Flexibility in remote work reduces stress during sleep

Being able to decide whether or not to work from home plays a crucial role in stress levels among white-collar workers, a new study shows.

Stress decreased with self-selected teleworking - up to a point.

"There needs to be a balance between working on site and remotely that managers should help find", says Leticia Januario, researcher in occupational health at the University of Gävle.

Almost 300 white-collar workers in the private and public sectors participated in the study, where they both self-rated their stress level and used an instrument that measured their heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a measure of physiological stress that measures the variation in time between each heartbeat in a person.

The results showed that those who experienced a high degree of choice around teleworking had lower physiological stress. At the same time, those who teleworked more also had higher levels of perceived stress and lower than average HRV during sleep, work and leisure, indicating higher physiological stress.

"It is clear that having control over your work situation is crucial. Better autonomy makes it easier to balance work and recovery. However, the results also show that it is important to strike a balance between remote work and on-site work, as distance alone increases stress levels", says Leticia Januario, researcher in occupational health at the University of Gävle and lead author of the study.

"As far as possible, it is therefore good to have a mix of on-site and remote work. The researchers therefore emphasize that it is important to have a dialogue between managers and employees. Managers must also take responsibility and ensure that remote work does not take over.

"It's good to be able to work remotely, and that there is an opportunity to control which days it will be", says Leticia Januario.

The research was carried out during the pandemic, when working practices were changing rapidly. Although the results reflect a specific period, the conclusions are important even today, as teleworking has become a common and accepted form of work.

"Simply providing teleworking opportunities is not enough. Employers also need to ensure that employees do not only work remotely as this can make it difficult for them to disconnect from work when they are off, leading to poorer recovery", said Januario.