Work-Life Balance when Working from Home

Abstract

In shaping the new labour market, the long-term sustainability of working from home is largely related to work-life balance. Our paper focuses on employees’ perceptions concerning how working from home during the pandemic influenced work-life balance, using a cross-country perspective. Also, we aimed at outlining the socio-demographic profile of those affected by the restrictive measures. We employed cluster analysis and logistic regression, using data from the e-survey Living, working and COVID-19 and the Eurobarometer 94.3. We found that the reaction to the pandemic shock differed greatly between countries, with some showing greater flexibility and adaptability to the new working conditions. Regarding the personal profile of individuals who found it hard to cope with the pandemic measures, our analysis indicated that it is more likely to have been difficult for employees, 25-54 years old, with children under 10 years, living in urban or metropolitan areas, from middle and upper class.