Working from Home and Balancing Work and Nonwork Life: The Moderating Role of Extended Availability

Ferhat Ayyıldız; Samet Arslan

Article Details

Working from Home and Balancing Work and Nonwork Life: The Moderating Role of Extended Availability

Authors:

Ferhat Ayyıldız | Samet Arslan

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

Sosyal Psikoloji

Journal:

Psikoloji Çalışmaları Vol.43 Issue 3, pp.523-552

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001310790

pISSN:

1304-4680

Keywords:

Abstract:

 The practice of working from home WFH has become more common due to the isolation requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although quarantine measures have been lifted, WFH continues and is expected to become permanent for many employees. However, research on the effectiveness of WFH with regard to balancing the work and nonwork life domains has yielded contradictory results. The outcomes of WFH may differ depending on how organizations manage this work process. Thus, examining the situations in which WFH is beneficial is critical for balancing employees work and nonwork lives. This study aims to contribute to the growing body of WFH studies by examining how extended availability moderates the relationship between WFH and the work-nonwork balance. Both the WFH practice and extended availability are based on the use of information and communication technologies ICTs. Although ICTs are considered beneficial because they provide employees with the opportunity to carry out their work anytime and anywhere, they also create some potential problems for employees. Extended availability results in employees being prevented from psychologically disengaging from work and hinders their recovery process. Thus, this study proposes higher extended availability to reduce WFHs positive effect on the work-nonwork balance. The studys respondents involve 307 employees from different sectors. The study uses a cross-sectional design and online questionnaire to collect the data and PROCESS macro to test the hypothesis. The results reveal that WFH is not significantly associated with employees work-nonwork balance. However, the interactive effects of WFH and extended availability on the work-nonwork balance are significant. Conditional effects have shown WFHs effects on the worknonwork balance to only be significant when extended availability is low. These findings suggest that higher extended availability may prevent WFHs benefits regarding maintaining the balance between the work and nonwork life domains.

 The practice of working from home WFH has become more common due to the isolation requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although quarantine measures have been lifted, WFH continues and is expected to become permanent for many employees. However, research on the effectiveness of WFH with regard to balancing the work and nonwork life domains has yielded contradictory results. The outcomes of WFH may differ depending on how organizations manage this work process. Thus, examining the situations in which WFH is beneficial is critical for balancing employees work and nonwork lives. This study aims to contribute to the growing body of WFH studies by examining how extended availability moderates the relationship between WFH and the work-nonwork balance. Both the WFH practice and extended availability are based on the use of information and communication technologies ICTs. Although ICTs are considered beneficial because they provide employees with the opportunity to carry out their work anytime and anywhere, they also create some potential problems for employees. Extended availability results in employees being prevented from psychologically disengaging from work and hinders their recovery process. Thus, this study proposes higher extended availability to reduce WFHs positive effect on the work-nonwork balance. The studys respondents involve 307 employees from different sectors. The study uses a cross-sectional design and online questionnaire to collect the data and PROCESS macro to test the hypothesis. The results reveal that WFH is not significantly associated with employees work-nonwork balance. However, the interactive effects of WFH and extended availability on the work-nonwork balance are significant. Conditional effects have shown WFHs effects on the worknonwork balance to only be significant when extended availability is low. These findings suggest that higher extended availability may prevent WFHs benefits regarding maintaining the balance between the work and nonwork life domains.

 The practice of working from home WFH has become more common due to the isolation requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although quarantine measures have been lifted, WFH continues and is expected to become permanent for many employees. However, research on the effectiveness of WFH with regard to balancing the work and nonwork life domains has yielded contradictory results. The outcomes of WFH may differ depending on how organizations manage this work process. Thus, examining the situations in which WFH is beneficial is critical for balancing employees work and nonwork lives. This study aims to contribute to the growing body of WFH studies by examining how extended availability moderates the relationship between WFH and the work-nonwork balance. Both the WFH practice and extended availability are based on the use of information and communication technologies ICTs. Although ICTs are considered beneficial because they provide employees with the opportunity to carry out their work anytime and anywhere, they also create some potential problems for employees. Extended availability results in employees being prevented from psychologically disengaging from work and hinders their recovery process. Thus, this study proposes higher extended availability to reduce WFHs positive effect on the work-nonwork balance. The studys respondents involve 307 employees from different sectors. The study uses a cross-sectional design and online questionnaire to collect the data and PROCESS macro to test the hypothesis. The results reveal that WFH is not significantly associated with employees work-nonwork balance. However, the interactive effects of WFH and extended availability on the work-nonwork balance are significant. Conditional effects have shown WFHs effects on the worknonwork balance to only be significant when extended availability is low. These findings suggest that higher extended availability may prevent WFHs benefits regarding maintaining the balance between the work and nonwork life domains.

