work self-efficacy, e-psychological empowerment) and job e-resources (e-engaging leadership, e-work effectiveness) that can serve as effective moderators to promote employees’ well-being. Results: The proposed model attempts to provide an overview based on available knowledge about the relationships between e-demands, employees’ e-well-being and personal and job resources in e-work contexts. Practical implications: This research aims to shed light on the need for effective strategies to adapt the NWW to work environments characterised by higher levels of flexibility and the intensive use of ICTs, with the aim of guaranteeing employees’ well-being, health and happiness, and achieving better results.
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... A longitudinal study conducted on 358 married women from Singapore in six waves from 2018 to 2022 suggests a positive relationship between teleworking and life satisfaction, with WLB being a mediating factor (Tan et al., 2024). Finally, a quasi-experimental study conducted among employees of a German public bank points in the same, positive direction (Kortsch et al., 2022). ...
WORK FROM HOME AND HAPPINESS -AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH STUDY
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Sep 2024
The flexibility of working hours and location has become an integral part of employers' corporate policy. In the post-pandemic era, location-based flexibility in particular seems to be the working practise that employees want to keep. Although many positive aspects of working from home or remotely have been highlighted in the literature over the years, the disadvantages of these flexible forms of work have also been identified. In light of these trends in work organisation, or the fact that work from home could become standard practise in many companies in the coming years, we were interested in investigating the relationship between working from home and overall employee happiness. Throughout history, happiness has been described as the natural goal of life and the ultimate end of temporal existence. The positive psychology introduced the concept of happiness to a wider audience, not only at an individual level, but also at the level of organisations and entire nations. Moreover, happiness has recently been promoted as a macroeconomic concept that is now actively pursued by countries and their governments. In order to develop policies that influence the happiness levels of people and countries, it is important to gain knowledge about the different factors that influence happiness, including human resource practises. As employment nowadays occupies a central place in people's lives, it is postulated that the workplace plays a crucial role in people's happiness. This served as motivation to investigate whether working from home, as a highly sought-after practise, is positively related to overall happiness. The empirical study was conducted using a questionnaire on a sample of 87 employees, mostly young, highly educated and employed in various industries, most of them in the banking sector. Of all sampled participants, two thirds had the option to work from home and most of them utilised it. The research results show that almost half of them believe that the main advantage of working from home is the time saved by not having to commute while the lack of communication with colleagues and/or superiors was identified as a main disadvantage. However, the relationship between working from home and overall happiness was non-significant and almost non-existent. Flexible working options should be significantly revised in the future to account not just for the potential benefits but also for its disadvantages.
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Understanding the Dynamics of Telework: A Job Demands–Resources Model-Based Qualitative Analysis of Employee and Managerial Experiences in Romania
Article
  • May 2025
Telework has become a crucial element of the modern business landscape, driven by transformations sparked by multiple global crises. The transition from traditional, in-office work to telework, sometimes mandated by revolutionary circumstances (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), has highlighted both the advantages and challenges associated with this mode of work organization. In this context, the present study examines the effects of telework as experienced by employees and managers during two key periods: the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of chatbots. Through 24 interviews conducted and analyzed across these two timeframes (2021 and 2024) using NVivo 14 Windows software, the data were organized and interpreted within the framework of the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model. The main findings focus on organizational communication, sustainability, and work efficiency, while also highlighting associated benefits and drawbacks. The results demonstrate the importance of adapting organizational resources to meet growing job demands in order to maintain desired levels of efficiency and effectiveness while avoiding burnout, productivity declines, or other negative outcomes in the context of telework. This research contributes to understanding the evolution of telework by offering practical insights for sustaining high levels of motivation and workforce engagement in achieving organizational objectives in the hybrid work era. This paper emphasizes the significance of the JD-R Model in analyzing dynamic work environments, providing relevant perspectives for organizations on the continuously evolving dimensions of job demands, job resources, and outcomes.
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The impact of remote work on job satisfaction, engagement and individual work performance in the banking sector
Article
  • Dec 2024
Purpose This study aimed to explore various effects of remote work on employee job satisfaction, engagement and aspects of individual work performance, namely task performance, contextual performance and counterproductive work behaviour, in the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach We used a survey-based quantitative approach. The sample comprised 403 bank employees in Lithuania, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. To analyse the data, we employed a confirmatory factor analysis, a CB-SEM multiple regression analysis, mediation analysis and moderation analysis. Findings The analysis of direct effects showed that the intensity of remote work has a positive impact on job satisfaction, a negative impact on engagement and a nonsignificant impact on individual performance. Job satisfaction has a positive impact on engagement and task performance and a nonsignificant impact on contextual performance and counterproductive behaviour. Engagement improves task performance and contextual performance and decreases counterproductive work behaviour. Job satisfaction positively mediates the impact of remote work on engagement; however, the total impact of remote work on engagement is negative. The intensity of remote work significantly moderates the impact of job satisfaction on engagement. Practical implications This study provides insights that allow for the optimisation of individual work performance by means of the proper management of the intensity of remote work, job satisfaction and engagement. Originality/value We present the original discovery that the intensity of remote work acts as a moderator of the impact of job satisfaction on engagement.
