Table 1.

Description of included studies.

Authors/Year	Title/Journal	Aim of Study	Participants	Type of Study/Methods	Instruments	Main Results
Area 1: Smart working and work engagement
Manuti, Giancaspro, Molino, Inguisci, Russo, Signore, Zito and Cortese, 2020 [38]. CP	“Everything Will Be Fine: A Study on the Relationship between Employees’ Perception of Sustainable HRM Practices and Positive Organizational Behavior during COVID19. Sustainability	To detect workers’ engagement in human resource management practices and their coping strategies towards organizational change.	549 Italian employees, among them 40.3% were employed in the public sector and 49.5% in the private sector. Of whom 62% were F and 37.7% M. 76.3% were married or cohabiting and 57.2% had no children. 71.6% had open-ended employment contracts. 50.3% were employees while 12.8% were managers and executives. Regarding professional sectors: 28.6% tertiary; 16.6% education; 14.1% professional services; 10.6% secondary; 7.1% healthcare; 6% primary; 16% other sectors. 63.9% were in smart working.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Self-report questionnaire consisting of 5 items from the HRMPPS [39]; 3 items from the Coping with organizational change scale [40]; 3 items from the organizational engagement scale [41]; 2 items from the Extra role behaviour scale [42].	Organizational changes perceived as positive increased engagement levels by improving coping strategies. Organizational commitment and positive behaviors outside the job role (extra-role) were positively correlated with the ability to involve human resources and coping strategies. Smart working showed a positive correlation with organizational commitment, extra-role behaviors, and human resources involvement, whose perception was positively correlated with organizational involvement and positively associated with organizational change. The adoption of strategies by workers to promote, disseminate, and support change depended on organizational communication and support in the change process.
Rana, Pant and Chopra, 2019 [43]. PCP	Work engagement and individual work performance: research findings and an agenda for employee relationships. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research	To detect the association between engagement dimensions (vigor, absorption, and dedication) and task- and context-related job performance and their relationships.	134 Indian workers (clerks and managers) in the ICT sector, of which 62.7% were M and 37.3% F, with a career seniority of M = 11 years.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Online self-report questionnaire consisting of 3 socio-anagraphic questions, the job performance scale [44], and the UWES-9 [45].	Engagement presented significant correlations with individual and organizational performance. Vigor, absorption, and dedication presented a significant relationship with task performance and contextual performance.
Timms, Cook, Brough, O’Driscoll, Kalliath, Siu, Sit, and Lo, 2015 [46]. PCP	Flexible work arrangements, work engagement, turnover intentions and psychological health. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources	Detect the correlation between smart working, engagement, psychological distress, and the role of organizational culture in supporting the implementation of smart working.	823 employees from 8 Australian organizations in banking, education, public service, and social services. Of these, 72% F with age M = 43, of which 57% with family (married and/or with children). 75% full-time contract and career seniority M = 11.	Quantitative Longitudinal	Self-report questionnaire administered in 2 stages (12-month interval) consisting of the Organizational Culture Scale [47], 3 items of the turnover intention measure [48], the Supervisor Support Scale [49], the flexible work organization sub-scale (FW) [50], the UWES-9 [45], and the anxiety/depression sub-scale [51].	A supportive organizational culture in the introduction of smart working increased levels of engagement by protecting against discomfort and turnover intentions. Being married and having children correlated with higher engagement levels. Being single and experiencing work overload (hours) was associated with turnover.
