Stress and Satisfaction While Working from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Personal and Job Resources

Abstract

This study investigates how perceived work from home (WFH) stress affects job and life satisfaction and the role of specific personal and job resources in stress and job and life satisfaction for WFH employees. The rising demand for WFH due to the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in employees’ job and overall life satisfaction. We conducted a quantitative survey of 283 first-time WFH employees in Bangladesh, applied the job demands–resources (JD-R) and conservation of resources (COR) theories, and employed a partial least squares–structural equation model. The results indicate that high stress resulting from WFH reduces job and life satisfaction; under such unusual work conditions, job satisfaction is a strong predictor of life satisfaction. Moreover, the effects of personal resources, such as job competence and perceived hope, on life satisfaction become operational through perceived supervisor support, perceived WFH stress and job satisfaction. Our study contributed to the literature by applying the JD-R and COR theories in a new WFH context to suggest that job resources, such as perceived supervisor support, become more effective when an employee is exposed to WFH for the first time, and some personal resources, such as job competence, become dependent on job resources.