Remote work refers to any work carried out outside the employer’s premises regardless of the technology used (1). Due to the pandemic, remote work has become an increasingly prevalent and necessary practice (2). As a result, organizations were faced with an emergency state, and they had to provide employees with technological resources to do their work remotely (3). This introduction has led to a radical and abrupt change in the work arrangement, with workers being required to adapt to a new way of working from home, in most cases without any prior preparation or adaptation phase (2). The effects of this change (as well as their boundary conditions) still need to be clearly understood, as it may lead to both positive and negative outcomes (4). Specifically, several studies emphasized the positive aspects of remote work, highlighting the increased flexibility, reduced commuting time and costs, and improved work-life balance (3, 5–7). These can increase satisfaction with one’s work, especially after an initial period in which remote working experience could have been traumatic (8). However, some studies suggest that remote work can be detrimental to well-being; for example, the lack of social contact could increase the perception of loneliness in remote workers (9).

The present study focused on a specific group of employees from an Italian Public Administration, which increased the number of remote working days per week over the past 3 years. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources model (10), the present research aims to assess the influence of remote work and the use of technology on workers’ private lives and work engagement over time.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, technological progress and innovation has profoundly changed how we communicate and live. Technologies such as tablets and mobile devices are not just helping people to do things better and faster, they are enabling profound changes in how work is done in organizations. Indeed, the digital transformation and the transition to Industry 4.0 have brought about significant challenges and changes for organizations and workers, resulting in the reorganization of job design (11).

This trend rapidly increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when some governments introduced an obligation for companies to enable their workers to work remotely, mostly from home (12). The outbreak of the pandemic had significant implications for workers worldwide: governmental lockdowns and work-from-home arrangements forced many employees to adjust their work routines. Organizations were forced to implement remote work arrangements to ensure business continuity. As a result, remote work has become a critical work arrangement for companies to cope with the effects of the pandemic emergency (13). In Europe, the proportion of remote workers increased from 11% before to 48% during the pandemic (14). Italy was the European nation with the lowest percentage of remote workers in 2020, but the number of remote workers increased by 69% due to the pandemic outbreak (14, 15).

Remote work has been an option for several decades, but it has gained more significance recently, owing to the changes in technology and the new normality resulting from the pandemic. Many jobs across various sectors have been created or evolved for remote work, such as marketing, sales, advisory services, customer service, education, digital services, computing, or social networks. In this vein, remote work might represent a development opportunity for everyone’s job, particularly for those facing mobility difficulties due to distance, resources, age, or disability (16). More and more people are working from home, regardless of their equipment and environment, posing new challenges to organizational managements, which are required to implement effective practices and policies to ensure remote workers have a healthy and fulfilling work environment. One example of such practices is improving tools for sharing information and documents. In situations where changes are introduced within the organization, clear communication and good sharing from management have been found to boost job satisfaction. On the other hand, poor management of change can have a negative impact on workers’ well-being (17).

Although some studies highlighted the risks associated with remote work, such as the lack of social interaction, irregular work hours affecting the quality of sleep, and the interruption of work obligations due to home activities (18, 19), other studies suggested that employees can benefit from remote work by providing them with increased job autonomy and by reducing their commuting frequency (20, 21). Furthermore, Peters et al. (22) found that teleworking can increase work engagement by increasing job autonomy, reducing stress, and enhancing job satisfaction. Indeed, remote workers have typically greater control over their time, space, and pace of work, providing greater flexibility and the ability to adapt work to their needs. This can lead to a better balance between work and personal life (23, 24) and help workers balance their work and personal responsibilities, improving their quality of life, and reducing stress levels (25). Thus, organizations should properly introduce remote work as a valuable resource for workers, allowing them to complete their tasks with greater freedom and flexibility. Moreover, remote work arrangements limit job interruptions, allow for closer collaboration with clients and colleagues in a virtual environment, and provides the option to work from informal locations, which can increase confidence and productivity (26), allowing workers to adapt their work activities to their needs and preferences (27). This can result in more efficient and effective work, leading to better performance (28).

According to the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) (29), job resources are defined as “those physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that are either/or: functional in achieving work goals; reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs; stimulate personal growth, learning, and development” [(30), p. 312]. Job resources can be found at different levels, such as organizational, interpersonal, social relationships, and job design. For instance, autonomy is an example of an organizational-level resource (10).

