The Parallel Multiple Mediating Effects of Work-Family Conflict and Loneliness in the Relationship between Temperaments, Depression, and Anxiety while Working from Home

Abstract

Background: As the number of people working from home has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand workers’ stress and psychological state while working from home. Work-family conflict and loneliness may be related to working from home, and they could be experienced differently depending on individual traits. Therefore, this study examined the parallel multiple mediating effects of work-family conflict and loneliness in the relationship between personal temperaments and negative emotions such as depression and anxiety.Methods: Data were collected online from people currently working from home for at least one month, more than once per week. They answered K-DASS-21, UCLA loneliness scale, Work-Family Conflict, and FCB-TI. Only four temperaments were used in the statistic step: Briskness and Sense sensitivity as protective factors and Perseveration and Emotional reactivity as vulnerable factors. The multiple mediating effects were analyzed independently by using the PROCESS macro.Results: Firstly, Briskness and Sense sensitivity were found to negatively affect depression and anxiety while working from home by significantly mediating work-family conflict and loneliness. Thus, these temperaments would be protective factors while working from home. Secondly, Perseveration and Emotional reactivity positively influenced both negative emotions by mediating two mediation variables, which means that both temperaments are vulnerable factors.Conclusions: The results suggest that personality traits can impact how people experience stress and negative emotions in working situations, leading to negative psychological states. Consequently, personal temperaments would be important to understand relationships between environments and internal experiences.