Job Satisfaction and Perceived Structural Support in Remote Working Conditions-The Role of a Sense of Community at Work

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 13; p. 6205
• Main Authors: Buonomo, Ilaria, Ferrara, Bruna, Pansini, Martina, Benevene, Paula
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22.06.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Communicable Disease Control; Communication channels; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Disease control; Effectiveness; Employees; Female; Humans; Hypotheses; Job Satisfaction; Multivariate statistical analysis; Pandemics; Social Cohesion; Social distancing; Social support; Telecommuting; Working Conditions; remote working; JD-R model; job demands; job satisfaction; sense of community
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20136205

Changes in work assets due to the COVID-19 pandemic posed several challenges to employees' well-being, especially in the light of the changes in the work organization, such as remote working and the massive use of IT. According to the literature on the role of technologies at work, the organization's ability to support remote working is a valuable protective factor. At the same time, social distancing due to the pandemic forced employees to use a new relational asset. This, in turn, can shed new light on how the sense of connection and belonging to an organization impacts remote working experiences. This paper will test the mediational effect of structural support and sense of community at work in the link between job demands and job satisfaction in a sample of remote workers. The study involved 635 participants aged 21 to 70 (mean = 46.7, SD = 11; females = 61%). Among them, 33% had remote working experiences before the first Italian lockdown (March 2020). The research protocol included scales from the COPSOQ-III (job demands, sense of community, job satisfaction) and a questionnaire to evaluate the structural support related to the remote working asset. Results from a structural equation model showed a partial mediating effect of sense of community, but not of structural support, in the link between job demands and job satisfaction ( = 76.918, = 0.00, = 0.966, = 0.944, = 0.063 (90% CI = 0.048-0.078, = 0.079), = 0.044). The role of such associations for future technology-based work assets is detailed in the discussion.