Job autonomy is considered one of the most important job resources (31). It refers to the extent of control and freedom a worker possesses to organize and perform his/her work activities (32), increasing his/her sense of responsibility and control (33). In this sense, Bošković (34) found that autonomy positively impacts employee engagement in the digital environment. Workers’ ability to decide on the manner, place, and time of performing tasks increases their perception of the meaningfulness of their work. Moreover, autonomy encourages creativity and makes it easier to adapt to change (35). According to motivational process of JD-R model (30), job resources (i.e., job autonomy and technological tools) can fulfil fundamental psychological needs, such as the desire to belong and the desire to engage in meaningful activities in an independent manner (36).

Thus, we hypothesise that:

According to recent refinements of Bakker and colleagues’ JD-R model (2023), work engagement can be considered both an outcome and a predictor of proactive behavior. Indeed, the JD-R model proposes that workers may experience a positive cycle in which they become more engaged and motivated to optimize their work. This is achieved through vigor, dedication, and absorption towards one’s work, which are all aspects of work engagement. As they become more engaged, employees may proactively seek to improve their jobs by increasing resources and optimizing demands. If this positive gain cycle continues, it may even result in a gain spiral, where the relationships between work engagement, proactive behavior and resources become more and more positive, leading to even higher levels of these variables [see also (37)]. According to Salanova et al. (38), “gain spirals” is a term used to describe the phenomenon where employees who have acquired resources tend to experience further gains more easily. This group finds it easier to offset any loss of resources and orchestrate additional gains. As a result, they tend to experience higher levels of resource gains overall (37). Therefore, workers who are engaged in their work tend to have an innate motivation to stay engaged and are proactive in optimizing their job roles. This can involve increased resources and more balanced demands aimed at improving their work experience. Over time, employees shape their job responsibilities, which generates job and personal resources to manage job demands and cultivate future work engagement (10).

Thus, we hypothesise that:

Introducing advanced technology has made remote work smarter, enabling greater control over tasks and time management, leading to improved psychological well-being (39). This increased flexibility would allow employees to dedicate more time to other activities, such as engaging in physical activities and dedicating time to their relatives and leisure (40). Remote work has the added benefit of saving time that would otherwise be spent commuting to and from the office. This extra time can be used to pursue other activities and priorities, leading to a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle for remote workers (41). Developing effective strategies for remote work includes establishing a structured home environment, setting clear boundaries between work and personal life, and maintaining regular communication with colleagues using technological tools [e.g., virtual platforms; see (42)]. By practicing this approach, workers can take a break from their regular work environment to better manage their work-life balance, resulting in a healthier lifestyle. This, in turn, can lead to improved physical and mental well-being (25).

Thus, we hypothesise that:

As previously illustrated, having the autonomy to make decisions and control over his/her own work is a significant determinant of employee engagement (34), and being engaged at work is essential to taking the initiative and persisting through complex tasks (10). Engaged workers are also more open to new experiences (43). As a result, they tend to explore their environment and are more prone to accept changes positively. Innovative behavior is another positive consequence of experiencing positive affect and work engagement (44). These findings suggest that work engagement can broaden workers’ horizons, making them more likely to explore alternative and innovative paths.

Research showed that engagement has several positive implications not only in work-related aspects but also in personal life aspects. Rodríguez-Muñoz et al. (45) found that workers were happier in their private lives (e.g., with their partners) when they experienced higher work engagement. Moreover, work engagement positively relates to work-to-family facilitation and personal happiness (46). Finally, from the positive psychology perspective, work engagement can contribute to individuals’ needs to lead a life fulfilled in all its aspects (47). Therefore, the workers who become highly engaged tend to feel more satisfied.

Thus, we hypothesise that:

Due to the pandemic, remote work has become increasingly prevalent, becoming a necessary modality of work (2), and organizations were forced to provide technological resources for remote work due to the emergency (3). This sudden change in work arrangements has led to workers having to adapt to a new way of working from home, often without or with low prior preparation (2). Implementing remote work significantly impacts workers’ well-being and motivation (61). This study offers a comprehensive exploration of how technology and job autonomy influence work engagement and private life improvements in the context of remote work. A key strength lies in its longitudinal design, capturing the evolution of these dynamics over three distinct phases of remote work implementation.

Invariance analyses confirmed the strict invariance, along with significant increases in TR’s latent means between T0 and T1, and a decrease in ENG latent means between T1 and T2. The perception of technology as a resource may have increased between T0 and T1 because the introduction of technological tools that enabled workers to perceive technology as positive and useful to the performance of their work. In addition, the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic may have caused a slight decrease in remote worker engagement between T1 and T2 due to stay at home laws.

