Impact of Required Remote Work During COVID-19 on Elementary Education Workers: Remote Work Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance

Plan AOrganizations are more frequently allowing employees to engage in remote working, especially given the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic (Phillips, 2020). The pandemic resulted in a phase of required remote working for all nonessential employees, including elementary education instructors. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the variables impacting job satisfaction and work-life balance in traditional remote workers held true for elementary education instructors during the required remote work phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was predicted that work autonomy and schedule flexibility would be positively related to both job satisfaction and work-life balance. In contrast, it was predicted that social isolation and frustrations with communication or technology would be negatively related to job satisfaction and worklife balance. 70 elementary education teachers who were teaching during the required remote working phase of the pandemic participated in the study. Overall, autonomy was positively related to job satisfaction but not work-life balance. Schedule flexibility was positively related to work-life balance but not job satisfaction. Additionally, there was no negative relationship between social isolation and job satisfaction or work-life balance. Lastly, frustrations with communication and technology were negatively related to job satisfaction and work-life balance. In conclusion, some of the factors that were found to previously contribute to job satisfaction and work-life balance in traditional remote workers were supported for elementary instructors while teaching from home during the pandemic