Article on the medium-term perceived effects of forced work from home
A study conducted among staff of the National Research Council (CNR) on the medium-term perceived effects of forced work from home (WFH) on life and work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health: The medium-term perceived impact of work from home on life and work domains of knowledge workers during COVID-19 pandemic: A survey at the National Research Council of Italy.
More than 95% of the 748 respondents report that at least one area of personal life has changed, a percentage that reaches 97% for perceived changes in at least one area of professional life. According to the participants, these are mostly positive impacts.
The objective of the study—conducted in early 2022 by researchers from four CNR Institutes in collaboration with the University of Genoa—was to assess how knowledge workers experienced changes to their work habits after 18 months from the start of pandemic-related restrictive measures. The survey is part of the body of research initiated worldwide, especially during the first lockdowns, on worker well-being.
How smart was working from home during the pandemic?
The research was conducted through an online questionnaire. Among other things, CNR staff were asked to rate from 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive) the impact of working from home on various areas.
With respect to personal life, the areas that benefited most from working from home were the quality of interpersonal relationships within the family and general lifestyle (including eating habits and health status) with 60% and 58% of “very positive” or “positive” responses, respectively. Working from home does not appear to have impacted sleep quality and friendships (48% and 55% responded “none,” respectively). The most frequent negative impact (20%) was recorded in relation to psychological state. (Details on the responses in Figure 1)
Percentages are reported without decimals to facilitate reading; the sum of reported values does not always equal 100% due to rounding.
At the professional level, respondents benefited from working from home particularly with respect to flexibility (organization of personal workspace and management of working hours), taking initiative, and quality of work. Three areas in which positive perceptions prevailed over both negative ones and the absence of impact.
Participatory and relational aspects are those in which the perception of no impact prevails. At the same time, however, relationships with colleagues and participation in the work context are those that appear to have been most affected by the different working conditions and that received the highest number of negative responses (27% and 25%, respectively).
Percentages are reported without decimals to facilitate reading; the sum of reported values does not always equal 100% due to rounding.
This perception was influenced by personal and organizational factors. In particular, a reduced number of days working on-site and a longer home-to-work commute time are associated with a positive perception of the impact of working from home on personal life. Those who reduced their sedentary lifestyle also evaluated the impact of working from home on all areas of personal life as positive. Conversely, having abandoned one’s hobbies and having had to share the room used for work with other household members favor a negative perception.
As the authors of the article emphasize, the results obtained suggest that measures to promote the physical and mental health of employees, strengthen inclusion, and maintain a sense of community are necessary to improve worker health and prevent perceived isolation in research activities when working from home is employed, especially where work-life balance policies are lacking.
Edited by Monia Torre with scientific contribution by Pierpaolo Mincarone.
