IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0312299.html

Working from home and mental well-being at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Sandra M Leitner

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between working from home (WFH) and mental well-being at different stages during the first two critical years of the COVID-19 pandemic, when governments repeatedly imposed lockdowns and enacted WFH mandates to contain the spread of the virus. Using data from a representative survey conducted at four different time periods in 2020 (first lockdown, subsequent gradual reopening), 2021 (further lockdown) and 2022 (restrictions widely lifted) in the 27 EU member states, it examines the changing role of several mediators over time: work-family conflict, family-work conflict, stability, resilience, isolation, the importance of different support networks, workload, physical risk of contracting COVID-19 at work and housing conditions. For the first lockdown, it also differentiates by previous WFH experience, in terms of WFH novices and experienced WFH workers. It likewise differentiates by gender, in order to take the potential gendered nature of COVID-19 measures into account. The results point to several important mediators: for those who work from home, less family-work conflict and isolation, but greater stability, resilience, network support from family and friends, and superior housing conditions were associated with better mental well-being. The relevance of mediators was specific to certain stages of the pandemic. Stability was the most important mediator during the first lockdown. Work-family conflict and family-work conflict were only relevant during the first lockdown, while resilience and isolation mattered especially towards the end of the pandemic. Unlike established WFH workers, WFH novices had an advantage during the first lockdown, benefiting from lower family-work conflict and more helpful networks of family and friends. Our results differ by gender: for females who undertook WFH, important mediators were work-family conflict and family-work conflict. Both were related to adjustments they had to make in work and non-work hours in response to the enforced closure of schools and childcare facilities. For males who undertook WFH, support from networks of family and friends was an important mediator during the first lockdown.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandra M Leitner, 2024. "Working from home and mental well-being at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(11), pages 1-29, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0312299
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312299
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0312299
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0312299&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0312299?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicholas Bloom & James Liang & John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying, 2015. "Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 165-218.
    2. Muddassar Sarfraz & Xiangbo Ji & Muhammad Asghar & Larisa Ivascu & Ilknur Ozturk, 2022. "Signifying the Relationship between Fear of COVID-19, Psychological Concerns, Financial Concerns and Healthcare Employees Job Performance: A Mediated Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-24, February.
    3. William Meredith, 1993. "Measurement invariance, factor analysis and factorial invariance," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 525-543, December.
    4. Almudena Sevilla & Sarah Smith, 2020. "Baby steps: the gender division of childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 169-186.
    5. Kazekami, Sachiko, 2020. "Mechanisms to improve labor productivity by performing telework," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toshihiro Okubo, 2024. "Work from Home and Time Allocation: Evidence from Time-use Data in Japan," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 598-630, December.
    2. Lee, Zeewan & Tan, Poh Lin & Tan-Soo, Jie-Sheng, 2023. "Unequal Gains from Remote Work during COVID-19 between Spouses: Evidence from Longitudinal Data in Singapore," EconStor Preprints 270941, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    3. Hani Al-Dmour & Rima Al Hasan & Motasem Thneibat & Ra’ed Masa’deh & Wafa Alkhadra & Rand Al-Dmour & Ali Alalwan, 2023. "Integrated Model for the Factors Determining the Academic’s Remote Working Productivity and Engagement: Empirical Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    4. Gallo, Giovanni & Nagore García, Amparo, 2025. "Retirement Decisions in the Age of COVID-19 pandemic: Are Older Employees in Digital Occupations Working Longer?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1553, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Toshihiro Okubo, 2024. "Non‐routine tasks and ICT tools in telework," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 38(2), pages 177-202, June.
    6. Schwarzbauer, Wolfgang & Wolf, Martin, 2020. "Bedeutung der Telearbeit aktuell und nach der COVID-19 Pandemie," Policy Notes 41, EcoAustria – Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Okubo, Toshihiro, 2022. "Telework in the spread of COVID-19," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Jaeyoul Shin, 2025. "Impact of Telework on Job Satisfaction and Work–Family Conflict: Insights From Japan and Korea," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(2), pages 21582440251, June.
    9. Alba, Salvatierra & Jorge, Velilla & Antonio, Gutiérrez-Lythgoe & Raquel, Ortega-Lapiedra, 2025. "Work from home and household behavior: Theoretical modelling and results for the United States," MPRA Paper 126983, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Sanna Nivakoski & Massimiliano Mascherini, 2021. "Gender Differences in the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Employment, Unpaid Work and Well-Being in the EU," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 56(5), pages 254-260, September.
    11. José Ignacio Giménez-Nadal & Jorge Velilla, 2024. "Home-based work, time allocations, and subjective well-being: gender differences in the United Kingdom," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 1-33, February.
    12. Chihiro Inoue & Yusuke Ishihata & Shintaro Yamaguchi, 2024. "Working from home leads to more family-oriented men," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 783-829, June.
    13. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2025. "Well-Being, Isolation, and Lockdowns in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 17932, IZA Network @ LISER.
    14. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Motegi, Hiroyuki, 2021. "Who can work from home? The roles of job tasks and HRM practices," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Masayuki MORIKAWA, 2020. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from an Employee Survey," Discussion papers 20073, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    16. Eiji Yamamura & Yoshiro Tsustsui, 2021. "School closures and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1261-1298, October.
    17. Masayuki Morikawa, 2022. "Work‐from‐home productivity during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from Japan," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(2), pages 508-527, April.
    18. Salvatierra Casamayor, Alba, 2025. "Teletrabajo y desplazamientos: Modelización teórica y evidencia empírica para Estados Unidos [Telework and commuting: Theoretical modeling and empirical evidence for the United States]," MPRA Paper 126254, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Fatih YEGUL & Atif ACIKGOZ & Zaur KAZIMOV, 2022. "Impact Of Working From Home On Productivity & Performance, Evidence From North American Logistics Industry During Covid-19 Pandemic," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 289-303, December.
    20. Battisti, Enrico & Alfiero, Simona & Leonidou, Erasmia, 2022. "Remote working and digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Economic–financial impacts and psychological drivers for employees," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 38-50.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0312299. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.