The role of work location in associations between need satisfaction and well-being at work: a daily diary design among Dutch office workers

Abstract Background After a quick rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid working (i.e., remote and on-site) is becoming common post-pandemic. This study aimed to investigate to what extent work location (i.e., office or home) affects daily associations between psychological need satisfaction (i.e., perceived relatedness and autonomy) and well-being of office workers (i.e., perceived stress and work pleasure). Methods A daily diary study design with ecological momentary assessments (EMA) was used to investigate day-level relations between work location, need satisfaction, and employee well-being outcomes among 201 Dutch office workers. Measurements took place at the end of each working day (Mondays through Fridays) every month’s first week for three consecutive months. In total, we collected 1,448 daily observations of 201 employees. Multilevel regression models are performed to observe the relationship between daily relatedness and daily autonomy on the one hand and their relationship with both daily work pleasure and daily work stress on the other. Additionally, we explored whether work location serves as a moderator in these relationships. Results Employees reported more relatedness but less autonomy on office days compared to the days they were working from home. When participants experienced higher daily levels of relatedness or autonomy, they experienced more work pleasure and less work stress. On office days, associations between relatedness and well-being outcomes were stronger than on home working days. Associations between autonomy and well-being did not differ based on work location. Conclusions This study shows that daily work location may be an important factor to consider in the context of (enhancing) daily need satisfaction and daily employee well-being. Both working at home and working at the office can contribute to daily need satisfaction and employee well-being. It seems particularly important that working in the office is organized in a way that employees are able to make meaningful connections with others.