The DOI matches its Crossref record; 12 of the 12 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A rapid review of mental and physical health effects of working at home: how do we optimise health?
Open accessAbstract
Background: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in changes to the working arrangements of millions of employees who are now based at home and may continue to work at home, in some capacity, for the foreseeable future. Decisions on how to promote employees’ health whilst working at home (WAH) need to be based on the best available evidence to optimise worker outcomes. The aim of this rapid review was to review the impact of WAH on individual workers’ mental and physical health, and determine any gender difference, to develop recommendations for employers and employees to optimise workers’ health. Method: A search was undertaken in three databases, PsychInfo, ProQuest, and Web of Science, from 2007 to May 2020. Selection criteria included studies which involved employees who regularly worked at home, and specifically reported on physical or mental health-related outcomes. Two review authors independently screened studies for inclusion, one author extracted data and conducted risk of bias assessments with review by a second author. Results: Twenty-three papers meet the selection criteria for this review. Ten health outcomes were reported: pain, self-reported health, safety, well-being, stress, depression, fatigue, quality of life, strain and happiness. The impact on health outcomes was strongly influenced by the degree of organisational support available to employees, colleague support, social connectedness (outside of work), and levels of work to family conflict. Overall, women were less likely to experience improved health outcomes when WAH. Conclusions: This review identified several health outcomes affected by WAH. The health/work relationship is complex and requires consideration of broader system factors to optimise the effects of WAH on workers’ health. It is likely mandated WAH will continue to some degree for the foreseeable future; organisations will need to implement formalised WAH policies that consider work-home boundary management support, role clarity, workload, performance indicators, technical support, facilitation of co-worker networking, and training for managers.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: the PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & for the PRISMA Group (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2535 · Cited by 83,823
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & the PRISMA Group* (2009) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00135 · Cited by 37,554
The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials
Higgins, J. P. T., Altman, D. G., Gotzsche, P. C., Juni, P., Moher, D., Oxman, A. D., Savovic, J., Schulz, K. F., Weeks, L., Sterne, J. A. C., et al. (2011) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.d5928 · Cited by 33,817
Lockwood, C., Munn, Z., & Porritt, K. (2015) · International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare · doi:10.1097/xeb.0000000000000062 · Cited by 2,456
How Effective Is Telecommuting? Assessing the Status of Our Scientific Findings
Allen, T. D., Golden, T. D., & Shockley, K. M. (2015) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1177/1529100615593273 · Cited by 1,788
Mitigating the wider health effects of covid-19 pandemic response
Douglas, M., Katikireddi, S. V., Taulbut, M., McKee, M., & McCartney, G. (2020) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.m1557 · Cited by 1,105
The role of organisational support in teleworker wellbeing: A socio-technical systems approach
Bentley, T. A., Teo, S. T. T., McLeod, L., Tan, F., Bosua, R., & Gloet, M. (2016) · Applied Ergonomics · doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2015.07.019 · Cited by 570
Mechanisms to improve labor productivity by performing telework.
Kazekami, S. (2020) · Telecommunications Policy · doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2019.101868 · Cited by 375
(2013) · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2011.05.008 · Cited by 264
Effects of new ways of working on work hours and work location, health and job-related outcomes
Nijp, H. H., Beckers, D. G. J., van de Voorde, K., Geurts, S. A. E., & Kompier, M. A. J. (2016) · Chronobiology International · doi:10.3109/07420528.2016.1167731 · Cited by 121
Research works printed but not linked: 34
- The Lancet Public Health. COVID-19 puts societies to the test. Lancet Public Health. 2020;5(5):e235. · DOI
- Wenham C, Smith J, Morgan R. COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak. Lancet. 2020;395(10227):846–8. · DOI · Paper page
- Alon TM, Doepke M, Olmstead-Rumsey J, Tertilt M. The impact of COVID-19 on gender equality: National Bureau of Economic Research; 2020. Report no.: 0898–2937. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26947. Accessed 5 Jun 2020. · DOI · Paper page
- Shimazu A, Nakata A, Nagata T, Arakawa Y, Kuroda S, Inamizu N, et al. Psychosocial impact of COVID-19 for general workers. J Occup Health. 2020;62(1):e12132. · DOI
- Belzunegui-Eraso A, Erro-Garcés A. Teleworking in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. Sustainability. 2020;12(9):3662. · DOI · Paper page
- Eurofound and the International Labour Office. Working anytime, anywhere: the effects on the world of work. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union; 2017. https://www.raco.cat/index.php/IUSLabor/article/download/333024/423859. Accessed 5 Jun 2020.
