„Homeoffice in Corona-Zeiten – Sind Ausmaß und/oder Flexibilität wichtig für Arbeitszufriedenheit, soziale Unterstützung, Commitment und Arbeitsunterbrechungen?“

ZusammenfassungDie Diskussion über Vor- und Nachteile von Homeoffice hat durch die Corona-Pandemie neue Impulse bekommen: Auch Behörden haben ihren Mitarbeitenden die Möglichkeit eingeräumt, ins Homeoffice zu wechseln. Viele Studien zum Thema Homeoffice wurden mit Personen durchgeführt, die schon seit Jahren aus dem Homeoffice arbeiten. Es ist jedoch unklar, welche Konsequenzen ein plötzlicher Wechsel ins Homeoffice haben könnte. In diesem Beitrag wurde in einer Landesbehörde untersucht, inwieweit das Ausmaß an Homeoffice und die Möglichkeit seiner flexiblen Nutzung mit arbeitsbezogenen Variablen wie Zufriedenheit mit der Arbeit, soziale Unterstützung, affektives Commitment und Arbeitsunterbrechungen zusammenhängen. An der Onlinebefragung nahmen 477 Beschäftigte teil. Unsere Analysen zeigen, dass mehr Homeoffice mit weniger Arbeitsunterbrechungen einhergeht. Wir fanden keine signifikanten Zusammenhänge zwischen dem Ausmaß an Homeoffice und Arbeitszufriedenheit, affektivem Commitment oder sozialer Unterstützung. Es gab jedoch positive Zusammenhänge zwischen der Flexibilität des Arbeitsortes mit allen Ergebnisgrößen mit Ausnahme von Arbeitsunterbrechungen. Die Befunde liefern Evidenz für die Bedeutsamkeit der flexiblen Nutzung von Homeoffice und damit der wahrgenommenen Möglichkeit, selbst darüber zu entscheiden, ob im Homeoffice gearbeitet wird. Dies impliziert, dass Organisationen – Behörden inbegriffen – eine mitarbeiterorientierte Flexibilität brauchen, d. h. den Beschäftigten einen möglichst großen Handlungsspielraum bei der individuellen Ausgestaltung flexibler Arbeitsmöglichkeiten geben sollten.Alternate :The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking (i.e., working from home) has gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic: Even public authorities have given their employees the opportunity to switch to teleworking. Many studies on teleworking have been carried out with employees who have been teleworking for years. However, it is unclear which consequences a sudden shift to teleworking has. This article examines to what extent the use of teleworking and the possibility of its flexible usage are associated with work-related variables such as job satisfaction, social support, affective commitment and work interruptions. A total of 477 employees of a medium sized public agency took part in the online survey. Our analyses show that more teleworking is associated with fewer work interruptions. We did not find any significant association between the extent of teleworking and job satisfaction, affective commitment and social support. However, there were positive relationships between the perceived flexibility of the place of work with all outcomes with the exception of work interruptions. The findings provide evidence of the importance of the flexible use of teleworking and thus the perceived opportunity to decide for oneself whether to work from home. This implies that organizations—including public agencies—need employee-oriented flexibility, that is, they should give employees the greatest possible decision latitude on the individual use of flexible work options.

Working at home during Covid-19: Are extent and/or flexibility important for job satisfaction, social support, commitment and work interruptions?

The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking (i.e., working from home) has gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic: Even public authorities have given their employees the opportunity to switch to teleworking. Many studies on teleworking have been carried out with employees who have been teleworking for years. However, it is unclear which consequences a sudden shift to teleworking has. This article examines to what extent the use of teleworking and the possibility of its flexible usage are associated with work-related variables such as job satisfaction, social support, affective commitment and work interruptions. A total of 477 employees of a medium sized public agency took part in the online survey. Our analyses show that more teleworking is associated with fewer work interruptions. We did not find any significant association between the extent of teleworking and job satisfaction, affective commitment and social support. However, there were positive relationships between the perceived flexibility of the place of work with all outcomes with the exception of work interruptions. The findings provide evidence of the importance of the flexible use of teleworking and thus the perceived opportunity to decide for oneself whether to work from home. This implies that organizations-including public agencies-need employee-oriented flexibility, that is, they should give employees the greatest possible decision latitude on the individual use of flexible work options.