Remote work and effort-reward imbalance

Michele Belloni, Elena Meschi and Ambra Poggi ()
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Ambra Poggi: Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Turin, Torino

No 105, Working papers from Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino

Abstract: Remote work has expanded rapidly with digitalisation and the COVID-19 shock, yet evidence on its consequences for workers is mixed. This paper studies how working from home (WFH) affects the balance between job effort and rewards, using the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) framework, and whether effects differ by personality. We combine SHARE Wave 9 data (2021-2022) for Europeans aged 50-64 with WFH information from the SHARE Corona surveys (2020 and 2021). To address selection into telework, we estimate causal effects with a two-stage least squares strategy that instruments individual WFH status with an occupation-level index of technical teleworkability matched at the three-digit ISCO-08 level. Results show that WFH substantially reduces ERI, with the improvement driven mainly by a large decline in perceived effort and a smaller increase in perceived rewards. Benefits are heterogeneous: under-controlled individuals, characterised by lower emotional stability and more strained social interactions, experience larger reductions in ERI when working remotely, consistent with lower interpersonal demands. Highly conscientious workers also gain, plausibly because stronger self-regulation supports autonomous task management. The findings support more individualised telework policies that use personality information to tailor managerial support and prevent vulnerability, rather than to screen workers out of flexible arrangements.

Keywords: Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI); Working From Home; Teleworkability Index; Personality Traits; Instrumental Variables (2SLS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C36 D03 I31 J22 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2026-03
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