2020 was a year of change!
COVID-19 rendered a large population of the workforce unable to commute to their offices to mitigate the spread of the virus.
This further resulted in employers and employees seeking alternative work arrangements, especially in fast-paced metropolitan areas.
Restrictions on social life and travel left all of us isolated and despondent; employees working remotely have new pressures to deal with. For frontline workers, the fear of catching COVID-19 exacerbates anxiety.
Employers and organizations are struggling to review their plans, policies, and regulations to create new guidelines to ensure that the shift to work from home is smooth.
On the other hand, employees are struggling to juggle work, virtual schooling, child care, and dealing with financial constraints due to salary reductions.
One of the major struggles employees face is establishing routines and boundaries to compartmentalize their professional and personal lives.
The lack of a proper routine and the blurred lines between work and home negatively impacts mental health and has direct ramifications on their happiness, mental state, sleep, and relationships with family members.
Research has shown that adverse psychological effects of working remotely are isolation and loneliness, stress, anxiety, and depression, along with pressure.
Employers/managers and employees are finding it difficult to recognize the primary indicators of stress, burnout, and depression because they push themselves to their emotional and physical zenith, battling between family and professional expectations.
Mental Health Risks of Remote Work
Employees are experiencing unanticipated mental health consequences from mandatory work from routine.
Though remote work was a common trend before COVID-19, the sudden shift to work from home as a result of physical distancing might cause deterioration of mental health.
Introducing flexible work schedules through accelerated digitalization; is likely to put a greater psychological strain on employees. Digitalization has increased emotional exhaustion amongst employees.
Technology is the major challenge; rather, the change in employee management and the ergonomic design of third spaces are the biggest challenges.
Even unmanaged minor stressors can contribute to more significant stressors with long-term effects detrimental to them.
Work from home is worsening mental health.
The rapid shift to remote work has triggered workplace anxiety and depression amongst employees and employers.
The sudden lack of physical connection is leaving employees feeling that they have no one to confide in. Thus, it is becoming challenging for the employees to form a strong support network which is crucial for good mental health.
Adapting to work remotely is also a major contributor to increased workload. Employees are working for longer hours, and those who don’t have a distinct office space are facing to strike a balance between their personal and professional life.
The emergence of back-to-back virtual meetings triggers fatigue and leaves participants disconnected. It can cause a sudden spike in psychological and emotional workload.
All these factors amount to heightened anxiety and stress levels, which is bad for both long-term employee wellbeing and productivity.
Psychological Effects of Working from Home
Following are the psychological effects of working from home are -
- Isolation
Since human beings are social beings, daily interactions reinforce employee wellbeing and belonging in their workplace.
Research shows that isolation and loneliness can be twice as harmful to mental and physical health.
Loneliness, when chronic, is the riskiest for many people who live alone.
Therefore, maintaining relationships with colleagues and managers is critical to work performance and emotional and mental wellness.
- Burnout
Research pointed out that 82% of remote employees are on the verge of feeling burned out, with 52% of them reported working longer hours than those in the house, and 40% of them think that they need to contribute more than in-office employees.
Employees, who are new to the remote work regime, feel compelled to work longer hours and prove that they can be equally productive at home.
During the pandemic, lines between work and home blur even for those who have been working from home pre-COVID-19.
- Adapting to the new normal
Remote work was a rising trend for several years. The pandemic revealed the advantages and challenges of working remotely for several companies that had not even considered it even an option.
The pandemic demonstrated the unexpected ability of several organizations to adapt quickly to the mental and physical needs of their workforce.
Creating Better Mental Health for Remote Employees
To overcome the psychological effects of working from home, companies should make few practical changes to the hybrid workplace.
Managers and employers must consider the following to create better mental health for the virtual office -
- Support employees in planning and organizing their tasks.
- Acknowledging that changes to behavior and habits are challenging.
- Support the ergonomic design of workspaces.
- Leadership inspires trust; there should be no fear among employees.
- Create clear and specific rules for dealing with work and employees.
- Helping employees maintain boundaries between their professional and personal lives.
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