The role of work-family conflict and work alienation on the effect of remote working on job performance

Today's developing technology not only shapes the social lifestyle, but also transforms economic life and ways of doing business. Employers and human resources professionals are also keeping up with this change and implementing post-Fordist policies day by day. In this context, flexible working styles and especially remote working, taking advantage of the infrastructure provided by technology, are emerging as a way of working that is increasingly being implemented in business life. While remote working methods have significant benefits for employees, employers and society, they can also have some disadvantages due to their nature or if they are not designed correctly. The research aimed to determine the mediating effect of work alienation and work-family conflict on the effect of remote working on job performance. In this context, an online survey consisting of the scales "Remote Working Attitude", "Work Alienation", "Work-Family Conflict" and "Work Performance" and a "Personal Information Form" was prepared. Convenience sampling method was preferred in determining the study group. The survey was applied only to individuals working remotely or hybridly, and a total of 394 valid survey data were obtained. The data obtained was analyzed with the help of SPSS, AMOS and PROCESS Macro package programs. The research hypotheses created in line with the theoretical background were tested with the mediation effect model using Hayes' PROCESS Macro Model 4. Findings from the analysis showed that work alienation and work-family conflict have a mediating role in the effect of remote working on job performance. In addition, in parallel with the established hypotheses, it has been determined that the remote working attitude negatively affects work alienation and work-family conflict. On the other hand, it was observed that work alienation negatively affected work performance, while work-family conflict positively affected work performance. It was concluded that the direct and total effect between remote working attitude and work performance was positive and significant. The results, which are generally parallel to the literature, are discussed within the framework of theoretically based social exchange and job characteristics approaches, drawing attention to the design of remote working applications. Finally, the contributions of the research to practice and literature are mentioned.