Abstract
The combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside technological advancements in digital communications, signifies that home-working at least some days per week is likely to become the ‘new normal’ for most normally-office-based workers. Although there has been research on the impact of working on-site on health behaviour and wellbeing, the possibility that health-related behaviour might be impacted by working from home has not yet been fully explored. This thesis therefore aimed to investigate the potential impact of working from home on health-related behaviour and associated wellbeing consequences among normally-office-based workers. Although thesis work began in September 2019, the empirical studies coincided with and were heavily shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 – April 2021).Investigations were initiated in March 2020. Study 1 (n=27) used qualitative methods to describe normally-office-based workers’ experiences of the working from home during the first UK COVID-19 pandemic. Results not only indicated the absence of health wellbeing conducive behaviours from on-site working, but also suggested that that the way in which workers adapted their working practices to the home environment incidentally impacted health-related behaviours and wellbeing. Toward statistically modelling indicated relationships, Study 2 (March 2021) used systematic, psychometric methods to translate concepts extracted from Study 1 into robust, Likert style quantitative measures. Online survey response data from 240 home-workers informed exploratory factor analyses and composite reliability testing which led to a refined set of 25 items, together capturing 10 psychological responses to home-working practice variables. Study 3 (n=491; April 2021) used a Network Analysis cross-sectional design to model relationships between variables developed in Study 2, validated subjective measures of health-related behaviours and indicators of wellbeing. Data was investigated via network modelling, centrality indices, exploratory graph analysis, bridge-node analysis, and shortest path analysis. Results highlighted four key clusters of psychological responses to home-working practices, and variables within these clusters that were especially linked to indicators of health-behaviour and wellbeing.
Study 4 (January – February 2021) is presented herein as a logical progression from Studies 2-3, but was undertaken immediately following Study 1, in response to a time-sensitive, pandemic-related funding opportunity to develop an online intervention. Toward assessing potential intervention acceptability and feasibility, Study 4 involved designing a short ‘e-module’ to educate employees on how to adopt health and wellbeing conducive home-working practices and routines. Acceptability and feasibility of this intervention was assessed via mixed methods: expressions of interest, attrition, think-aloud and follow-up semi structured interviews, and indicators of apparent detrimental effects to health behaviours and wellbeing. Whilst feedback from home-workers suggested the guidance to lack novelty, practicality, and to be potentially ineffective at changing behaviour, participants generally viewed the intervention positively, and so supported the need for such behavioural support.
Overall, Studies 1 – 3 suggest that the impact of home-working on health-behaviour results not only from the absence of health and wellbeing conducive behaviours when working onsite, but also from psychological responses to work practices and settings unique to the home environment. Study 4 highlighted the important of providing guidance on how to work from home in ways which support worker’s health and wellbeing, whilst preserving work-related productivity. However, more sophisticated interventions are needed to achieve the intended behaviour change. Together, the four conducted studies contribute toward an understanding of how home-working may impact worker’s health-related behaviours and wellbeing, informing the development and application of potential behaviour change interventions.
| Date of Award | 1 Sept 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Myanna Duncan (Supervisor) |