 Evden çalışma, COVID-19 pandemisi esnasındaki izolasyon gereklilikleri nedeniyle daha yaygın hale gelmiştir. Karantina önlemleri kaldırılmış olsa da evden çalışma devam etmekte ve birçok çalışan için bu uygulamanın kalıcı hale gelmesi beklenmektedir. Ancak, evden çalışmanın iş ve iş dışı yaşam alanlarını dengelemedeki etkinliği üzerine yapılan araştırmalarda çelişkili sonuçlar elde edilmiştir. Evden çalışmanın sonuçları, kurumların bu çalışma sürecini nasıl yönettiğine bağlı olarak farklılık gösterebilir. Bu nedenle, evden çalışmanın hangi durumlarda çalışanların iş ve iş dışı yaşam dengesi için faydalı olduğunu incelemek kritik öneme sahiptir. Bu araştırma, uzayan ulaşılabilirliğin evden çalışma ile iş ve iş dışı yaşam dengesi arasındaki ilişkiyi nasıl düzenlediğini inceleyerek bu konuda katkı sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Hem evden çalışma sistemi hem uzayan ulaşılabilirlik hali bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinin kullanımına dayalıdır. Bilgi ve iletişim teknolojileri, çalışanlara işlerini her zaman ve her yerde yerine getirebilme olanağı sağlaması açısından faydalı görülse de onlar için bazı potansiyel sorunlar da yaratmaktadır. Uzayan ulaşılabilirlik çalışanların psikolojik olarak işten ayrılmalarını önler ve iyileşme sürecini engeller. Bu nedenle, daha yüksek düzeylerdeki uzayan ulaşılabilirlik halinin evden çalışmanın denge sağlamaya yönelik olumlu etkisini azaltacağı öne sürülmektedir. Araştırmamızın katılımcıları, farklı sektörlerdeki 307 çalışandan oluşmaktadır. Verileri toplamak için çevrimiçi anket formu ile kesitsel bir tasarım ve hipotez testi için PROCESS makro kullanılmıştır. Sonuçlar, evden çalışmanın çalışanların iş ve iş dışı yaşam dengesi ile ilişkisinin anlamlı düzeyde olmadığını göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte, evden çalışma ve uzayan ulaşılabilirliğin iş ve iş dışı yaşam dengesi üzerindeki etkileşim etkisi anlamlıdır. Durumsal etkiler, evden çalışmanın iş ve iş dışı yaşam dengesi üzerindeki etkisinin yalnızca uzayan ulaşılabilirlik düşük olduğunda anlamlı ve pozitif olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu bulgular, daha yüksek düzeyde uzayan ulaşılabilirliğin, evden çalışmanın iş ve iş dışı yaşam arasında dengeyi korumadaki faydalarını engelleyebileceğine işaret etmektedir.

Article Details

Working from Home and Balancing Work and Nonwork Life: The Moderating Role of Extended Availability

Authors:

Ferhat Ayyıldız | Samet Arslan

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

Sosyal Psikoloji

Journal:

Psikoloji Çalışmaları Vol.43 Issue 3, pp.523-552

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001310790

pISSN:

1304-4680

Working from home

telework

work-nonwork balance

extended availabilityEvden çalışma

uzaktan çalışma

iş ve iş dışı yaşam dengesi

uzayan ulaşılabilirlik

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Ferhat Ayyıldız | Samet Arslan

Publisher: Istanbul University

Main Topics: Sosyal Psikoloji

Journal: Psikoloji Çalışmaları Vol.43 Issue 3, pp.523-552

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 12/2023

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001310790

pISSN: 1304-4680

Issues

Authors:

Ferhat Ayyıldız | Samet Arslan

Publisher:

Istanbul University

Main Topics:

Sosyal Psikoloji

Journal:

Psikoloji Çalışmaları Vol.43 Issue 3, pp.523-552

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001310790

pISSN:

1304-4680