TY - JOUR
T1 - Lonely@Work@Home? The impact of work/home demands and support on workplace loneliness during remote work
AU - Walz, Timo
AU - Kensbock, Julia M.
AU - de Jong, Simon B.
AU - Kunze, Florian
N1 - Funding Information:
This project is supported by the LIMES - Maastricht University project which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847596. We have no conflict of interests to disclose.
data source:
PY - 2023/5/6
Y1 - 2023/5/6
N2 - Workplace loneliness is becoming increasingly prevalent in the fast-growing remote work environment. Remote work exposes employees to different demands and support not only at work but also at home—yet, the influences of demands and support from both work and home have not yet been investigated simultaneously in the workplace loneliness literature. In this study, we examine the role of job and home demands as antecedents of workplace loneliness. Based on employee wellbeing theories and social exchange theory, we predict that work/home demands will create work and home interference, with both mediators then increasing workplace loneliness. Moreover, we assume that both job and home support act as potential moderators to mitigate the negative effects of workplace loneliness. Using a two-wave survey of 232 remote-working employees during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we found that job demands increased workplace loneliness through heightened work-to-home interference and that this relationship was buffered by job support. Home demands increased workplace loneliness through heightened home-to-work interference, but this relationship was not buffered by home support. Our findings contribute to research and practice by identifying important drivers and remedies for loneliness in the remote workplace during the pandemic and beyond.
AB - Workplace loneliness is becoming increasingly prevalent in the fast-growing remote work environment. Remote work exposes employees to different demands and support not only at work but also at home—yet, the influences of demands and support from both work and home have not yet been investigated simultaneously in the workplace loneliness literature. In this study, we examine the role of job and home demands as antecedents of workplace loneliness. Based on employee wellbeing theories and social exchange theory, we predict that work/home demands will create work and home interference, with both mediators then increasing workplace loneliness. Moreover, we assume that both job and home support act as potential moderators to mitigate the negative effects of workplace loneliness. Using a two-wave survey of 232 remote-working employees during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we found that job demands increased workplace loneliness through heightened work-to-home interference and that this relationship was buffered by job support. Home demands increased workplace loneliness through heightened home-to-work interference, but this relationship was not buffered by home support. Our findings contribute to research and practice by identifying important drivers and remedies for loneliness in the remote workplace during the pandemic and beyond.
KW - Conservation of resources
KW - Home-to-work interference
KW - Job demands-resources
KW - Remote work
KW - Social exchange theory
KW - Work-to-home interference
KW - Workplace loneliness
U2 - 10.1016/j.emj.2023.05.001
DO - 10.1016/j.emj.2023.05.001
M3 - Article
SN - 0263-2373
JO - European Management Journal
JF - European Management Journal
ER -