- Henke RM, Benevent R, Schulte P, Rinehart C, Crighton K, Corcoran M. The effects of telecommuting intensity on employee health. Am J Health Promot. 2016;30(8):604–12. · DOI
- Gajendran RS, Harrison DA. The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. J Appl Psychol. 2007;92(6):1524–41. · DOI · Paper page
- Covidence systematic review software, Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia. Available at www.covidence.org.
- Oakman J, Stuckey R, Kinsman N. Using evidence to support the design of submarine control console workstations. Appl Ergon. 2019;79:54–65. · DOI
- Anderson AJ, Kaplan SA, Vega RP. The impact of telework on emotional experience: when, and for whom, does telework improve daily affective well-being? Eur J Work Organ Psychol. 2015;24(6):882–97. · DOI · Paper page
- Bosua R, Gloet M, Kurnia S, Mendoza A, Yong J. Telework, productivity and wellbeing: an Australian perspective. Telecommunications J Aust. 2013;63(1):11.1–11.12.
- Eddleston KA, Mulki J. Toward understanding remote workers’ management of work-family boundaries: the complexity of workplace embeddedness. Group Org Manag. 2017;42(3):346–87. · DOI · Paper page
- Fílardí F, de Castro R, Zaníní MTF. Advantages and disadvantages of teleworking in Brazilian public administration: analysis of SERPRO and Federal Revenue experiences. Cadernos EBAPEBR. 2020;18(1):28–46.
- Gimenez-Nadal JI, Molina JA, Velilla J. Work time and well-being for workers at home: evidence from the American time use survey. Int J Manpow. 2020;41(2):184–206. · DOI
- Golden TD. Altering the effects of work and family conflict on exhaustion: telework during traditional and nontraditional work hours. J Bus Psychol. 2012;27(3):255–69. · DOI
- Grant CA, Wallace LM, Spurgeon PC. An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e-worker’s job effectiveness, well-being and work-life balance. Empl Relat. 2013;35(5):527–46. · DOI · Paper page
- Hayman J. Flexible work schedules and employee well-being. N Z J Employ Relat. 2010;35(2):76–87.
- Kaduk A, Genadek K, Kelly EL, Moen P. Involuntary vs. voluntary flexible work: insights for scholars and stakeholders. Community Work Fam. 2019;22(4):412–42. · DOI
- Kim J, Henly JR, Golden LM, Lambert SJ. Workplace flexibility and worker well-being by gender. J Marriage Fam. 2020;82(3):892–910. · DOI
- Major DA, Verive JM, Joice W. Telework as a dependent care solution: examining current practice to improve telework management strategies. Psychol Manag J. 2008;11(1):65–91.
- Sardeshmukh SR, Sharma D, Golden TD. Impact of telework on exhaustion and job engagement: a job demands and job resources model. N Technol Work Employ. 2012;27(3):193–207. · DOI · Paper page
- Song Y, Gao J. Does telework stress employees out? A study on working at home and subjective well-being for wage/salary workers. J Happiness Stud. 2019;21(7):2649–68. · DOI · Paper page
- Suh A, Lee J. Understanding teleworkers’ technostress and its influence on job satisfaction. Internet Res. 2017;27(1):140–59. · DOI · Paper page
- Tustin DH. Telecommuting academics within an open distance education environment of South Africa: more content, productive, and healthy? Int Rev Res Open Dist Learn. 2014;15(3):185–214.