The data support almost all of our hypotheses (Table 6). According to our first hypothesis, job autonomy increased work engagement over time. In line with previous studies, our result supported that autonomy positively impacts employee engagement (34). Workers’ ability to decide on the manner, place, and time of performing tasks increases engagement with their work. Moreover, autonomy encourages creativity and makes it easier to adapt to change (35) by providing employees with more responsibility and accountability. When people are free to make decisions and manage their tasks, they tend to feel more committed to the outcomes. This sense of ownership often leads to greater dedication to their work, resulting in higher levels of engagement.

Similarly, results confirmed our second hypothesis: technology as a resource positively influenced work engagement over time. When organizations implement effective practices and policies, such as providing adequate technological tools, remote workers can have a healthy and fulfilling work environment. For example, improving tools for sharing information and documents can help workers perform better and maintain contact with their colleagues (e.g., by using videoconference platforms). Nonetheless, when changes are introduced within the organization, clear communication and good sharing from management have been found to boost individual outcomes (17).

The results did not support our third hypothesis: work engagement was not significantly associated with job autonomy over time, possibly because the link between work engagement and job autonomy may depend on contextual or structural factors not captured in this study, such as team processes or managerial practices. Another explanation could reside in both the ways and the context in which workers have come to deal with remote work. Indeed, at T1, the workers were in remote work conditions 1 day per week. This innovative and different way of working may have prevented the workers from fully adapting to and experiencing the degree of autonomy provided by remote work. Thus, engagement may not have been able to influence autonomy in workers. On the other hand, at T2, workers were in full-time remote work (5 days per week) because of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions imposed by the government forced workers to stay at home, with very few opportunities to go out and perform activities outside their homes. This may have undermined workers’ sense of autonomy, so their work engagement may not have been able to stimulate feelings of autonomy fully.

As expected, work engagement positively influenced the perception of technology as a resource over time (H4). According to the JD-R model (10), more engaged workers may experience a positive cycle in which they become more engaged and motivated and perceive resources more positively. This can result in a gain spiral, in which the relationships between work engagement, proactive behavior and resources become more and more positive, leading to even higher levels of these variables [see also (37, 38)]. Thus, highly engaged workers had a more positive perception of the technology provided by their organization as a resource.

Our fifth hypothesis was supported by the data: the perception of technology as a resource significantly predicted the perception of Improvement of private life due to remote work overtime. Workers can use technology as a resource to improve their personal and work lives, including maintaining relationships with colleagues and loved ones (42). H6 was not supported by our results: job autonomy did not significantly predict an improvement in private life due to remote work over time, which may suggest that job autonomy alone is not sufficient to produce improvements in private life. Other elements such as individual coping strategies or external demands may play a more significant role. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (T2) and adopting a new work model for just 1 day per week (T1) may have made it harder for participants to perceive any improvements in their lives resulting from working remotely. As a result, it is possible that autonomy had a smaller impact on their perception of remote work’s benefits.

The data supported our seventh hypothesis. Results showed that job autonomy prospectively influenced the perception of technology as a resource through the mediating effect of work engagement. Research shows that allowing workers to make decisions and control their work is vital for their engagement (34). Engaged workers tend to be more receptive to new experiences (43), which could make them more likely to view the technology provided by the organization as a valuable resource. Finally, H8 was supported by the data. Work engagement prospectively influenced the Improvement in private life due to remote work through the mediating effect of the perception of the technology provided by the organization as a resource. As per the JD-R (10) model, resources play a crucial role in promoting the well-being of employees. Therefore, when technology is framed as a resource, it can enhance the perception of well-being among workers. Likewise, more engaged employees are more open to novelty, perceiving the technologies provided by their organization as a resource. Hence, it is possible to assume that more engaged workers may experience a better quality of life due to technological resources.

Remote work has become increasingly popular due to the benefits of saving on physical workspace, access to a wider pool of global talent, and less time spent commuting (7). However, it must be properly introduced in order to prevent negative outcomes. Introducing technological tools in public administration for remote work can help overcome remote workers’ unique challenges. These tools can enhance communication and collaboration among remote workers, providing efficient channels for them to connect with colleagues, share information, and collaborate on projects (63). By offering real-time messaging platforms, video conferencing capabilities, and project management tools, new technological tools can improve communication and coordination between team members, even when they are physically distant. Implementing new technological tools in public administration for remote work has the potential to positively transform the way remote workers collaborate and execute tasks, leading to an enhancement in their private lives. It is essential for organizations to tailor their remote work programs to the specific needs of their workforce, taking into account factors such as job roles, communication needs, and team dynamics. Providing adequate support for remote workers, including flexible work practices and addressing potential challenges such as social isolation, is crucial for the success of remote work arrangements. Overall, by understanding and addressing these practical implications, organizations can create successful and sustainable remote work and job design strategies.