Research Gap
Social well-being has been gaining popularity in research lately, especially with the pandemic highlighting the impact of remote work on China’s social well-being. Several studies have been conducted to research various aspects of this issue. Still, they all contributed to understanding the interaction between remote work and social well-being. However, despite many studies in this respect, a research gap still needs to be addressed.
The crucial research vacuum in this field is connected to the necessity of a more detailed perception of the factors influencing the influence of telework on social well-being in China. Nowadays, several studies have addressed the issue of remote work and social well-being. However, more comprehensive research is needed which would consider all kinds of variables that may influence this link. In their study, for instance, Pan, Jing, and Liang (2023) noted that changes in working hours were associated with markedly worse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, perhaps moderated by more significant work-family conflicts. This illustrates how telework must be scrutinized separately as a topic and placed within broader contexts, such as work-family dynamics, to appreciate its effects on social well-being. These co-relative facets and their impact of accumulation on the social welfare of Chinese remote workers need further study.
Moreover, the research of Sun, Liu, and Wang (2022) sheds light on the common problem of work-family conflict in remote urbanization in China during the pandemic. Although this study further accents the substantial effect of these interference patterns on work productivity and social well-being, it also points out a significant knowledge gap related to the mechanisms through which the interferences influence social well-being. Sun, Liu, and Wang (2022), therefore, call for additional research to fill this gap and understand the underlying mechanisms of work-family conflict and its impact on social well-being. Potential investigations include measuring the effects of role conflict between work and family-related domains on the level of stress and strain among remote workers, looking at the set of strategies used by individuals to separate work and family time and space, technology’s role in enhancing or making worse the work-family interference and its support tools, the influence of cultural norms and organizational policies on work-family conflict, and the set of resilience factors and Answering these research questions allows scholars to get a more detailed insight into the intricate relationships of work-family interference and social well-being that can serve as a basis for targeted interventions and organizational policies aimed at supporting remote workers in maintaining work-family boundaries and improving their overall well-being.
In addition, Graham et al. (2023) studied subtler dynamics of community and social support employees felt, which impacted their self-rated health during telecommuting times. Their detailed assessment shows the role of social factors in improving overall health and well-being in the one remote working mode (Graham et al., 2023). However, to create an in-depth view, it is necessary to investigate how the factors are implemented in different demographic groups and organizations. This will offer valuable insights into the other features of community and social support and the well-being of various individuals, particularly under remote working conditions and in China. Such insights are very useful in designing specially focused interventions adapted to the needs and situations of different groups of remote workers in China. These distinctions are identifiable and manageable, so organizations will adequately enhance the health and well-being of their remotely working personnel, creating a more supportive and inclusive work environment that suits every demographic segment.
In addition, Nowacki et al. (2021) conducted an extensive study considering the consequences of remote working on employee well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The study focused on the employee self-evaluation of mental and physical health while working at a distance, stressing the necessity of considering both psychological and physical health effects in evaluating this impact on society’s well-being. Their results highlighted the interrelatedness of different aspects of well-being, thereby indicating that a comprehensive perspective is required in analyzing the effects of teleworking on social welfare (Nowacki, Grabowska, and Lis, 2021). Nevertheless, though their research offers much insight, it also highlights the need for future studies to investigate remote work’s long-term effects on social well-being. Such further research should focus not only on the long-term consequences but also on a potential mechanism underlying how telecommuting can affect different aspects of social well-being apart from mental and physical health. By doing so, a more detailed analysis of the broader effects of remote work on societal welfare can be attained, making possible the development of targeted interventions and policies to promote overall welfare in remote work environments.
In the final analysis, Petcu et al. (2023) have carefully studied the social and emotional aspects of telecommuting on employee wellness in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their research highlighted several important factors, such as communication effectiveness, workload, and achieving a work-life balance, which played a role in the general well-being of the workers involved in remote work arrangements. In this sense, Petcu et al. (2023) have illuminated these crucial issues and have contributed insights into the diverse nature of the effect of telework on individual welfare. Nevertheless, for further elaboration, research can concentrate on the complex communication patterns in remote working arrangements, analyzing the organizational policies and procedures that promote or inhibit social contact and emotional assistance among teleworkers. Furthermore, exploring the specifics of the individual features, for instance, personality traits and coping strategies, could provide helpful information about how the employees cope with the benefits and limitations of teleworking, and more so in the Chinese cultural and organizational setting, where different norms may influence the remote work experiences. This line of research can help develop specific interventions and policies to promote remote workers’ social and emotional well-being in various cultural and organizational contexts.
In conclusion, although the previous studies have enlightened us about the influence of remote work on social well-being in China during COVID-19, a research gap needs to be filled. More research is required to understand how the many factors come into play in the relationship between remote work and social well-being, as well as to check out how social, organizational, and individual factors might affect the outcomes of remote work on social well-being. Future studies may tackle these research gaps, enabling policymakers, organizations, and individuals to obtain helpful information for maximizing the social well-being outcomes of remote work in China and beyond.
References
Graham, M. et al. (2023) ‘Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal examination of employees’ sense of community and social support and impacts on self-rated health,’ BMC Public Health, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14904-0.
Nowacki, K., Grabowska, S. and Lis, T. (2021) ‘The impact of remote working during the COVID-19 epidemic on employee well-being,’ Multidisciplinary Aspects of Production Engineering, 4(1), pp. 245–254. https://doi.org/10.2478/mape-2021-0022.
Pan, W., Jing, F.F. and Liang, Y. (2023) ‘Working time variation and mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic in China,’ SSM-Population Health, 23, p. 101487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101487.
Petcu, M.A. et al. (2023) ‘Telework: A social and emotional perspective of the impact on employees’ well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic,’ International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), p. 1811. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031811.
Sun, L., Liu, T. and Wang, W. (2022) ‘Working from Home in Urban China during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assemblages of Work-Family Interference,’ Work, Employment and Society, 37(1), pp. 157–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170221080870.
write