Experiences of working from home: umbrella review
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: The concept of "working from home" is extremely topical following the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, it is unsurprising that there has been an increased interest in collating research related to homeworking. This has been carried out by multiple reviews, all with slightly different research aims and methodologies. Collating the findings from the available reviews is therefore highly beneficial to establish the experience of homeworking to create recommendations for the future of home-based work. METHODS: An umbrella review was carried out. In June 2022, literature searches were conducted across 4 electronic databases. Published reviews of literature that used a systematic process, were focused on working from home populations, and detailed factors that could be related to the personal experience of homeworking (eg, barriers, facilitators, advantages, disadvantages) were included. RESULTS: A total of 1930 records were screened and 6 review articles were included. Results report on the following sections: working environment (eg, workplace design, space conditions), personal impact (eg, satisfaction, career impact), and health (eg, physical health, well-being) including a total of 19 themes. Mixed findings were apparent for nearly all included themes, highlighting the need to consider individual and contextual circumstances when researching working from home. CONCLUSIONS: This review establishes the importance of retaining flexibility while homeworking for employees, managers, and organizations. Essentially, a one-size-fits-all approach to working from home is impractical as individual circumstances limit application. Eight recommendations for the future of working from home are suggested.
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A wealth of research on WFH since the COVID-19 pandemic indicates WFH has the potential to improve well-being, job satisfaction and productivity for some, but can also introduce challenges such as difficulties maintaining work-life balance.
“A wealth of research on WFH since the COVID-19 pandemic indicates WFH has the potential to improve well-being, job satisfaction and productivity for some, but can also introduce challenges such as difficulties maintaining work-life balance [12,20].”
From Homeworking experiences of neuro-divergent workers: systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
Many of our findings echo studies of homeworking in the general population.
“Many of our findings echo studies of homeworking in the general population [12,20,65].”
From Homeworking experiences of neuro-divergent workers: systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
Lack of commuting was perceived as a benefit for some but a challenge for others who liked the routine and exercise; previous reviews on WFH in the general population have only noted the benefits of not commuting.
“Lack of commuting was perceived as a benefit for some but a challenge for others who liked the routine and exercise; previous reviews on WFH in the general population have only noted the benefits of not commuting [12,20].”
From Homeworking experiences of neuro-divergent workers: systematic review (2024) · cites this paper as [12]
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Homeworking experiences of neuro-divergent workers: systematic review
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Hall, C. E., Brooks, S. K., Mills, F., Greenberg, N., & Weston, D.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Sussex (GB)
- UK Health Security Agency (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hall, Charlotte E.
- Venue
- Journal of Occupational Health
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2023-12-14
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 1341-9145 (ISSN-L)
- 1348-9585
- PMC
- PMC11020277
- OpenAlex
- W4389818820
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 0.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Occupational Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR-INF-1657)
- Department of Health and Social Care
- University of East Anglia
- King's College London
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Facilities and Workplace Management
- Keywords
- working from home, home office, remote work, employee experience, workplace design, job satisfaction, career impact, physical health, well-being, barriers and facilitators, COVID-19 pandemic, work flexibility
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, Humans, Databases, Factual, Workplace, Pandemics
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