The Impact Psychological Detachment on The Association of Work-Family Demands and Emotional Exhaustion During Work-From-Home

The emergence of work-from-home (WFH) arrangements has significantly reshaped the environment of professional engagement, particularly in the post Covid-19 pandemic period. As employees increasingly manage the complexities of remote working, the distinctions between responsibilities in both work and family have become increasingly indefinite. This new working norm has introduced unique challenges in balancing work-family demands, leading to greater emotional exhaustion. Employing the Demand-Induces Strain Compensation-Recovery (DISC) Model, data from 335 teachers were analysed to examine how the psychological detachment impact the association of work and family demands with emotional exhaustion during WFH. Findings affirm a direct relationship with respect to emotional exhaustion and the emotional demands arising from work and family conflicts (WFC and FWC). Additionally, the findings suggest that psychological detachment alleviates the detrimental impacts of emotional demands and FWC in relation to exhaustion levels. However, a similar impact was not observed in the association linking work-to-family conflict (WFC) to emotional exhaustion. This study underscores the importance of cultivating psychological detachment as a critical organisational approach to reduce emotional exhaustion in the context of WFH, thereby enhancing employee well-being and productivity.