Work-Life Balance in Remote Work: Effects of Experience, Communication, and Flexibility

Description

Objectives*
The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing work-life balance (WLB) among remote workers, emphasizing the roles of prior remote work experience, communication practices, schedule flexibility, and work-hour definitions.

Materials and Methods
A snowball sampling survey was conducted among Latvian residents from August to October 2024, gathering responses from 1175 participants. Data weighting was applied to address gender disproportionality, based on workforce age and gender distribution data from the Central Statistical Bureau. The final study sample comprised 515 remote workers aged 21–70 years (mean age 45.3 ± 12.1 years; 54.0% male, 46.0% female).

Results
Employees with pre-COVID-19 remote work experience reported higher average WLB scores (mean 7.2, median 8) compared to those who started remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic (mean 6.8, median 8) or after the pandemic (mean 7.0, median 7). Higher WLB scores (8–10 points) were observed among workers who: (1) rarely received work-related communication outside regular working hours (31.0%; p < 0.001), (2) had a fixed work schedule or could independently organize their work hours to complete tasks (33.6% and 32.7%, respectively; no statistically significant differences), and (3) had working hours clearly specified in their employment contracts without additional monitoring through tracking systems (73.5%; p < 0.05).

Conclusions
Pre-COVID-19 remote work experience was associated with higher self-reported WLB scores. Key factors contributing to improved WLB included limited work-related communication outside regular hours, autonomy in organizing work schedules or clear, well-defined work-hour arrangements. These findings underscore the significance of flexible and structured work policies in supporting remote workers' well-being.

Funding: The project "Internal consolidation of RSU and external consolidation of RSU with LSPA" (No. 5.2.1.1.i.0/2/24/I/CFLA/005) grant “BALANCE4LV research: Assessing and Enhancing Work-Life Balance in the Latvian Context (No. RSU-PAG-2024/1-0012) is financed within the framework of the European Union Recovery and Resilience plan and the state budget.

Period	27 Mar 2025
Event title	RSU Research week 2025
Event type	Conference
Organiser	Rīga Stradiņš University
Location	Rīga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International