From: The relationship between telework from home and employee health: a systematic review
Study | Population | N | Exposure measure | Outcome measure(s) | Outcome group | Design | Follow-up | Findings | Quality |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anderson et al. 2015 [32] | Age: ≤65 yrs. Gender: 50% female Type of work: government agency Country: USA | 102 | TWFH or office Self-report | Negative/positive affective well-being Self-reported, 10 items, 5-point Likert-scale | Well-being | Cross-sectional | N.A. | TWFH was associated with more positive affective well-being and less negative affective well-being on days TWFH | Poor |
Baard & Thomas 2010 [33] | Age: ≥23 yrs. Gender: 46% female Type of work: telecommunication and finance Country: South Africa | 63 | TWFH ≥1d/wk., but less than 5d/wk. Self-report | Stress Self-reported 5-point Likert-scale | Stress | Cross-sectional | N.A. | Participants reported decreased stress when TWFH, with those having ≥3 dependents at home more often reporting a decrease in stress levels | Poor |
Delanoeije & Verbruggen 2020 [34] | Age: 24-65 yrs. Gender: 24% female Type of work: engineering and estimating within construction and property Country: Belgium | 64 | TWFH or office. Intervention group TWFH ≤2d/wk. vs control only working at the office | Stress Self-reported, 5 items, 7-point Likert-scale | Stress | Quasi-experimental (longitudinal) | 3 months | There was no difference in stress between intervention groups, but workers TWFH reported lower levels of stress on days TWFH compared to days working at the office | Good |
Fonner & Roloff 2012 [35] | Age: 39 yrs. (mean) Gender: 54% female Type of work: not specified office work Country: USA | 193 | High-intensity TWFH, ≥3d/wk. or office-based Self-reported | Stress from interruptions Self-reported, 6-item scale | Stress | Cross-sectional | N.A. | Office-based employees reported significantly higher levels of stress from interruptions compared to those TWFH, but are more negatively affected by interruptions per se | Poor |
Giménez-Nadal et al. 2020 [30] | Age: 16-65 yrs. Gender: 45% female Type of work: general working population Country: USA | 2471 | TWFH or office Self-reported | Pain, happiness, sadness, tiredness, stress Self-reported, single-items, 7-point Likert-scale | Pain, Well-being, Exhaustion & burnout, Stress | Cross-sectional | N.A. | Male workers TWFH reported less stress, pain and tiredness compared to office-based workers. No associations were found for happiness or sadness. No associations were found between TWFH and any outcome for female workers | Fair |
Henke et al. 2016 [36] | Age: 18-64 yrs. Gender: 58% female Type of work: Finance Country: USA | 3703 | Hours logged TWFH | Edington risk score Self-reported, Health risk assessment | General health | Longitudinal | 1 year | Employees TWFH had an overall reduced risk of developing health problems | Good |
Hoffman et al. 2020 [37] | Age: not provided Gender: 69% female Type of work: radiation oncology Country: USA | 575 | TWFH some or all of the time Self-reported | Burnout Self-reported, single item, 5-point Likert-scale | Exhaustion and burnout | Cross-sectional | N.A. | The majority of employees TWFH reported this as positive experience, a feeling associated with reduced burnout | Poor |
Kroll & Nüesch 2019 [27] | Age: 20 – 60 yrs. Gender: 47% female Type of work: general working population Country: Germany | 6132 | Carrying out telework at home or not Self-reported | Perceived health, leisure satisfaction Self-reported, single item, 5 and 10-point Likert-scale | General health, satisfaction with life and leisure | Longitudinal | 10 yrs. | TWFH was not associated with leisure satisfaction or perceived health | Good |
Reusche D. 2019 [28] | Age: 18 – 64 yrs. Gender: 48% female Type of work: general working population Country: Great Britain | 3738 | TWFH or not Self-reported | Satisfaction with life, leisure time, and health Self-reported, single-items, 7-point Likert-scale | General health, satisfaction with life and leisure | Longitudinal | 7 yrs. | TWFH was associated with increased satisfaction with leisure time, but not with overall life or health | Good |
Sardeshmukh et al. 2012 [38] | Age: ≥26 yrs. Gender: 29% female Type of work: logistics Country: USA | 417 | TWFH part time Self-reported | Exhaustion Self-reported, 8-item scale | Exhaustion and burnout | Cross-sectional | N.A. | TWFH was associated lower degree of exhaustion, mediated by role conflict, role ambiguity, time pressure, support, feedback, and autonomy | Poor |
Shepherd- Banigan et al. 2016 [39] | Age: 18 – 43 yrs. Gender:100% female Type of work: general working population Country: USA | 570 | TWFH or not Interview | Symptoms of depression Self-reported, 20-items, 3-point Likert-scale | Well-being | Longitudinal | 2 yrs. | TWFH was related to less symptoms of depression in women with young children (≤24 months) who returned to work within 6 months after childbirth | Good |
Song & Gao 2020 [29] | Age: 18 – 65 yrs. Gender: 41% female Type of work: general working population Country: USA | 3962 | TWFH or office Self-reported | Pain, happiness, sadness, meaningfulness, stress, tiredness Self-reported, single-items, 7-point Likert-scale | Pain, Well-being, Stress, and Exhaustion & burnout | Cross-sectional | N.A. | Overall, there was no association between TWFH and pain, tiredness, happiness, sadness or meaningfulness. There was an increase in stress for fathers TWFH and a reduction in happiness for mothers TWFH. TWFH was associated with higher stress levels. | Good |
Vander Elst et al. 2017 [31] | Age: 45 yrs. (mean) Gender: 17% female Type of work: telecommunication Country: Belgium | 878 | Extent of TWFH Self-reported | Emotional exhaustion, Cognitive stress complaints Self-reported, single-items, 7- and 5-point Likert-scales | Stress, Exhaustion & Burnout | Cross-sectional | N.A. | No associations between TWFH and emotional exhaustion and cognitive stress complaints. Results showed indirect relationships via level of felt social support for both outcomes. | Good |
Windeler et al. 2017a [40] | Age: 43 yrs. (mean) Gender: 39% female Type of work: information technology Country: USA | 51 | TWFH 1-2 d/wk. Self-reported | Work exhaustion Self-reported, 4-items, 7-point Likert-scale | Exhaustion & Burnout | Longitudinal | 4 months | TWFH 1-2 d/wk. was associated with reduced work exhaustion due to interpersonal interaction, but with increased work exhaustion related to external interaction. TWFH did not affect the relationship between interdependence and work exhaustion. Men and older workers experienced higher levels of exhaustion after beginning to TWFH. | Good |