Teleworking’s impact on domestic life: a survey in Brazil

Abstract

The rapid adoption of telework has reshaped the intersection of professional and domestic responsibilities, yet its impact on family dynamics remains underexplored. Objective: This study examines the impact of teleworking on domestic life by analysing survey responses from Brazilian teleworkers. Methods: The data collection instrument included items on demographic characteristics, teleworking routines, and work-family conflict. We examined items of perceived work-family conflict and family-to-work interference across demographic subgroups defined by sex, age, and caregiving responsibilities. Data were cleaned and coded in Python using the Pandas and Seaborn libraries. Descriptive statistics were computed, and subgroup differences were analysed using Chi-Squared tests of independence to assess the relationship between telework-related family conflict and participant characteristics. A significance threshold of p < 0.05 was adopted. Results: The sample consisted of 184 teleworkers in Brazil. Most respondents were aged 30 to 50 years (66%), followed by those aged 50+ (19%) and those aged under 30 (15%). The majority identified as female (≈60%), and 45% reported having dependents living with them. Approximately 35% of participants agreed that their work made it difficult to fulfil family responsibilities, and 30% agreed that fulfilling work duties required changes in their family routines. Stratified analyses revealed that participants aged 30 to 50 were significantly more likely to report adjusting family activities to meet work demands (χ² = 21.48, p = 0.0015). Conclusion: The results emphasize the need for equitable teleworking policies that address diverse household contexts.

Keywords: Telework, Occupational Health, Sex, Remote Work

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007934