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To Change or Not to Change: A Study of Workplace Change during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Shu Da

    (Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Silje Fossum Fladmark

    (Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7941 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Irina Wara

    (Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7941 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Marit Christensen

    (Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7941 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Siw Tone Innstrand

    (Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7941 Trondheim, Norway)

Abstract

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees were suddenly required to work more from home. Previous literature on working from home may not be applicable to this mandatory and overall change. In this study, we drew on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model to explore the relationships between job demands (workload and work–home conflict) as well as resources (support from leaders, coworkers, and the family) and wellbeing (burnout and work engagement) in employees who still went to the workplace (no-change group) and employees who transitioned into working from home (change group) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed with multivariate structural equation modeling. The results indicate that work–home conflict was detrimental for employee wellbeing in both groups. Interestingly, the workload seems to contribute to work engagement for employees who worked from home. Regarding the resources, the three different sources of social support, leaders, coworkers, and family, were all related to employee wellbeing, but in different ways. It seemed that family support was most important for employees’ wellbeing in the change group. This study presents implications for the wellbeing of employees in both the change and no-change group during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of family-friendly policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Shu Da & Silje Fossum Fladmark & Irina Wara & Marit Christensen & Siw Tone Innstrand, 2022. "To Change or Not to Change: A Study of Workplace Change during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:1982-:d:746149
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alexander Bick & Adam Blandin & Karel Mertens, 2023. "Work from Home before and after the COVID-19 Outbreak," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 1-39, October.
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    5. Carnevale, Joel B. & Hatak, Isabella, 2020. "Employee adjustment and well-being in the era of COVID-19: Implications for human resource management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 183-187.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hisashi Eguchi & Akiomi Inoue & Ayako Hino & Mayumi Tsuji & Seiichiro Tateishi & Kazunori Ikegami & Tomohisa Nagata & Ryutaro Matsugaki & Yoshihisa Fujino & on behalf of the CORoNaWork Project, 2022. "Effect of Working from Home on the Association between Job Demands and Psychological Distress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-11, May.

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