Background Achieving work-life balance in flexible work arrangements is a challenge for both individuals and organizations, but intervention studies are sparse. We aimed to investigate the extent to which work-life balance, work-home interference, and home-work interference changed among office workers with flexible work arrangements after a workplace intervention. 

Methods Together with a large governmental agency in Sweden, we co-created an intervention with a focus on work strategies and common rules for flexible work in two steps: 1) an education to change individual work strategies and 2) a workshop to develop common rules and routines for flexible work within the workgroup. Two comparable departments participated, with 97 workers in the group receiving the intervention and 70 in a control group. Work-life balance and work-home/home-work interference were measured using questionnaires before the intervention (baseline), after the education (6-month follow-up), and after the workshop (12-month follow-up); and analyzed using linear mixed models with adjustments for covariates. 

Results We found no marked effects of the intervention on work-life balance, work-home interference, and home-work interference, with statistically non-significant effect estimates at both 6- and 12-months follow-ups. 

Conclusions Further studies are needed to evaluate whether other initiatives could be more effective in promoting work-life balance among office workers with flexible work arrangements. 

Work time control may offer opportunities, but also implies risks for employee recovery, influenced by increased work-related ICT use and overtime work. However, this risk–opportunity tradeoff remains understudied. This study aimed to test two different models of associations between work time control, work-related ICT use, overtime work, and the need for recovery. These models were constructed based on data on office workers with flexible work arrangements. Cross-sectional data were obtained with questionnaires (n = 2582) from employees in a Swedish multi-site organization. Regression models treated the three determinants of the need for recovery either as independent, or as linked in a causal sequence. The test of independent determinants confirmed that more work time control was associated with less need for recovery, whereas more ICT use and overtime work were associated with a higher need for recovery. In a test of serial mediation, more work time control contributed to a greater need for recovery through more ICT use and then more overtime work. Work time control also had a competitive, indirect effect through a negative association with overtime work. Our results suggest that work time control is beneficial for employee recovery, but may for some be associated with more work-related ICT use after regular working hours, thus increasing recovery needs. Policies that support work time control can promote recovery, but employers must attend to the risk of excessive use of ICT outside of regular working hours.

Flexible work arrangements are common worldwide, but knowledge on how to achieve a sustainable work environment is sparse. The aim of this study was to use a participatory approach to identify concrete suggestions and key areas for improvement that were considered relevant, effective, and feasible for promoting good work environment and health at organizational, work group and individual level (O-G-I), among office employees with flexible work arrangements. Eight focus group interviews (including 45 employees) were conducted in a large Swedish government agency in 2017. By using a Tree diagram approach, employees made a total of 279 suggestions for improvements, which were sorted into O-G-I levels and mapped into 18 key areas. We found that 13 key areas addressed organizational level (e.g., improving leadership, policy, job demands, and work efficiency), two key areas addressed group level (create common rules of availability and activity-based working), and three key areas addressed individual level (e.g., individuals’ responsibility to clearly communicate their availability). The participatory process was effective in obtaining concrete suggestions and key areas in need of improvement, which may provide an action plan that can guide organizations in developing interventions to promote good work environment and health in flexible work. 

Introduktion

Den stressrelaterade ohälsan ökar i samhället i stort och det är möjligt att bristande återhämtning kan vara bidragande. Det finns dock ännu inte några tydliga svar på hur ett gynnsamt mönster av arbete och återhämtning bör se ut. Frågan om balansen mellan krav i arbetet och möjligheter till återhämtning är särskilt aktuell i yrken där digital teknik möjliggör flexibelt arbete, dvs. ett arbete där de anställda till stor del själva kan styra över sin arbetstid, sitt arbetsställe och/eller sitt arbetssätt. Möjligheten att arbeta flexibelt kan innebära både för- och nackdelar för såväl individen som organisationen och medföra nya utmaningar för chefer när det gäller hur de ska leda sina medarbetare på ett hälsofrämjande sätt. Samtidigt kan flexibiliteten underlätta för medarbetare att få ihop livspusslet och att anpassa arbetsinsatsen utifrån arbetstoppar, vilket kan gynna organisationens produktivitet. Risken är dock att den stressrelaterade ohälsan ökar om balansen mellan arbete och återhämtning rubbas genom t.ex. övertidsarbete och ständig tillgänglighet till arbetet på ogynnsamma tider.

Det här symposiet presenterar resultat från ett forskningsprojekt som undersökt flexibelt arbete på Trafikverket. I ett första steg genomfördes en kartläggning av arbetsvillkor, återhämtning och hälsa med hjälp av en webbaserad enkät till 4926 anställda. Resultaten från kartläggningen har sedan legat till grund för fokusgruppsdiskussioner med chefer och medarbetare, där åtgärdsförslag har tagits fram i syfte att förstärka fördelarna och reducera riskerna med flexibelt arbete. Även åtgärdsförslagen från fokusgrupperna kommer att presenteras vid symposiet.