Salvatore Zappalà

Background. The expansion of work from home has changed the material, social, and self-regulatory conditions under which employees organize their work activities. Although remote work can support flexibility and concentration, its implications for productivity depend on the balance between work-related demands and resources.

Objective. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, this study examined whether environmental distractions, job autonomy, and self-leadership are related to perceived job productivity among Italian and Russian remote workers, and whether remote work stress and remote work engagement mediate these relationships.

Design. Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to employees working from home in Italy and Russia. A total of 493 respondents provided complete data for all the variables included in the research model and were retained for the analyses. Confirmatory factor analyses, measurement invariance, structural equation modeling, and multigroup analyses were conducted.

Results. Environmental distractions were associated with higher remote work stress and lower perceived job productivity. Job autonomy and self-leadership were positively related to remote work engagement, which in turn predicted higher productivity. Unexpectedly, both resources showed negative direct associations with productivity, although the effect of self-leadership was weak. Multigroup analyses indicated that the overall pattern of relationships was broadly consistent across the Italian and Russian samples.

Conclusion. The findings support the motivational pathway of the JD-R model in remote work settings, while also suggesting that autonomy and self-leadership may become ambivalent under high self-organization demands. They also indicate that key JD-R mechanisms operate similarly across the Italian and Russian samples, although some cross-national differences remain.

Background. The spread of COVID-19 has forced organizations to quickly offer remote work arrangements to employees.

Objective. The study focuses on remote work during the first wave of the pandemic and describes how Russian employees experienced remote work. The research has three main objectives: (1) to investigate the influence of gender and age on employees’ perceptions of remote work; (2) to investigate the relationship between remote work and psychosocial variables, such as remote work stress, remote work engagement, and family–work conflict; (3) to examine whether and how much such psychosocial factors are related to remote work satisfaction and job performance. These objectives were the basis for developing six hypotheses.

Design. A cross-sectional study involved 313 Russian employees. Data were collected using an online survey distributed in April and May 2020. The hypotheses were tested using ANOVA, correlations, and multiple linear regression analyses.

Results. Women experienced more stress and more engagement when working remotely; older employees perceived remote work as a less positive experience; opinions about remote work and remote work engagement were positively related to remote work satisfaction; leader–member exchange (LMX) was a significant predictor of job performance.

Conclusion. During the lockdown, remote work was perceived as a positive experience. We discuss some practical implications for organizations and managers.