Area 2: Smart working and technostress
Molino, Inguisci, Signore, Manuti, Giancaspro, Russo, Zito and Cortese, 2020 [52]. CP	Well-being costs of technology use during COVID-19 remote working: An investigation using the Italian Translation of the Technostress Creators Scale. Sustainability	To test the psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of the Technostress Creators Scale (Study 1) and use it in relation to the emergence of COVID-19 (Study 2).	Study 1: 878 Italian workers, 57.7% F and 42% M, with age M = 39 years. 53.4% married/cohabiting and 55.5% without children. 56.7% permanent contract. 53.4% were in smart working. Study 2: 749 Italian workers, 58.5% F and 41.3% M, with age M = 38.6 years. 51% married/cohabiting and 57.7% without children. 52.5% had an open-ended contract. 62.6% were in smart working for M = 4.74 days during the first Italian lockdown.	Validation study, quantitative cross-sectional	Technostress creators scale Italian version [52], 3 items of the workload scale [53], 3 items of the work–family conflict scale [54], and the COPSOQ for behavioral stress assessment [55].	The technostress creators scale was validated for the Italian context. The results of Study 2 showed a positive and significant correlation between stress, work–family conflict, technostress, and workload. Smart working was related to the dimensions of technostress and behavioral stress. Psychosocial malaise related to the pandemic was present, accentuated by smart working.
Oh and Park, 2016 [56]. PCP	A study of the connected smart worker’s technostress. Procedia Computer Science	To investigate the effects of work–family conflict, technostress, and related mitigating factors, and the use of technology beyond working hours on job satisfaction.	345 Korean managers, 51% M and 49% F.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Online self-report questionnaire consisting of Technostress Scale, Technical Support, Promotion of Involvement, Job Satisfaction [57], Work Continuity after Daily Work [58], and Work–Life Conflict [59].	An indirect influence of technostress on job satisfaction, mediated by work–life conflict, emerged.
Spagnoli, Molino, Molinaro, Giancaspro, Manuti and Ghisleri, 2020 [60]. CP	Workaholism and technostress during the COVID-19 emergency: the crucial role of the leaders on remote working. Frontiers in Psychology	To explore the role of authoritarian leadership in relation to administrative employees of a university placed in partial and/or total smart working and to examine associations with workaholism and technostress.	339 Italian university administrators, 46.6% M and 53.4% F, with age M = 48 years. 34% held positions of responsibility and 83.5% had a career seniority of M = 10 years. 53% were partially in smart working and 47% completely.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Online self-report questionnaire composed of the 10-item Dutch Work Addiction Scale Italian version [61], 6 items of the Toxic Leadership Scale [62], and Technostress Creator Scale Italian version [52].	Workaholism was positively correlated with authoritarian leadership style and technostress. The interaction between workaholism and authoritarian leadership was significantly correlated with technostress. Smart working was not significantly correlated with technostress, nor were the interactions between workaholism and smart working and between authoritarian leadership and smart working, but the interaction between workaholism, authoritarian leadership, and smart working was significantly correlated with technostress, which affected women more, at high levels of workaholism and in the presence of a strong authoritarian leadership.
Area 3: Mediators of the relationship between smart working and well-being
Felstead and Henseke, 2017 [63]. PCP	Assessing the growth of remote working and its consequences for effort, well-being, and work–life balance. New Technology, Work and Employment	To investigate which types of work are progressively adopting smart working and the implications this has on fatigue, organizational commitment, well-being, and work–life balance of workers.	45.000 British workers over 16.	Quantitative analysis of growth trends in smart working and its implications on workers’ lives using national databases relating to periodic surveys of the UK population.	Labour Force Survey (1997–2015), and Skills and Employment Survey (1981–2012).	From 1997 to 2014, the adoption of smart working presented an increase of 5%, except for places suitable for labor (e.g., factories). Compared to traditional workers, smart workers had a better attitude toward their organization and 70% would not leave their organization for another work setting, reporting high levels of organizational commitment, job enjoyment, and high levels of job satisfaction. However, 44% feared losing their jobs, 39% experienced more fatigue from working beyond their scheduled hours, and most experienced negative effects of smart working on their work–life balance.
