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Though it has become ubiquitous since the pandemic, the advantages of working from home could be offset by an increased desire of some employees to look for jobs elsewhere, warns a study conducted at the Université de Montréal.
It suggests remote work accentuates workers’ feelings of isolation and could increase work-life conflicts.
“The explanation that the more flexibility there is, the better people cope with work-life balance is not confirmed (by the study’s results),” summarized Prof. Victor Haines, of U de M’s School of Industrial Relations.
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Haines and colleague Alain Marchand conducted the study on behalf of U de M’s Observatoire sur la santé et le mieux-être au travail. They were specifically interested in the associations between flexible work arrangements and intentions to resign among more than 1,500 employees in Quebec.
On one hand, flexibility reduces the desire to leave one’s job by increasing feelings of control and autonomy.
Flexible arrangements, the authors say, allow employees to meet certain individual needs. Employees see this as a demonstration of goodwill and benevolence on the part of their employer, which increases their commitment to work.
“Our analyses really confirm that flexibility increases employees’ sense of control,” Haines said. “And the greater the sense of control, the lower the intentions to leave.”
In a social exchange, he added, the employer grants its employee a certain number of advantages and benefits, and in return, the employee is more invested in work and has less of a desire to leave.
On the other hand, while telework does not necessarily decrease the feeling of support from colleagues, it does not improve that feeling either, which amplifies the potential for professional isolation. It could also increase work-family conflict, and therefore encourage employees to look elsewhere.
“We don’t find very strong confirmation (in the study) that flexibility facilitates work-family balance,” Haines said. “When I work at home, I have to deal with the family context, etc. So telework is associated with more work-family conflict in our results.”
From the employer’s point of view, Haines stressed, “it’s certain that telework involves more risks than flexible hours.”
“Both measures target flexibility, but we understand that on a qualitative level, it is very different to offer a variable schedule, a flexible schedule, versus telework.”
The survey was conducted in collaboration with Sylvie Guerrero from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its conclusions were published in the International Journal of Human Resource Management.
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