Disrupted balance: understanding work–family balance dynamics during enforced remote work transitions

During the extreme disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, abrupt shifts to mandatory working from home altered employees’ work–family balance. Yet not all employees suffered from this abrupt shift in the same manner. Guided by Conservation of Resources theory as a theoretical framework and a three-wave longitudinal study with data collected from the pandemic’s onset, we test whether work–family balance trajectories vary depending on pre-pandemic supervisory support and prior experience with working from home. Results showed that for employees without prior remote work experience, strong supervisory support prevented a decline in work-family balance over time. In contrast, for those with previous remote work experience, supervisory support did not mitigate the negative trajectory, in fact, this group experienced the greatest disruption to their work-family balance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.