The role of perceived proximity and employee voice in teleworkers’ well-being

Purpose - This paper studies the impact that perceived proximity and employee voice have on the affective well-being of employees working from home (WFH). Drawing on Wilsonet al.'s (2008) model of perceived proximity in virtual work, we believe that effectiveness in the use of the enterprise social network (ESN), communication and workmate identification increase the perceived proximity of teleworkers. We also propose that employee voice and perceived proximity have in turn positive implications in terms of well-being. Design/methodology/approach - The study analyzes a dataset of 542 professionals with experience in home-based telework. Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings - Results show that perceived proximity is significant and positively associated with affective well-being. Conversely, the expression of direct voice using electronic channels has a negative influence on the well-being of home-based teleworkers. Originality/value - This study reveals the need to re-think the challenges of telework after the forced experiment of WFH provoked by the COVID-19 pandemics. Building on the “far-but-close” paradox, it emphasizes the role of workmate identification and communication and the perceived effectiveness of the ESN as sources of perceived proximity. At the same time, the paper adds to telework research by explaining how the expression of direct voice through electronic channels and indirect voice can have consequences in terms of well-being.