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Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
  • NATURE
COVID-19 accelerated a decade-long shift to remote work by normalizing working from home on a large scale. Indeed, 75% of US employees in a 2021 survey reported a personal preference for working remotely at least one day per week¹, and studies estimate that 20% of US workdays will take place at home after the pandemic ends². Here we examine how this shift away from in-person interaction affects innovation, which relies on collaborative idea generation as the foundation of commercial and scientific progress³. In a laboratory study and a field experiment across five countries (in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia), we show that videoconferencing inhibits the production of creative ideas. By contrast, when it comes to selecting which idea to pursue, we find no evidence that videoconferencing groups are less effective (and preliminary evidence that they may be more effective) than in-person groups. Departing from previous theories that focus on how oral and written technologies limit the synchronicity and extent of information exchanged4, 5–6, we find that our effects are driven by differences in the physical nature of videoconferencing and in-person interactions. Specifically, using eye-gaze and recall measures, as well as latent semantic analysis, we demonstrate that videoconferencing hampers idea generation because it focuses communicators on a screen, which prompts a narrower cognitive focus. Our results suggest that virtual interaction comes with a cognitive cost for creative idea generation.
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Remote work and work-life balance: Lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic and suggestions for HRD practitioners
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2022
Popular representations of remote work often depict it as a flexible, technologically feasible, and family-friendly work arrangement. Have the images of remote working as a desirable work arrangement been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic? What have we learned from the widespread involuntary remote work imposed on many employees during this time? To answer these questions, we analysed 40 recent empirical studies that examined work-life balance while working from home during the pandemic. Our analysis was informed by the person-environment fit theory and complemented by literature reviews on remote work conducted prior to the pandemic. We found four themes representing misfits between desirable expectations and the undesirable realities of remote work: (1) flextime vs. work intensity, (2) flexplace vs. space limitation, (3) technologically-feasible work arrangementvs. technostress and isolation, and (4) family-friendly work arrangement vs. housework and care intensity. We highlight the important role HRD practitioners can play in assisting employees to achieve a fit between their expectations and experiences of remote work.
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Learning What you Really, Really Want: Towards a Conceptual Framework of New Learning in the Digital Work Environment
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Jan 2022
Digitization and globalization are leading to changing demands in the world of work. To cope with these, employees must constantly learn and develop. Analogous to the New Work movement, the future of learning seems to belong to New Learning, in which protean and empowered learners pursue learning opportunities to achieve subjectively valuable learning outcomes and personal growth. This meaningful and socially-embedded kind of learning enables learners to learn what they really, really want to learn. In the literature, however, there is a lack of models and theories on New Learning. The present paper introduces a conceptual framework of New Learning building on psychological theories in terms of a causal chain whose ten propositions can be empirically examined in future studies. An important premise is that, in addition to personal characteristics of the learner, the socio-technical environment and (digital) tools and methods play an important role for New Learning. The paper concludes by setting a future research agenda and discussing the practical implications of New Learning.
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Was macht bei der Arbeit glücklich? Entwicklung und Validierung einer mehrdimensionalen Skala zur Erfassung von Glück bei der Arbeit What Makes You Happy at Work? Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Scale to Assess Happiness at Work
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
Zusammenfassung. Glück bei der Arbeit spielt neben Arbeitszufriedenheit in der Forschung eine immer größere Rolle. Glück wurde sowohl theoretisch als auch metanalytisch mit positiven Folgen in Verbindung gebracht. Allerdings fehlt bislang ein validiertes Instrument in deutscher Sprache, um Bedingungen von Glück bei der Arbeit zu erfassen. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist deshalb, ein Messinstrument zur Erfassung von Bedingungen von Glück bei der Arbeit zu entwickeln und zu validieren. Basierend auf einem Modell von Rehwaldt (2017) entstand in vier aufeinander aufbauenden qualitativen und quantitativen Studien eine vierdimensionale Skala zur Erfassung von Bedingungen von Glück bei der Arbeit (HappinessandWork-Scale). In explorativen und konfirmatorischen Faktorenanalysen konnten vier Faktoren ( Sinnempfinden, Selbstverwirklichung, Gemeinschaft professionell und Gemeinschaft vertraut) aufgedeckt werden, die erwartungsgemäß positiv korreliert waren. Die divergente Validität der vier Faktoren zeigte sich durch unterschiedliche Zusammenhänge mit mehreren relevanten Kriterien (z. B. Commitment, innovatives Verhalten). Implikationen der Ergebnisse für Theorie und Praxis werden abschließend diskutiert.
