The effect of work-home interference at working from home on mental health

Objective: While working from home has many positive effects on employers and employees, it also raises some questions marks: How does working from home influence the social support of employees? Do the boundaries of work and home become blurred? How is work-home interference affected? The purpose of this study is to investigate to the effect of working from home on work-home conflict and the influence of this on mental health. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Data was collected with Google Forms between October 2021 and February 2022. Public sector employees, blue-collar workers, and those who work at their workplace for less than six months were not included in the study. Results: The work-home conflict was significantly and positively associated with depression (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.06) and anxiety symptoms (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.05). Although women felt the work-home conflict significantly more than men (Female: 65, Men: 60, p <0.05), no relationship was found between work-home conflict and mental health in women. Despite anxious symptoms were more common in those who work from home, work-home conflict did not mediate the effects of working from home on anxious symptoms. Working in the office for women (OR: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01-0.60) and mixed type working for men (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03-0.74) were protective against anxious symptoms. Women were more exposed to psychosocial risks, while psychosocial risks have influenced over men's mental health more. Conclusion: In conclusion, work-home conflict significantly affects mental health. In spite of that, working from home does not mediate this effect. Gender roles can affect adversely on both genders. Thus policies that promote gender equality are important for mental health.