After-Hours Telecommuting and Work-Family Conflict: A Comparative Analysis

After-hours telecommuting (AHT) is a work arrangement where job-relevant work is done at home on a computer outside of regular office hours. This study examined how after-hours telecommuting affects an individual's ability to balance work and family demands (measured as role overload, spillover of interference from work to family and spillover of interference from family to work). It also examined the impact of gender and maternal career employment on these relationships. The analysis showed that men and women who performed after-hours telecommuting worked significantly more hours per week and a greater number of hours of overtime at home than did individuals without computers at home. After controlling for total work hours of both spouses, significant gender differences and differences due to performing after-hours telecommuting were found. These differences were associated with role overload and spillover of interference from work to family.