ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2022
The Effect of Employee-Oriented Flexible Work on Mental Health: A Systematic Review.
Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- The experienced route to cognitive health: Cognitive recovery in persons with prior stress-related Exhaustion disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Balancing work and life: how employee welfare programs influence mental health with a gendered lens.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Effects on 24-h physical behaviors and heart rate variability during sleep of a co-created workplace intervention to promote recovery in office workers with flexible work.Journal of activity, sedentary and sleep behaviors · 2026Article
- Burnout and workload among clinical educators in physiotherapy teaching clinics: an observational study.BMC medical education · 2026Observational
- Examining aspects of job satisfaction associated with burnout and factors related to turnover intention in genetic counselors.Journal of genetic counseling · 2026Article
- Occupational psychosocial risks as predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress among hospital employees.PloS one · 2026Article
- Latent class patterns of work-life balance changes among Korean SME workers during COVID-19 based on organizational support and psychosocial health.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Similar work demands, similar problem solving, but more self-regulation problems in employees with mental disorders as compared to others.Die Rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Effect of work schedule flexibility as a moderator in the relationship between job stress and wellbeing in pharmacy practice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- What can be learned from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work participation among people with work disabilities? A qualitative practice & policy perspective approach.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Gender disparities in job flexibility, job security, psychological distress, work absenteeism, and work presenteeism among U.S. adults.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Correlates and Barriers of Exercise, Stress, and Wellness in Medical Students.Medical science educator · 2024Article
- Job Flexibility, Job Security, and Mental Health Among US Working Adults.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- A mentally healthy framework to guide employers and policy makers.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- What structural and cultural organizational characteristics affect flexible work environments? Evidence from the 2017 and 2022 Kessler Foundation National Employment & Disability Survey: Supervisor Perspectives.Journal of vocational rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Article
- Burnout among public health workers during the COVID-19 response: Results from a follow-up survey.PLOS mental health · 2024Article
- Stress and burnout amongst mental health professionals in Singapore during Covid-19 endemicity.PloS one · 2024Article
- The mediating effect of psychological flexibility on fatigue and depressive symptoms among nursing staff.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2023Article
- Understanding and Fostering Mental Health and Well-Being among University Faculty: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The effect of flexible work on mental health is not well known. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effects of employee-oriented flexible work on mental health problems and associated disability. Literature searches were conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, ProQuest and EconPapers databases from their inception through October-November 2020. Sixteen studies on the associations of worktime control, working from home, or flexible working arrangements with mental health related outcomes were included in the review: one cluster randomized controlled trial, two non-randomized controlled trials, two cross-over studies, and 11 prospective cohort studies. Three reviewers independently assessed the met-hodological quality of the included studies and extracted the data. The included studies differed in design, intervention/exposure, and outcome, so meta-analysis was not carried out and qualitative results were reported. A few prospective cohort studies found that low employees' control over worktime increases the risk of depressive symptoms, psychological distress, burnout, and accumulated fatigue. One cross-over and a few cohort studies found small beneficial effects of working partly from home on depressive symptoms, stress, and emotional exhaustion. A small number of controlled trials, cross-over or cohort studies found that flexible working arrangements increase employees' control over working hours, but have only modest beneficial effects on psychological distress, burnout, and emotional exhaustion. This systematic review suggests that employee-oriented flexible work may have small beneficial effects on mental health. However, randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies are needed to identify the health effects of flexible work.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.