A study involving 87 remote workers highlights how focused work and morning mindfulness support engagement and well-being when working from home.
From household chores to messages on a family WhatsApp group, working from home brings distractions that can pull attention away from the task at hand. Research involving Trinity Business School examines how workers manage these interruptions, and what helps on days when concentration is harder to sustain.
Published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, the study followed 87 remote workers across 607 working days during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research team included Trinity Business School’s Professor Wladislaw Rivkin and Shane Hayden-Smyth, alongside colleagues from universities in Ireland, the UK, Germany and Australia.
The researchers examined daily experiences of flow, the state of being completely absorbed in an activity, often described as being ‘in the zone’. On days when workers experienced greater flow, they reported less switching from work to household or personal activities. This was associated with higher work engagement, less need for recovery and better well-being.
However, flow is not something workers can reliably summon every day. The study found that higher mindfulness in the morning helped reduce workers’ reliance on flow to manage interruptions, supporting them on days when becoming fully absorbed in work proved more difficult.
Professor Wladislaw Rivkin, Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Trinity Business School, said:
“Working from home gives people valuable flexibility, but repeatedly switching between work and household tasks can take its toll. Our findings suggest that being deliberate about when we respond to distractions matters. Mindfulness offer another way to manage our attention on days when getting into the zone is more difficult.”
The findings point to practical steps for both workers and employers. Protecting time for focused work, agreeing periods without digital interruptions and setting clear, achievable goals can help create conditions that support flow.
Workers can also make deliberate decisions about when to attend to household tasks. Unloading the dishwasher during a planned break, for example, allows flexibility without immediately abandoning a work task when the cycle finishes.
The researchers suggest that brief mindfulness practices may offer additional support by helping workers notice distractions and choose how to respond. Employers can contribute through mindfulness training and working arrangements that give people space to concentrate.
The paper, Are You in the Zone When Working From Home? How Remote Workers’ Daily Flow Experiences Promote Daily Functioning and Well-Being Through Reduced Work–Home Interruption Behaviors, is available in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.