The impact of hybrid working on stress: An Ecological Momentary Assessment study of stress dynamics and variation across the day and by type of day

Objectives: COVID-19 accelerated a transformational change in working practices, with large numbers of employees now combining working from home (WFH) with working from elsewhere (WFE) in a hybrid work pattern. How hybrid working influences stress is not yet well understood. The aim of this study was to utilise Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to examine how real-time perceived stress dynamics differed across the day by work arrangement (work vs non-work; WFH vs WFE). Design: Single wave of EMA intensive longitudinal assessmentMethod: Twenty-two (female n=16) desk-based hybrid working university employees were recruited. Using the EMA RealLife Exp App, participants received notifications to respond to two perceived stress question five times per day at random intervals for up to 21 days, and reported work arrangement at the end of the day. Data were analysed using two-level dynamic structural equation modelling (DSEM) in Mplus 8.11 . Results: In total 1818 EMA prompts were delivered, of which 1386 were completed, with mean compliance 74.9%. Participants worked on average 9.68 (SD=3.77) days, spending 4.18 (SD=2.67) days WFH, and 5.5 days WFE (SD=3.02). Stress during 15:00-17:59 was significantly lower on non-working days compared to working days (β = -0.130, 95% CI [-0.255, -0.004]. WFH showed greater midday stress between 12:00-14:59 (β = 0.396, 95% CI [0.207, 0.559]) and higher evening stress between 18:00-20:59 (β = 0.207, 95% CI [0.020, 0.391]. Conclusion: Work arrangements impact stress differentially across the day, with stress elevated during WFH at specific ‘pinch’ points during the day compared with WFE.