Such flexible working conditions can bring advantages as well as disadvantages and can influence the work-life balance and mental health of employees. A Swiss insurance company, which already offers flex work conditions, has introduced a new working model called Smart Working at the beginning of 2021 and will focus on mental health more closely. Based on these fundamentals, the focus of this thesis was placed on how these flexible working conditions influences the employees and their work-life balance and mental health.

A survey was sent out within the company to a selected target group in order to collect primary data. The survey was based on two of Reilly's flexibility dimensions, namely temporal and locational. The survey collected general influences of flex work on employees, as well as positive and negative influences on their work-life balance and mental health. With the help of the results, it was possible to present the impacts flex work can have on the employees and to analyse whether improvements are needed or not.

In summary, it has been shown that flexible working conditions have a positive influence on employees and that these conditions are also appreciated by them. Regarding the work-life balance, it was shown that flexibility in terms of time and place can both have a positive influence. In relation to mental health, the results were not entirely consistent, as the employees stated positive as well as many negative aspects or saw no effect at all. However, mental health is a very complex field that needs to be analysed in more detail than it was the case for this thesis. This study also showed that personal responsibility, good organisational skills, communication, and the support of the direct line manager are important factors that can control the influence of flex work. Overall, the new working model has created a good basis for employees to improve their work-life balance and to positively influence their mental health to a certain extent.