Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Is Smart Working Beneficial for Workers' Well-being? A Longitudinal Investigation of Smart Working, Workload and Hair Cortisol/Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Alessandra Falco
* ORCID logo ,
Damiano Girardi
ORCID logo ,
Achim Elfering
,
Tanja Peric
ORCID logo ,
Isabella Pividori
,
Laura Dal Corso
Version 1 : Received: 9 March 2023 / Approved: 10 March 2023 / Online: 10 March 2023 (14:03:37 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Falco, A.; Girardi, D.; Elfering, A.; Peric, T.; Pividori, I.; Dal Corso, L. Is Smart Working Beneficial for Workers’ Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Investigation of Smart Working, Workload, and Hair Cortisol/Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 6220. Falco, A.; Girardi, D.; Elfering, A.; Peric, T.; Pividori, I.; Dal Corso, L. Is Smart Working Beneficial for Workers’ Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Investigation of Smart Working, Workload, and Hair Cortisol/Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 6220.

Abstract

Building on the job demands-resources (JD-R) and the allostatic load (AL) models, in this study we investigated the role of smart working (SW) in the longitudinal association between workload/job autonomy (JA) and a possible biomarker of work-related stress (WRS) in the hair, namely the cortisol to dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA(S)) ratio, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 124 workers completed a self-report questionnaire (i.e., psychological data) at Time 1 (T1) and collected a strand of hair (i.e., biological data) three months later (Time 2, T2). Results from moderated multiple regression analysis showed that smart working at T1 was negatively associated with hair cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio at T2. Additionally, the interaction between workload and SW was significant, with workload at T1 being positively associated with hair cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio at T2 among smart workers. Overall, this study indicates that SW can be conceived as a double-edged sword, with both positive and negative consequences on employee well-being. Furthermore, our findings suggest that hair cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio is a promising biomarker of WRS. Practical implications that organizations and practitioners can adopt to promote organizational well-being are discussed.

Keywords

smart working; COVID-19; workload; hair cortisol; Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; biomarker; work-related stress; organizational well-being

Subject

Social Sciences, Psychology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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