Background:
The facets of home-based remote work are multifaceted and can become stressors that affect a person’s health. At the same time, self-efficacy is an important personal resource to deal with health-related stressors (Charalampous et al., 2019). The objective of this study is therefore to explore the relationship between self-efficacy (SE), work-related stress (WRS), health outcomes (health and anxiety), contributing factors (autonomy and experience) and work-family conflict (WFC) in a remote work setting.

Method:
A cross-sectional design with a probabilistic sample of n=5.163 recruited from January to February 2021 was chosen. Validated instruments with a total of 38 items were selected to assess SE, WRS, WFC, autonomy, experience, health, and anxiety (Staples et al., 1999). For evaluation we used a PLS-SEM approach (partial least square-based structured equation model).

Results:
Results show that SE significantly reduces WRS (β = −0.164; p < 0.001). Moreover, WFC increases WRS and anxiety, while SE reduces WFC and mediates health outcomes (anxiety: β = −0.065; p < 0.001; health: β = −0.048; p < 0.001). At the same time, autonomy (β = 0.260; p < 0.001) and experience (β = 0.215; p < 0.001) increase SE.

Conclusion:
Our results have high practical implications for employers and employees, underlining the importance of self-efficacy as a personal resource to buffer work-related stress and work-family conflict while promoting overall health at the same time. Charalampous, M.; Grant, C.A.; Tramontano, C.; Michailidis, E. (2019). Systematically reviewing remote e-workers’ well-being at work: A multidimensional approach. Eur. J. Work. Organ. Psychol. 28, 51–73. Staples, D.S.; Hulland, J.S.; Higgins, C.A. (1999). A Self-Efficacy Theory Explanation for the Management of Remote Workers in Virtual Organizations. Organ. Sci. 10, 758–776.