Digital Work and Aging: An Empirical Study on Age-Dependent Effects of Work-from-Home, Gender, and Work-Life Balance on Self-Reported Mental Well-Being

Leveraging technologies in organizations promotes the adoption of new ways of working. Distributed work models like Work-From-Home (WFH) are instances of this phenomenon. This study empirically investigates the age-dependent effects of WFH frequency, gender, and work-life balance on workers’ self-reported mental well-being. Using age-stratified regression analyses on EWCTS (European Working Conditions Telephone Survey) 2021 data from 46,426 European workers in ICT-teleworkable roles, we found that high-frequency WFH correlates with lower self-reported mental well-being, an effect that was strongest in younger/mid-career cohorts but attenuated in older workers. Females consistently reported lower well-being. Crucially, good work-life balance strongly predicted higher well-being across all ages. These findings highlight age-specific vulnerabilities and resiliencies, offering evidence for developing age-inclusive, equitable digital work policies that support well-being across the life course in the evolving future of work.