Disentangling the implications of teleworking on work–life balance: a serial mediation analysis through motivation and satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose

Literature is not consistent in discussing the implications of teleworking on work–life balance (WLB). Even though teleworking may enhance work arrangements’ flexibility, it blurs boundaries between life and work, endangering the individual WLB. The paper intends to illuminate this issue, moving forward our understanding of teleworking’s implications using the Social Exchange Theory framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Secondary data were collected from Eurofound’s sixth European Working Condition Survey. A large sample of Europeans (n = 16,473) was involved in this study. The authors designed a serial mediation analysis to investigate the direct and indirect effects of teleworking on WLB. The authors included employees’ job motivation and job satisfaction as intervening variables that mediate the relationship between teleworking and WLB.

Findings

The authors found teleworking to negatively affect WLB, putting under stress the teleworkers’ ability to handle the interplay between work and life. However, the serial mediation analysis pointed out that teleworking triggers an improvement of job motivation, which, in turn, boosts job satisfaction. Increased job motivation and job satisfaction nurture positive employees’ perception of WLB.

Practical implications

The study results invite us to pay attention to the complex interplay between teleworking and WLB, emphasizing the mediating role of job motivation and job satisfaction. As a flexible work arrangement, teleworking may increase the employees’ sense of control over their work, which leads to better perceived WLB. However, confounding the boundaries between work and daily life, it may nourish work-to-life and life-to-work conflicts.

Originality/value

This paper advances what is currently known about teleworking’s implications on WLB, envisioning avenues for further conceptual and empirical developments.

Citation

Palumbo, R., Flamini, G., Gnan, L., Pellegrini, M.M., Petrolo, D. and Fakhar Manesh, M. (2022), "Disentangling the implications of teleworking on work–life balance: a serial mediation analysis through motivation and satisfaction", Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 68-88. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-08-2020-0156