Grant, Wallace and Spurgeon, 2013 [64]. PCP	An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e-workers’ job effectiveness, well-being, and work–life balance. Employee Relations	Highlight issues related to the impact of remote working on work effectiveness, understood as the evaluation of performance results, work–life balance, and employee well-being. Identify relevant issues about remote working and the implications for managers and employees	3 managers, 4 employees, and 4 administrative staff from 5 public and private organizations in England, of whom 4 were M and 7 were F. Of these, 5 had children and 2 were careers of elderly/non-self-sufficient people.	Qualitative cross-sectional	Semi-structured interview (between 40 and 90 min) aimed at the three macro-areas of investigation and administered in person, by phone, and by e-mail, consisting of 7 sections: (1) biographical data sheet, (2) job role. (3) technology, (4) practices and (5) measurement of smart working, (6) life and work, and (7) further observations.	The thematic analysis identified 10 themes: (1) remote work practices (digital devices and work activities), (2) work–life balance, (3) social interactions, (4) role autonomy, (5) managing work–life boundaries, (6) decision making, (7) productivity, measurement, and performance, (8) differences, skills, and competencies, (9) adaptive behaviors, and (10) trust. With reference to well-being, support from colleagues and family members, communication, reconciliation of difficulties, and management of social networks emerged as crucial.
Grant, Wallace, Spurgeon, Tramontano and Charalampous, 2019 [65]. PCP	Construction and initial validation of the E-Work Life Scale to measure remote e-working. Employee Relations	Develop and validate the EWL measurement scale for smart working based on the study by Grant et al., 2013.	2 independent samples: (1) 250 workers from 11 UK public and private organizations, 63% were F and 37% M, with age range 24–54. 73% were professionals and managers with smart working experience =/> 2 years. (2) 219 English university employees, 66% F and 34% M, with age range 25–54. 77% had full-time contracts, 14% smart working experience > 10 years.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Online self-report questionnaire, consisting of biographical section, ad hoc items on job role and ICT use, open-ended questions on work–life balance, EWL Scale [66], 3 subscales (GH, VT, MH) from Health Survey SF-36v2 [50].	The validated scale was aimed at organizations intent on promoting smart strategies by supporting employee well-being, identifying barriers and facilitators, and assessing the impact of technology on employee well-being. Four main areas emerged: work effectiveness, relationship with organizations, e-well-being, and work–life balance measured through productive effectiveness, organizational trust, flexibility, and work–life interference through 28 items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Prasad, Mruthyanjaya Rao and Vaidya, 2020 [67]. CP	Effect of occupational stress and remote working on psychological well-being of employees: an empirical analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic concerning the information technology industry. Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies	To evaluate the effect of work-related stress on the psychological well-being of ICT workers during smart working imposed by COVID-19 and to analyze gender and age differences.	400 Indian workers, 60% M and 40% F. Among them, 150 had age range 20–30, 110 age range 31–40, 75 age range 41–50, and 65 age range 51–60.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Self-report questionnaire consisting of registry section, 37 items related to work-related stress [68], and Psychological well-being scale short version [69].	Work-related stress significantly affected psychological well-being during COVID-19. It was influenced by the presence of colleagues, role ambiguity, organizational climate, and job satisfaction. Differences in gender and age group were insignificant. Smart working had challenging aspects, such as social isolation, family interference, absence of colleagues, and lack of organizational support. Advantages included flexible working hours and the use of new technologies.
Zeike, Bradbury, Lindert and Pfaff, 2019 [19]. PCP	Digital leadership skills and associations with psychological well-being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health	To develop and test a measurement tool on managers’ perceived digital leadership skills and explore whether these skills were associated with psychological well-being.	368 top managers of a German ICT organization engaged in corporate reorganization, 77% were M, 23% F. 47% range age 41–50 years.	Quantitative cross-sectional	Online self-report questionnaire consisting of WHO-5 Well-Being Index [70], Digital leadership skills scale [71] in 6 items on a 5-point Likert accord scale, and managerial experience indicator in years [72].	The scale was tested and a significant correlation was found between psychological well-being and perceptions of digital leadership ability in managers. 78.5% experienced high levels of well-being.

Legend: F = female; M = male; M = average; PCP = pre-COVID-19 pandemic; CP = COVID-19 pandemic.