Association between teleworking frequency and work functioning impairment: a nationwide cross-sectional study of Japanese full-time employees

Objective: We examined the impact of teleworking frequency, including influencing factors and work functioning impairment. Methods: This online cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire among 27,036 full-time Japanese workers. We used the Work Functioning Impairment Scale to measure work functioning impairment and performed multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results: We observed higher odds for work functioning impairment among employees who teleworked 4 or more days a week compared with those almost never teleworked: odds ratio (OR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.3. After adjusting for influencing factors (teleworking preference, changes in working time, and commuting time), there was no significant association between teleworking frequency and work functioning impairment (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.82-1.05). Conclusions: Frequent telework may cause work functioning impairment; this can be explained by the impact of influencing factors.