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Having to Work from Home: Basic Needs, Well-Being, and Motivation

Author

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  • Hannah M. Schade

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Ardeystr. 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Jan Digutsch

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Ardeystr. 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Thomas Kleinsorge

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Ardeystr. 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany)

  • Yan Fan

    (Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, Ardeystr. 67, 44139 Dortmund, Germany)

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees were asked to start working from home for an extended time. The current study investigated how well employees worked and felt in this novel situation by following n = 199 German employees—56% of them female, 24% with childcare duties—over the course of two working weeks in which they reported once daily on their well-being (PANAS-20, detachment) and motivation (work engagement, flow). Participants reported on organizational and personal resources (emotional exhaustion, emotion regulation, segmentation preference, role clarity, job control, social support). Importantly, they indicated how well their work-related basic needs, i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness, were met when working from home and how these needs had been met in the office. Multilevel models of growth showed that work engagement, flow, affect and detachment were on average positive and improving over the two weeks in study. Higher competence need satisfaction predicted better daily work engagement, flow, and affect. In a network model, we explored associations and dynamics between daily variables. Overall, the results suggest that people adapted well to the novel situation, with their motivation and well-being indicators showing adequate levels and increasing trajectories. Avenues for improving work from home are job control and social support.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannah M. Schade & Jan Digutsch & Thomas Kleinsorge & Yan Fan, 2021. "Having to Work from Home: Basic Needs, Well-Being, and Motivation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:10:p:5149-:d:553485
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Berislav Andrlić & Kankanamge Gayan Priyashantha & Adambarage Chamaru De Alwis, 2023. "Employee Engagement Management in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Magnus Moglia & Stephen Glackin & John L. Hopkins, 2022. "The Working-from-Home Natural Experiment in Sydney, Australia: A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Fausto Famà & Roberto Lo Giudice & Gaetano Di Vita & João Paulo Mendes Tribst & Giorgio Lo Giudice & Alessandro Sindoni, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Impact on the Cranio-Oro-Facial Trauma Care in Italy: An Epidemiological Retrospective Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-9, July.
    4. Di Zhao & Guopeng Li & Miao Zhou & Qing Wang & Yiming Gao & Xiangyu Zhao & Xinting Zhang & Ping Li, 2022. "Differences According to Sex in the Relationship between Social Participation and Well-Being: A Network Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-11, October.
    5. Hjordis Sigursteinsdottir & Fjola Bjork Karlsdottir, 2022. "Does Social Support Matter in the Workplace? Social Support, Job Satisfaction, Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Wang, Richard & Ye, Zhongnan & Lu, Miaojia & Hsu, Shu-Chien, 2022. "Understanding post-pandemic work-from-home behaviours and community level energy reduction via agent-based modelling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    7. Ting Wei & Weiwei Wang & Suihuai Yu, 2022. "Analysis of the Cognitive Load of Employees Working from Home and the Construction of the Telecommuting Experience Balance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    8. Yasuhiro Kotera & Muhammad Aledeh & Annabel Rushforth & Nelly Otoo & Rory Colman & Elaina Taylor, 2022. "A Shorter Form of the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale: Construction and Factorial Validation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-11, October.
    9. Joseph Crawford, 2022. "Working from Home, Telework, and Psychological Wellbeing? A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, September.
    10. Jorge de Andrés-Sánchez, 2023. "A Configurational Evaluation of Spanish Teleworkers’ Perception and Nonperception of Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, July.
    11. Jorge De Andres-Sanchez & Angel Belzunegui-Eraso & Mar Souto-Romero, 2023. "Perception of the Effects of Working from Home on Isolation and Stress by Spanish Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-25, January.

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