Beyond personal responsibility: the protective role of work-life balance crafting in remote work

Abstract Sociological survey in Latvia (Kantar, 2024) found that 39% of individuals consider work-life balance (WLB) a personal responsibility. While WLB is often addressed through research of specific strategies’ impact, our study explored whether individual-level behaviours - referred to as WLB crafting (WLBC) - are associated with a greater sense of balance among remote workers. This study used data from a national survey (BALANCE4LV project) with a subsample of 491 remote workers aged 21 to 70 years (M = 42.54, SD = 9.85, 75.6% female, 91.8% with higher education). Data were collected online between August 13 and October 31, 2024, through social media and professional networks. Ethical approval was granted by RSU Research Ethics Committee. Analyses included descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic regression, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Among respondents, 50.7% reported unchanged WLB over the past year, 30.8% improved, and 18.5% worsened. Respondents engaging in WLBC such as leisure time planning, setting boundaries, abiding working hours, detachment from professional role, taking breaks, were 4.3 times more likely to report unchanged (OR = 4.286, p < .001) and 5.3 times more likely to report improved (OR = 5.278, p < .001) WLB compared to those who reported decline. Difference analysis showed no significant differences between group that reported improved and unchanged WLB across engagement in WLBC behaviours, yet both groups differ significantly from group that reported worsened WLB (p < .001). WLB crafting behaviours appear to have a protective rather than enhancing effect. These findings highlight possible limitations of individual strategies in achieving better WLB and support the need for multi-level interventions that align with shared responsibility between employees and employers. Key messages • Work-life balance crafting may buffer against WLB decline but may be insufficient to drive improvement. • Public health policy and organisational support might be essential in worker WLB.