Increased Working From Home in Vocational Counseling Psychologists During COVID-19: Associated Change in Productivity and Job Satisfaction

Andrea Zürcher; Sibylle Galliker; Nicola Jacobshagen; Peter Lüscher Mathieu; Andrea Eller; Achim Elfering

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750127

Increased Working From Home in Vocational Counseling Psychologists During COVID-19: Associated Change in Productivity and Job Satisfaction

Front Psychol. 2021 Dec 3:12:750127. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750127. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Andrea Zürcher¹, Sibylle Galliker², Nicola Jacobshagen³, Peter Lüscher Mathieu¹, Andrea Eller¹, Achim Elfering^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Master School of Advanced Studies in Psychology of Career Counselling and Human Resources Management (CCHRM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
² Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
³ Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ National Centre of Competence in Research, Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, CISA, Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, vocational counselors in Switzerland more frequently worked from home (WFH) and less frequently worked on-site. The aim of this study was to assess how WFH corresponds with indicators of job performance and occupational wellbeing. More specifically, the current questionnaire study analyzed the increase in WFH, self-reported productivity, distractibility in WFH, current job satisfaction, work-life balance in WFH, and feeling of loneliness. Findings showed that the increase in WFH in vocational counseling psychologists during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in productivity and job satisfaction and with lower distractibility in WFH compared to work on-site. However, more frequent WFH was not significantly associated with improved work-life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vocational counselors who shared the office on-site with many colleagues experienced higher feeling of loneliness during WFH. Vocational counselors regarded the condition of WFH as productive and satisfying while work-life balance did not improve. The discussion sheds light on the potential WFH-related increase of boundary management demands.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; job satisfaction; productivity; remote work; telework; vocational counseling; work from home (WFH).