Telework in academia: associations with health and well-being among staff

Abstract

AbstractAs the development of technical aids for telework has progressed, work has become more flexible in time and space. Among academics, the opportunity to telework has been embraced by most, but it is unclear how it relates to their health and well-being. The aim of this study was to determine how frequency and amount of telework is associated with perceived health, stress, recuperation, work-life balance, and intrinsic work motivation among teaching and research academics. An electronic questionnaire was sent to junior lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors at Swedish public universities. It included the General Health Questionnaire, Work Stress Questionnaire, items for assessing recuperation, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work scale, and parts of Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, as well as questions about the frequency and amount of telework performed. In total, 392 academics responded to the survey. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences between groups of academics with different telework frequency (p < 0.05). Univariate analyses of variance showed that ratings of stress related to indistinct organization and conflicts were higher among academics that telework several times per week or more than among academics that telework less than once per month. In regression analyses of associations between amount of telework (in hours per week) and the dependent variables, no significant effects were found. Although it cannot be concluded whether stress is a cause or an effect of frequent telework, the findings warrant further attention to academics who telework frequently.