Extreme teleworking conditions imposed by COVID-19 lockdowns blurred the boundaries between work and personal life. A study by the Research Centre for Human Development (CEDH) at the Faculty of Education and Psychology of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (FEP-UCP) examined how bidirectional conflicts between work and personal life during the pandemic affected various aspects of Portuguese university professors' lives.
According to Filipa Sobral, first author of the study, "during COVID-19, each worker's home became a multifunctional space, accommodating professional, family, and leisure activities." This scenario provided a unique opportunity to explore work-life and life-work conflicts, analysing their impact on well-being, professional performance, and willingness to continue teleworking.
The study, titled "Blurred boundaries: exploring the influence of work-life and life-work conflicts on university teachers’ health, work results, and willingness to teleworking", focused on university professors, a profession often associated with greater difficulties in balancing different life spheres. The dedication to work and high-performance culture make this profession particularly vulnerable to conflicts between personal and professional life.
Based on data collected from 383 Portuguese university professors through an online survey, the study analysed the impacts of work-life and life-work conflicts on three dimensions: burnout, perception of professional performance, and willingness to continue teleworking.
Professors feel that life-work conflict has a negative impact on their professional performance
The results showed that both work-life conflicts (when professional demands interfere with personal life) and life-work conflicts (when personal issues affect professional performance) are associated with higher levels of burnout. However, professors felt that only life-work conflict had a direct and negative impact on their professional performance.
“Conflicts related to personal issues proved to be more detrimental to professional performance than work interference in personal life,” the researcher points out.
Despite the adversities, the study showed that professors who felt productive while teleworking are more willing to continue this arrangement in the future. Moreover, while burnout negatively affected performance, it did not directly influence the desire to continue teleworking.
Filipa Sobral stresses that “even in adverse conditions, workers recognise the advantages of teleworking, such as flexibility and autonomy. This underlines the need to adjust labour practices to the new paradigm.”
Importance of addressing work-life and life-work conflicts separately
The CEDH researcher emphasises that it is essential to treat work-life conflicts as separate concepts, given the way they impact on professors' well-being and productivity.
Some recommendations for organisations include recognising and mitigating the work-life conflicts that most directly affect employees' professional performance; prioritising burnout reduction strategies, such as emotional support and flexibility in work responsibilities; and outlining teleworking policies that improve work-life balance, promoting health and productivity.
The study also involved Eva Dias-Oliveira (CEGE and LEAD.Lab, Católica Porto Business School), Catarina Morais (CEDH), and Julia Hodgson (University of Liverpool Management School).
This article is one of the outcomes of the Work@Home project, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic with financial support from CEDH.
