Axians analyzes the impact of home office on work-life balance

IT services company Axians has published an analysis on the establishment of remote work and its impact on employees' work-life balance. An employee at the company compares the current situation to five years ago, reflecting on how remote work has changed daily arrangements and professional relationships.

Following the pandemic, working from home has become commonplace for many office professions, with Axians allowing employees to work from home up to two days a week. The utilization of remote work varies within the company: support functions like marketing and HR often prefer office work due to the need for in-person collaboration, while sales personnel had more opportunities for remote work even before due to the nature of their customer-facing roles.

The article highlights that while remote work offers flexibility, it can reduce social interaction and impair self-organization, potentially leading to employee dissatisfaction according to research. A study in "Nature Human Behaviour" suggests two days a week as an optimal remote work period precisely due to the lack of direct social contact.

Successful work-life balance requires both the employee's own capabilities, such as good planning and flexibility, and employer support. Axians emphasizes that managerial understanding and corporate culture are key to enabling parents to hold responsible positions at work while fully engaging in family life. Support from family or friends, along with commitment and self-compassion in the face of imperfections, are also identified as crucial factors.