We examine the survey responses of 278 individuals who transitioned from the workplace to working from home (WFH) as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic to understand how individuals’ attainment of productivity in work and meaning in life are affected by WFH. We also assess their perceived stress and health challenges experienced since WFH. On average, workers perceive that productivity and meaning changed in opposite directions with the shift to WFH—productivity increased while the meaning derived from daily activities decreased. Stress was reduced while health problems increased. By investigating these changes, we identify important common sources of support and friction associated with remote work that affect multiple dimensions of work and life. For example, personal fortitude is an important source of support, and the intrusion of work into life is an important friction. Our findings lead to concrete recommendations for both organizational leaders and workers in setting key priorities for supporting remote work.

我们检查了因 Covid 19 大流行而从工作场所转变为在家工作 (WFH) 的 278 名个人的调查回复，以了解个人在工作中的生产力和生活意义如何受到 WFH 的影响。我们还评估了他们自 WFH 以来所经历的压力和健康挑战。平均而言，工人认为，​​随着向 WFH 的转变，生产力和意义发生了相反的变化——生产力提高了，而日常活动产生的意义却下降了。压力减少了，而健康问题增加了。通过调查这些变化，我们确定了与远程工作相关的重要常见支持和摩擦来源，这些来源会影响工作和生活的多个方面。例如，个人的毅力是重要的支持来源，而工作对生活的侵入是一个重要的摩擦。我们的研究结果为组织领导和员工在设置支持远程工作的关键优先事项方面提出了具体建议。