When Home Becomes the Workplace: Work–Life Balance Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the relevance of the intersections between work and personal life. Measures introduced to slow the spread of COVID-19 have included an increase of working from home and the temporary closure of schools and child-care facilities, leading to a lighter workload for some and a heavier workload for others. These consequences are likely to affect employees' work–life balance (WLB), although the impact may differ across groups of employees depending on the nature of their work, family and personal demands and resources. This mixed-method study examined how Dutch government employees perceive their WLB during the pandemic and how differences in what employees are experiencing can be explained. In May/June 2020, an online survey (N = 827) and an interview study (N = 17) were conducted at a government organization whose employees were obliged to work from home partly or exclusively. Results indicate that demands changed when working entirely from home and resources became more important to maintain WLB satisfaction. Being able to manage boundaries across life domains and find a new routine also appeared to be crucial for WLB satisfaction.

Teleworking at Different Locations Outside the Office: Consequences for Perceived Performance and the Mediating Role of Autonomy and Work-Life Balance Satisfaction

Enhanced communication technologies increasingly allow us to work anytime and anywhere. Many organizations have moved from traditional offices to flexible workplaces in which employees are allowed to vary their work hours and work at different locations both outside and inside the office. So far, findings are inconclusive regarding the effects of teleworking and few studies have examined its use by employees. Our study, which addresses the pre-COVID-19 context, is based on COR theory and explores how employees working in a Dutch public sector organization (N?=?873) use teleworking and what the consequences of this are for individual perceived performance. With respect to teleworking, we focus on time spent working from home and time spent working elsewhere. To test hypotheses, we conducted SEM in AMOS using a two-step approach. Mediation analysis showed that the paths from teleworking to performance via autonomy and work-life balance satisfaction were significant for working from home.

Wellbeing During a Crisis: A Longitudinal Study of Local Government Civil Servants

The COVID-19 crisis has affected numerous areas of civil servants? working life. We investigate, using the JD-R model, the impact of the current crisis on civil servants? wellbeing. Furthermore, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic might have different consequences for civil servants with various role perceptions. We distinguish between traditional, NPM, and NPG civil servants. A longitudinal survey (N?=?569) has shown that: (a) wellbeing decreased over a 6-months period;(b) job demands, including work pressure and work-life disbalance, negatively influence wellbeing;and job resources, including autonomy, task variety, and social support, positively influence wellbeing. In terms of personal resources, self-efficacy positively influences wellbeing;and (c) civil servants? role perception directly influences wellbeing. Although the effect is small, we found an interaction effect in the relation between leader support and burnout for NPG civil servants. The consequences of these findings for HR strategies related to civil servants? wellbeing are discussed.