Academics who work remotely report higher levels of stress compared with those who work on campuses, a new paper has found. 

Those working from home are more likely to say they feel “overwhelmed” and “overloaded with work responsibilities”, according to the study, published in .

Researchers surveyed 265 academics from the University of South Africa for the paper, with the majority (44.7 per cent) saying they work on campus, 23.5 per cent saying they have a hybrid role, and 31.8 per cent working remotely.

They were asked to rate their stress levels in certain scenarios on a scale of “not at all; slightly; moderately; very much; and extremely”. 

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When asked, “To what extent do you feel overloaded with work responsibilities?”, remote workers had the highest mean response rate of 4.084 out of 5, compared with a mean response of 3.316 from on-site workers. 

When asked if they felt “overwhelmed”, the mean response from remote workers was 3.988 compared with 3.341 from on-site workers. On whether the pressure to supervise post-graduate students’ research affected their job satisfaction, remote workers reported a mean score of 3.365 compared with 2.635 reported by on-site workers. 

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The report says that “remote workers consistently report higher levels” of stress throughout the survey and “the findings suggest that remote working contributes significantly to the stress experienced by those working remotely”.

It adds that the findings “serve as a cautionary signal to leaders in higher education, underscoring the need for proactive interventions to support remote workers and promote their optimal functioning and well-being”.

Report author Renier Steyn, professor at the Graduate School of Business Leadership at the University of South Africa, told Times Higher Education that while the study “cannot explain the mechanisms underlying this relationship, the finding appears to contradict the common assumption that remote working improves work–life balance and consequently reduces stress”.

“Instead, the findings suggest that work–life balance may be facilitated by the physical separation of work and home, something that is inherently more difficult to achieve when working remotely.”

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The report speculates that lecturers who work remotely may suffer from being “perceived as constantly accessible online, thereby increasing workload and role pressure”.

In contrast, “on-campus work arrangements may offer clearer boundaries and situational constraints that help moderate such expectations”.

Steyn added that to better protect remote academics, universities should “base remote working arrangements on transparent performance criteria”, rather than managerial discretion.

“Such an approach would reduce uncertainty and minimise power imbalances between office-based managers and academics working remotely, allowing performance, rather than physical presence, to become the primary basis for evaluation.”

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Universities should also look to establish clear expectations over working hours, which could help “facilitate” a “separation” between work and personal time.

“Finally, it is important to recognise that not all remote workers experience elevated stress, nor are all office-based employees free from it,” said Steyn.

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“Rather than focusing solely on work arrangements, universities could implement routine mental health screening to identify employees experiencing distress and provide timely support and appropriate interventions. Such a proactive approach is likely to be more effective than assuming that stress is determined solely by work location.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com