Work from home today for a better tomorrow! How working from home influences work‐family conflict and employees' start of the next workday

Abstract

Drawing on the resource (drain) perspective in work‐family spillover theory and conservation of resources theory, the current paper studies the daily consequences of working from home for employees' work‐home interface and well‐being. We build an intraindividual model that investigates how working from home influences experiences of time pressure, work‐family conflict, and work‐related employee well‐being on a daily basis. A total of 34 professional workers participated in our study and were asked to respond to 10 daily surveys in the morning, afternoon and evening, across two consecutive workweeks. In line with our hypotheses, results indicated that on days when employees worked from home, they experienced less time pressure and, in turn, they reported lower levels of work‐family conflict on that particular day. Moreover, we found that experiences of work‐family conflict predicted individuals' next morning engagement and exhaustion levels and affective states towards the organization they work for. We recommend organizations to encourage a work‐from‐home protocol aimed at protecting employee well‐being.