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. 

Objective: Psychological detachment facilitates recovery from work, but detachment is sometimes difficult in flexible work arrangements (FWAs). This study examined the effects of a co-created two-step workplace intervention that introduced new work strategies to facilitate psychological detachment and promote recovery in office workers with FWAs. The intervention comprised an individual-level course on digital tools and work strategies, followed by a workgroup-level workshop to develop common rules and routines in FWAs.

Methods: Office workers with FWAs in a Swedish governmental agency (intervention group, n = 97; control group, n = 70) completed a web-based questionnaire on three occasions between 2018 and 2020: at baseline 3 months before the intervention; after the individual-level course 6 months after baseline, and after the workgroup-level workshop 12 months after baseline. Effects of the intervention on need for recovery (NFR) as mediated by psychological detachment, and moderation of these effects by baseline NFR, were estimated with adjustment for covariates.

Results: At the 6- and 12-month follow-ups, we found no unmoderated statistically significant changes in NFR mediated by psychological detachment. However, the intervention appeared more beneficial for employees with high baseline NFR compared to those with low NFR, with moderated mediation by detachment at the 12-month follow-up.

Conclusions: Introducing new work strategies and common rules and routines for flexible work may be an effective intervention to facilitate detachment and reduce the need for recovery among office workers with particularly high needs.

Background: As flexible work arrangements (FWAs) become more common, especially among office workers, challenges of maintaining a healthy work-recovery balance increase, but studies addressing interventions and their effects on physical behaviors and physiological recovery are sparse. This study examined the effects of a co-created workplace intervention to promote recovery on the 24-hour composition of physical behaviors and recovery during sleep among office workers with FWAs. Methods: We conducted a controlled intervention in a large government organization that offered FWAs. Employees from one unit (n=27) participated in an intervention comprising 1) an individual-level course in digital tools and work strategies and 2) a workshop to develop common rules and routines within the workgroup. Employees from a comparable unit (n=21) were used as a control group and received no intervention activities. Measures at baseline and 12-month follow-up included accelerometry of 24-hour physical behaviors and heart rate variability during sleep as recovery indicators. We also examined sleep and wake times, as noted in a diary. We calculated 24-hour compositions of physical activity and inactivity during wake time and sleep using Compositional data analysis (CoDA), and intervention effects were analyzed using repeated measures MANOVA and ANOVA. Results: Compared with the control condition, the intervention led to more time spent in sleep relative to time awake, and the effect size was large (F=10.87, p<0.01, η²p=0.28). The intervention had limited effects on physical activity relative to inactivity, and on heart rate variability during sleep (interaction between time and group: p>0.05). Conclusions: An intervention comprising a course in individual work strategies and a workgroup-level workshop to define common rules and routines in flexible work led to longer sleep time, indicating a behavioral change that may promote recovery and health.