How do young employees perceive stress and job engagement while working from home? Evidence from a telecom operator during COVID-19
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-05-2022-0230 |
| Published date | 10 February 2023 |
| Date | 10 February 2023 |
| Pages | 762-775 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Karen Modesta Olsen,Jarle Hildrum,Kamilla Kummen,Caroline Leirdal |
How do young employees perceive
stress and job engagement while
working from home? Evidence
from a telecom operator
during COVID-19
Karen Modesta Olsen
NHH, Bergen, Norway
Jarle Hildrum
Telenor, Oslo, Norway
Kamilla Kummen
REMA 1000, Oslo, Norway, and
Caroline Leirdal
Ecura, Oslo, Norway
Abstract
Purpose –The study examines the extent to which job demands and resources are related to job stress and
engagement among young employees exposed to remote work. The study draws on the job demands–
resources (JD-R) model, adapted to working from home during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach –The study uses data from a survey among young employees (35 years
and younger) in a large, telecommunications company in Norway (N5303), conducted in May 2021. Linear
regression analysis was employed.
Findings –The results show that the difficulty of work tasks is positively related to stress while time spent
working from home, managing work–life balance and receiving support from leaders are negatively related to
stress. Furthermore, overtime, support from leaders and colleagues and managing work–life balance are
positively related to job engagement. Having a dedicated workspace at homeis not related to either job stress or
engagement and no gender differences exist.
Originality/value –The study theoretically contributes to the literature by showing that the nature of work
plays out differently for the well-being of employees working from home. In terms of practical implications, the
study suggests that adjusting the level of difficulty of work tasks and providing support can alleviate stress
among young employees. Providing the option to work from home may reduce stress among these young
employees, however working from home may face limitations regarding enhancing job engagement.
Keywords Working from home, Job resources, Job demands, COVID-19
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic required employees to work extensively from home.
This situation has increased interest in fundamental questions regarding the well-being and
commitment of remote workers (e.g. Abdel Hadi et al., 2021;Charalampous et al., 2022,Kundu
et al., 2022;Ro
zman and Tominc, 2021). The topic is particularly timely as the detachment of
work from place has been a growing trend, even before the pandemic (Felstead and Henseke,
2017). In addition, the pandemic has led to an increase in the occurrence of mental health
issues, with young people being especially vulnerable (Abott, 2021) and greater concerns
ER
45,3
762
This work was funded by the Norwegian Research council [grant number 294458]. The authors
especially thank the employees in the company who participated in the study.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 13 May 2022
Revised 27 October 2022
9 January 2023
Accepted 19 January 2023
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 45 No. 3, 2023
pp. 762-775
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-05-2022-0230
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