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Household Labour During the Workday in Remote Work Contexts. Who Integrates It, and Why?
Nathan Pudles1, Marine Willeput1, Sabine Pohl1
1Department of Work and Consumer Psychology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
Psychologica Belgica
|July 6, 2026
Summary
Remote work integration of work and family domains is complex. Job demands and engagement increase household labor during the workday, while autonomy decreases it, regardless of gender.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Remote work offers potential work-family integration.
- Existing theories like border theory and social role theory provide a framework for understanding this integration.
- The study investigates factors influencing household labor during the workday (HLW) among remote workers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationships between autonomy, job demands, work engagement, and involvement in domestic tasks (IDT) with HLW.
- To determine if gender moderates these relationships.
- To provide insights into the dynamics of remote work and household responsibilities.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 1309 remote workers (65.77% women) was surveyed.
- Border theory and social role theory were used as analytical frameworks.
- Logistic regression and fractional polynomials were employed to test hypotheses.
Main Results:
- Contrary to hypotheses, job demands and work engagement were positively associated with HLW.
- Autonomy showed a negative association with HLW.
- Involvement in domestic tasks had a non-linear association with HLW; individuals managing most domestic tasks alone were more likely to engage in HLW.
Conclusions:
- The study found that increased job demands and work engagement, along with decreased autonomy, influence household labor during the workday for remote workers.
- The impact of these factors on HLW did not differ significantly between genders.
- Findings challenge simplistic views of remote work as a seamless work-family integration tool.
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