Affiliations: Sprott School of Business, Carleton University,
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Note: [] Corresponding author: Linda Duxbury, Sprott School of Business,
Carleton University, 915 Dunton Tower, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada. Tel.: +1
613 520 2385; Fax: +1 613 520 2532; E-mail: linda_duxbury@carleton.ca
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Proponents of telework arrangements assert that
those who telework have more control over their work and family domains than
their counterparts who are not permitted to work from home. OBJECTIVE: Using Karasek's theory we hypothesized that the relationship between demands
(hours in work per week; hours in childcare per week) and strain (work role
overload; family role overload) would be moderated by the number of hours the
employee spent per week teleworking (control). METHODS: To determine how the number of telework hours relates to work role overload and family role
overload, we follow the test for moderation and mediation using hierarchical
multiple regression analysis as outlined by Frazier et al. [50] We used survey
data collected from 1,806 male and female professional employees who spent at
least one hour per week working from home during regular hours (i.e.
teleworking). RESULTS: As hypothesized, the number of hours in telework
per week negatively moderated the relation between work demands (total hours in
paid employment per week) and work strain (work role overload). Contrary to our
hypothesis, the number of hours in telework per week only partially mediated
the relation between family demands (hours a week in childcare) and family role
overload (strain). CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study support the
idea that the control offered by telework is domain specific (helps employees
meet demands at work but not at home).
