When more is less: An examination of the relationship between hours in telework and role overload

Background Proponents of telework arrangements assert that those who telework have more control over their work and family domains than their counterparts who are not permitted to work from home. Objective Using Karasek's theory we hypothesized that the relationship between demands (hours in work per week; hours in childcare per week) and strain (work role overload; family role overload) would be moderated by the number of hours the employee spent per week teleworking (control). Methods To determine how the number of telework hours relates to work role overload and family role overload, we follow the test for moderation and mediation using hierarchical multiple regression analysis as outlined by Frazier et al. [50] We used survey data collected from 1,806 male and female professional employees who spent at least one hour per week working from home during regular hours (i.e. teleworking). Results As hypothesized, the number of hours in telework per week negatively moderated the relation between work demands (total hours in paid employment per week) and work strain (work role overload). Contrary to our hypothesis, the number of hours in telework per week only partially mediated the relation between family demands (hours a week in childcare) and family role overload (strain). Conclusions The findings from this study support the idea that the control offered by telework is domain specific (helps employees meet demands at work but not at home).