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Adopting telework: The causal impact of working from home on subjective well‐being

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  • Guillaume Gueguen

    (CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications - ECO ENS-PSL - Département d'économie de l'ENS-PSL - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres)

  • Claudia Senik

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, SU - Sorbonne Université)

Abstract

We study the impact of work from home (WFH) on subjective well‐being during the Covid period, where self‐selection of individuals into telework is ruled out, at least part of the time, by stay‐at‐home orders. We use a difference‐in‐differences approach with individual fixed effects and identify the specific impact of switching to telecommuting, separately from any other confounding factor. In particular, our identification strategy avoids the influence of interpersonal heterogeneity by exploiting the multiple entries into WFH, by the same individuals, at different times. On average over the period, switching to WFH, especially full‐time, worsens mental health. We also find a positive but imprecisely measured impact of part‐time WFH on life satisfaction. However, this hides a dynamic evolution, whereby the initial deterioration gives place to an adaptation process after a couple of months. We also uncover a particularly pronounced fall in subjective well‐being of women with children, especially in the first months; this could be associated with home‐schooling.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Gueguen & Claudia Senik, 2023. "Adopting telework: The causal impact of working from home on subjective well‐being," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-04192717, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-04192717
    DOI: 10.1111/bjir.12761
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Claudia Senik & Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D’Ambrosio & Anthony Lepinteur & Carsten Schröder, 2024. "Teleworking and life satisfaction during COVID-19: the importance of family structure," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-24, March.
    2. Uwe Jirjahn & Cinzia Rienzo, 2025. "Working from Home and Mental Health: Giving Employees a Choice Does Make a Difference," Research Papers in Economics 2025-09, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
    3. Philippe Askenazy & Ugo Di Nalo & Ismaël Ramajo & Conrad Thiounn, 2025. "Teleworking in the French private sector: a lasting but heterogenous shift shaped by collective agreements (2019- 2024)," Working Papers hal-05291266, HAL.
    4. Benjamin W. Cowan & Todd R. Jones, 2025. "Social Substitution? Time Use Responses to Increased Workplace Isolation," CESifo Working Paper Series 12117, CESifo.
    5. Cowan, Benjamin & Jones, Todd R., 2025. "Social Substitution? Time Use Responses to Increased Workplace Isolation," IZA Discussion Papers 18112, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Anna Kurowska & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska & Tsegachew Degu Kasegn & Bartłomiej Rokicki, 2025. "Life and Work-life Balance Satisfaction Among Parents Working From Home: the Role of Work-time and Childcare Demands," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 20(3), pages 1315-1338, June.

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