Brennan, Elena (2016) Australian Teleworkers: Examination of Work-life Interference and Factors Predicting it. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Teleworking, or working from home, has been a topic of discussion among scholars for over three decades, with no apparent consensus about its effects on work-life balance. Despite the federal government’s plans to increase the rate of employees who have teleworking agreements with their employer, the growth in paid telework is not evident. Instead the increase in supplemental part-time, and unpaid telework, creates the need to further examine the current state of working from home in Australia and its effects on work-life balance. Using the survey data from the Australian Work and Life Index 2012 (N = 2578), this study compared employees who worked some hours from home with those whose only place of work was the office. It was found that teleworkers showed significantly greater work-life interference and worked longer total hours compared to those who did not work from home. The highest work-life interference was found among those who worked unpaid hours from home. A multiple regression analysis was used to test if the reasons for working from home paid and unpaid hours, gender, and parenting status enhanced the prediction of work-life interference after work hours and work intensification were taking into account. It was found that reasons indicating organisational pressure predicted greater work-life interference, whereas reasons indicating organisational support or job enjoyment predicted lower work-life interference. Parenting predicted greater work-life interference, especially among teleworkers who worked unpaid hours. There was a significant, although small, gender effect observed among employees who worked from home unpaid hours only, with women predicting greater work-life interference compared to men. Overall, the study confirms the growth in unpaid supplemental telework, which worsens employee’s work-life outcomes, and highlights the need for better telework regulation on governmental and organisational levels.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | James Brown; Erich Fein |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 01:23 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2025 01:23 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | teleworking ; working from home ; work-life balance ; work-life interference |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52177 |
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