3 minute read
Work-life balance
Easier to manage work-life balance
Neither your salary level, how far you have to commute to work, nor if you have small children play a role in how well you enjoy working from home. What does affect the experience is personality, whether other family members enjoy working from home and how well communication with your manager works.
These are the findings of a survey conducted by Stefan Tengblad, among others.
ABOUT A THIRD of Sweden’s population who are gainfully employed have been working from home during the pandemic. 67 percent of them responded that they enjoy working from home.
However, the factors that affect well-being are not what you might think. For example, according to the study it is not the case that people who have a long commute are more satisfied with working from home than people who live closer to their workplace. Nor does the number of children a person has or the age of the children seem to matter.
– IT MIGHT SOUND rather unexpected but may be due to the fact that working from home makes it easier to manage your work-life balance, says Stefan Tengblad, Professor of Human Resource Management. You can drop off and pick up your children at a time that suits you, and it can be nice to do your laundry in the middle of the day instead of waiting until after work. Well-being increases if your partner is also satisfied with working from home and if your children can focus on their schoolwork. However, it does not seem to be important whether you are single or cohabiting, nor whether you have plenty of room or your living conditions are more cramped. People simply enjoy being able to have more control over their work.
People who consider themselves to be extroverts appreciate working from home more than people who consider themselves to be introverts. – It may seem surprising, because extroverts are also the ones who thrive most in office environments. But the reason may be that extroverts make new social contacts more easily, even if they are working from home, and also they
STEFAN TENGBLAD
have an easier time adapting to unexpected situations.
In order for working from home to work well, it is necessary to be able to communicate with your manager effectively and openly. – Having good contact with colleagues is also important, Stefan Tengblad points out. The survey may have been influenced by the fact that it was carried out in June, when many people were longing for the holidays and appreciated being at home. But even if the results are to be interpreted with caution, it is still clear that the transition to working from home has gone really well.
STEFAN TENGBLAD believes that working life will continue to change even after the pandemic. – In the future, we will work in a more individualized way and combine working from home with working at the office. There is a considerable need for new flexible forms of work, both for increased well-being and reduced stress, but also to save office space and contribute to a better environment. The technology does exist, but it is important to use it wisely.
Stefan Tengblad
Facts
The survey was conducted in June and is a collaboration between Stefan Tengblad at the University of Gothenburg, Petri Kajonius at Lund University, Mårten Westberg at the European Institute of Behavioural Analysis and Sophie Hedestad from the research company Netigate. Of the 1,500 Swedes who participated in the survey, 506 responded that they worked from home during the pandemic. The participants had to answer additional questions regarding housing, family, transportation, personality, motivation, productivity and so on.
