Does Working from Home Affect Work-Life Balance? A Look into the Factors that Affect Work-Life Balance

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered major social, political, and economic ramifications around the world. Amidst social mobility measures imposed to combat the spread of the virus, this pandemic was a major challenge for people in meeting their daily needs and demands of employers. These transformed work habits, moving from physical to a virtual setting, which had mixed effects on employees' lives. The objective of this research was to determine which factors affect the most regrading work-life during the working from the home period. A research gap exists as a result of the lack of studies on this subject in the Sri Lankan context. This study collected data from 270 respondents who were working from home through an online self-developed questionnaire. A factor analysis model was used for data analysis. Both the working and non-working environment factors were identified as having substantial effects during the working from the home period. The unique outcomes associated with working environment factors (Working days during working from home and working time), non-working environment factors (Gender and number of children), and work-life balance factors (Depression and distress and future psychological problems), make it explicit that employers need to concentrate on providing proper prerequisites to maximize the productivity during work from home period to improve employees’ quality of life. Employers need to pay particular attention to female workers with children, skilled workers, and others who can adapt to virtual platforms. It is recommended that employers should revamp their attendance policies and produce family-friendly flexible schedules and policies. Further, conducting training programs, providing facilities to enhance employee engagement, and build strong and transparent communication channels by supporting a healthy work environment with various activities are also recommended.