- Vander Elst T, Verhoogen R, Sercu M, Van den Broeck A, Baillien E, Godderis L. Not extent of telecommuting, but job characteristics as proximal predictors of work-related well-being. J Occup Environ Med. 2017;59(10):E180–E6. · DOI
- Windeler JB, Chudoba KM, Sundrup RZ. Getting away from them all: managing exhaustion from social interaction with telework. J Organ Behav. 2017;38(7):977–95. · DOI · Paper page
- Leka S, Jain A, Iavicoli S, Di Tecco C. An evaluation of the policy context on psychosocial risks and mental health in the workplace in the European Union: achievements, challenges, and the future. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:213089. · DOI
- Schütte S, Chastang J-F, Malard L, Parent-Thirion A, Vermeylen G, Niedhammer I. Psychosocial working conditions and psychological well-being among employees in 34 European countries. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2014;87(8):897–907. · DOI
- Turnbull B, Graham M, Taket A. Hierarchical femininities and masculinities in Australia based on parenting and employment: a multidimensional, multilevel, relational and intersectional perspective. J Res Gend Stud. 2020;10(2):9–62. · DOI
- Allen TD, Martin A. The work-family interface: a retrospective look at 20 years of research in JOHP. J Occup Health Psychol. 2017;22(3):259. · DOI
- Fein EC, Skinner N. Clarifying the effect of work hours on health through work–life conflict. Asia Pac J Hum Resour. 2015;53(4):448–70. · DOI
- Daverth G, Hyde P, Cassell C. Uptake of organisational work–life balance opportunities: the context of support. Int J Hum Resour Manag. 2016;27(15):1710–29. · DOI
- Kossek EE, Lautsch BA. Work–life flexibility for whom? Occupational status and work–life inequality in upper, middle, and lower level jobs. Acad Manag Ann. 2018;12(1):5–36. · DOI · Paper page
Cited by
Carvalho, V. S., Santos, A., Ribeiro, M. T., & Chambel, M. J. (2021) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su13137339 · Cited by 75
Scoping reviews and rapid reviews
Sabiston, C. M., Vani, M., de Jonge, M., & Nesbitt, A. (2022) · International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1750984x.2021.1964095 · Cited by 74
Chambel, M. J., Castanheira, F., & Santos, A. (2023) · The International Journal of Human Resource Management · doi:10.1080/09585192.2022.2063064 · Cited by 70
Hall, C. E., Davidson, L., Brooks, S. K., Greenberg, N., & Weston, D. (2023) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-023-01221-3 · Cited by 39
Digital Health Solutions for Weight Loss and Obesity: A Narrative Review
Irvin, L., Madden, L. A., Marshall, P., & Vince, R. V. (2023) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu15081858 · Cited by 34
“In addition, Okuyan and Begen [7] have pointed out that many businesses are in all probability looking to make work from home more routine, due to the economic consequences of SARS-CoV-2, the perceived convenience of less travel time, greater autonomy, and potentially reduced costs, for example, rental of large office…”
BackgroundExperiences of working from home: umbrella review
Hall, C. E., Brooks, S. K., Mills, F., Greenberg, N., & Weston, D. (2024) · Journal of Occupational Health · doi:10.1093/joccuh/uiad013 · Cited by 19
Kelly, S., Kaye, S.-A., White, K. M., & Oviedo-Trespalacios, O. (2025) · AI & SOCIETY · doi:10.1007/s00146-025-02334-6 · Cited by 17
Mascarenhas, M., Carvalho, V. S., Moretto, C. F., & Chambel, M. J. (2024) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-024-18178-6 · Cited by 9
Imamura, K., Sasaki, N., Sekiya, Y., Watanabe, K., Sakuraya, A., Matsuyama, Y., Nishi, D., & Kawakami, N. (2022) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/33883 · Cited by 6
“Previous literature reviews have reported that the effects of working at home are inconsistent and might depend on various factors, such as demands of the home environment, the level of organizational support, and social connections external to work, among others [35].”
Metadata
- Authors
- Oakman, J., Kinsman, N., Stuckey, R., Graham, M., & Weale, V.
- Venue
- BMC Public Health
- Published
- 2020-11-30
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1825-1825
- ISSN
- 1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3109592608
- Cited by
- 590
- References
- 12
- FWCI
- 111.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- Licence
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (tdm)
- creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor)
- Funders
- La Trobe University
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.