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Is working from home good or bad work? Evidence from Australian employees

Author

Listed:
  • Alfred Michael Dockery

    (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin Business School)

  • Sherry Bawa

    (School of Economics and Finance, Curtin Business School)

Abstract

There is concern that workers are finding it increasingly difficult to balance work and family life and face growing time stress. Working from home is one form of flexibility in working arrangements that may assist workers to juggle work and non-work commitments. However, it may also provide a pathway for greater intrusion of work into family life and for added work-related stress. Around 17% of Australian employees work some of their usual working hours from home, and one-third of these do so under a formal agreement with their employer. Based on evidence from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, these proportions seem to have remained surprisingly stable over the past decade. Overall, the ability to work some hours from home is seen by employees as a positive job attribute that provides flexibility to balance work and non-work commitments and this is particularly so for employees who have a formal agreement to work from home. However, working from home is also associated with long hours of work and the evidence provides grounds for concern that working from home does facilitate greater intrusion into non-work domains of life through this channel.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfred Michael Dockery & Sherry Bawa, 2014. "Is working from home good or bad work? Evidence from Australian employees," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1402, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:bcecwp:wp1402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Prager, Fynnwin & Rhoads, Mohja & Martínez, Jose N., 2022. "The COVID-19 economic shutdown and the future of flexible workplace practices in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 241-255.
    2. Alfred M. DOCKERY & Sherry BAWA, 2018. "When two worlds collude: Working from home and family functioning in Australia," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(4), pages 609-630, December.
    3. Inga Laß & Mark Wooden, 2023. "Working from Home and Work–Family Conflict," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(1), pages 176-195, February.
    4. Bolisani Ettore & Scarso Enrico & Ipsen Christine & Kirchner Kathrin & Hansen John Paulin, 2020. "Working from home during COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and issues," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 15(s1), pages 458-476, October.
    5. Seng-Su Tsang & Zhih-Lin Liu & Thi Vinh Tran Nguyen, 2023. "Family–work conflict and work-from-home productivity: do work engagement and self-efficacy mediate?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Alfred Michael Dockery & Sherry Bawa, 2015. "When two worlds collude: working from home and family functioning," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1504, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    7. Inga Laß & Esperanza Vera-Toscano & Mark Wooden, 2023. "Working from home, COVID-19 and job satisfaction," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2023n04, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    8. Darmody, Merike & Smyth, Emer & Russell, Helen, 2020. "The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for policy in relation to children and young people: a research review," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number SUSTAT94, June.
    9. Emilio Bisetti & Benjamin Tengelsen & Ariel Zetlin‐Jones, 2022. "Moral Hazard In Remote Teams," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1595-1623, November.
    10. José María Ortiz-Lozano & Pedro César Martínez-Morán & Iván Fernández-Muñoz, 2021. "Difficulties for Teleworking of Public Employees in the Spanish Public Administration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-14, August.
    11. Yugang He, 2022. "Home Production: Does It Matter for the Korean Macroeconomy during the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-12, June.
    12. Esposito, Piero & Mendolia, Silvia & Scicchitano, Sergio & Tealdi, Cristina, 2024. "Working from Home and Job Satisfaction: The Role of Gender and Personality Traits," IZA Discussion Papers 16751, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Mark Wooden, 2021. "Job Characteristics and the Changing Nature of Work," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(4), pages 494-505, December.
    14. Jaroslaw Morawski, 2022. "Impact of working from home on European office rents and vacancy rates," Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie (German Journal of Real Estate Research), Springer;Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung e. V., vol. 8(2), pages 173-188, October.
    15. A.M. Dockery & Sherry Bawa, 2014. "Is Working from Home Good Work or Bad Work? Evidence from Australian Employees," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 17(2), pages 163-190.
    16. Mabel Andalon & Matthew Jones, 2022. "A simple model of working from home," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 25(2), pages 193-214.
    17. Michał T. Tomczak & Elias Mpofu & Nathan Hutson, 2022. "Remote Work Support Needs of Employees with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Poland: Perspectives of Individuals with Autism and Their Coworkers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-13, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    time allocation; labour supply; working conditions; job satisfaction.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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