Remote work and psychological distress: evidence from the understanding America study dataset

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how working remotely relates to psychological distress and also how this relationship varies by gender, age and employment sector. Design/methodology/approach: We examined 30 waves of longitudinal data (observations = 76,845 and respondents = 4,542) drawn from the Understanding America Study (UAS), a nationally representative panel collected during the period March 2020–October 2021, and analyzed the data using a negative binomial panel model. Findings: The results show that both female and male workers who worked remotely during this time period experienced psychological distress. For workers aged 30–54 and those 55 years of age or above, and those who worked for nonprofit and private organizations, remote work was strongly related to psychological distress. Alternatively, remote work had no significant effect on psychological distress among younger and government workers. Originality/value: The paper contributes to both research and practice related to flexible work arrangements by delving into the influence of remote work on a key employee well-being outcome, psychological distress, which has been understudied in research on human resource practices. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.