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The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2021
  • Nat. Hum. Behav.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a rapid shift to full-time remote work for many information workers. Viewing this shift as a natural experiment in which some workers were already working remotely before the pandemic enables us to separate the effects of firm-wide remote work from other pandemic-related confounding factors. Here, we use rich data on the emails, calendars, instant messages, video/audio calls and workweek hours of 61,182 US Microsoft employees over the first six months of 2020 to estimate the causal effects of firm-wide remote work on collaboration and communication. Our results show that firm-wide remote work caused the collaboration network of workers to become more static and siloed, with fewer bridges between disparate parts. Furthermore, there was a decrease in synchronous communication and an increase in asynchronous communication. Together, these effects may make it harder for employees to acquire and share new information across the network.
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Telecommuting, Off-Time Work, and Intrusive Leadership in Workers’ Well-Being
Article
Full-text available
Telecommuting is a flexible form of work that has progressively spread over the last 40 years and which has been strongly encouraged by the measures to limit the COVID-19 pandemic. There is still limited evidence on the effects it has on workers’ health. In this survey we invited 905 workers of companies that made a limited use of telecommuting to fill out a questionnaire to evaluate intrusive leadership of managers (IL), the request for work outside traditional hours (OFF-TAJD), workaholism (Bergen Work Addiction Scale (BWAS)), effort/reward imbalance (ERI), happiness, and common mental issues (CMIs), anxiety and depression, assessed by the Goldberg scale (GADS). The interaction between these variables has been studied by structural equation modeling (SEM). Intrusive leadership and working after hours were significantly associated with occupational stress. Workaholism is a relevant moderator of this interaction: intrusive leadership significantly increased the stress of workaholic workers. Intrusive leadership and overtime work were associated with reduced happiness, anxiety, and depression. These results indicate the need to guarantee the right to disconnect to limit the effect of the OFF-TAJD. In addition to this, companies should implement policies to prevent intrusive leadership and workaholism.
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Telecommuting, Off-Time Work, and Intrusive Leadership in Workers’ Well-Being
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Feb 2021
Telecommuting is a flexible form of work that has progressively spread over the last 40 years and which has been strongly encouraged by the measures to limit the Covid19 pandemic. There is still limited evi-dence on the effects it has on workers' health. In this survey we invited 905 workers of companies that made a limited use of telework to fill out a questionnaire to evaluate: Intrusive leadership of managers (IL), the request for work outside traditional hours (OFF-TAJD), workaholism (BWAS), effort / reward imbalance (ERI), happiness and common mental issues (CMIs), anxiety and depression, assessed by the Goldberg scale (GADS). The interaction between these variables has been studied by structural equation modeling (SEM). Intrusive leadership and working after hours were significantly associated with occu-pational stress. Workaholism is a relevant moderator of this interaction: intrusive leadership significantly increased the stress of workaholic workers. Intrusive leadership and overtime work were associated with reduced happiness, anxiety and depression. These results indicate the need to guarantee the right to disconnect, to limit the effect of the OFF-TAJD. In addition to this, companies should implement policies to prevent intrusive leadership and workaholism.
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Selbstführungsstrategien zur Bewältigung von Flexibilitätsanforderungen digitaler Arbeit mit hohem Zeit- Orts- und Handlungsspielraum – eine qualitative Studie
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2021
Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag in der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation (GIO) analysiert Selbstführungskompetenzen und -strategien im Umgang mit Flexibilität im Kontext großer Handlungsspielräume in Bezug auf Ort, Zeit und Arbeitsweise. Die Untersuchung dient dem Ziel, Anforderungen digitaler Führung und Zusammenarbeit in auf Distanz arbeitenden Teams zu systematisieren. Die Analyse fokussiert die Relevanz von Selbstführungsstrategien und folgt einem explorativen Ansatz. In einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse wurden Interviews und Gruppendiskussionen (n = 27) in der IT-Branche hinsichtlich des Aspekts Selbstführung kodiert und Arbeitsanforderungen virtueller Arbeit und Selbstführungsstrategien zur Bewältigung abgeleitet. Die Einordnung dieser Aspekte in das Konzept Selbstführung wird diskutiert. Dabei wird die Boundary Theory als theoretische Grundlage von Selbstführungsstrategien zur Bewältigung von Anforderungen erörtert. Aus der Analyse werden praktische Empfehlungen abgeleitet. Da Selbstführung ein großes Potenzial zur Bewältigung moderner Arbeitsanforderungen bietet, können Beschäftigte von Qualifizierungen in diesem Kompetenzbereich profitieren. Es werden Empfehlungen für zukünftige Forschung bezüglich der Auswirkungen von Selbstführung auf Entgrenzung und psychische Gesundheit von Beschäftigten in der modernen Arbeitswelt beschrieben.
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Why leveraging the science of happiness at work matters: The happy and productive employee
Article
  • Dec 2010
For the past five years we have been running a research project about happiness at work. Our aim was to investigate the old question: is the happy worker a productive one too? We began with protocols, focus groups, interviews and three separate studies (Edmunds & Pryce-Jones, 2009) and have now gathered responses from more than 5,000 employees. This article illustrates the key findings so far.
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