Working from home is associated with lower odds of inflation stress Among employed US adults in the Household Pulse Survey.

Abstract

Background: Recent shifts in hybrid working practices have coincided with rising prices, potentially inducing inflation-related stress among employees.

Objective: To investigate associations between remote work status and self-reported inflation-related stress among employed US adults in an overall sample and stratified by gender identity and race/ethnicity.

Methods: We pooled data across 15 survey cycles (September 2022-October 2023) from the US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. Remote work status was measured as 0, 1-2, 3-4, and 5 + days. Covariates included age, marital status, education, income, number of children, employment sector, region, and survey cycle.

Results: The weighted sample comprised 48,686,575 individuals (0 days = 24%, 1-2 days = 23%, 3-4 days = 15%, and 5 + days = 38%), with 93% who self-reported stress related to inflation. Among the overall sample, employed individuals working remotely for 5 + days (adjusted OR [aOR] 0.87, 95% CI 0.80, 0.95) had lower odds of self-reported inflation stress than workers with zero remote workdays. Similar associations were found among males (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.78, 0.98), females (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.76, 0.99), White individuals (aOR 0.84, 95% CI 0.77, 0.93), and individuals of other race/ethnicity (aOR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37, 0.90). We did not find any statistically significant remote work associations with self-reported inflation stress among Black, Hispanic, and Asian individuals.

Conclusions: Our findings have important implications for occupational health, elucidating a potential positive relationship between remote work and inflation stress. These findings can inform how organizations shape their hybrid-working policies to minimize financial stress on employees.