New Study: WFH Linked To Higher Levels Of Anxiety & Depression
With all the turmoil and changes that employees have had to face in the past three years it's no surprise with this new information coming out about anxiety and working from home. In this newsletter we are looking into the reasons why and how we can better serve our employees.
REMOTE HYBRID WORK LINKED TO MORE ANXIETY, DEPRESSION
"Workers had an increased rate of anxiety and depression symptoms if they were fully remote (40%) or hybrid (38%), compared to those who worked in-person (35%), according to a Feb. 20 report from health and productivity research non-profit Integrated Benefits Institute.
While the number of individuals taking a mental health prescription increased from 20% to 22% and the unmet need for counseling rose from 12% to 14%, overall symptoms of anxiety or depression fell from 40% to 35% from July 2021 to August 2022, the report found. “This report is a thorough examination of a wide-spread mental health issue — experiences of anxiety and depression symptoms. Such experiences can range from mild to severe and are an important cause of presenteeism, sickness absence, and disability,” Learn more
THE TRUTH ABOUT HYBRID AND REMOTE WORKER WELL BEING
"They say remote and hybrid work is bad for employee mental well-being and leads to a sense of social isolation, meaninglessness, and lack of work/life boundaries, so we should just all go back to office-centric work — or so claim many traditionalist business leaders and gurus. For example, Malcolm Gladwell said that there is a “core psychological truth, which is we want you to have a feeling of belonging and to feel necessary… I know it’s a hassle to come into the office, but if you’re just sitting in your pajamas in your bedroom, is that the work life you want to live?”
These office-centric traditionalists reference a number of prominent articles about the dangers of remote work for mental well-being." Learn more
HOW YOUR PERSONALITY DETERMINES IF YOU CAN WORK REMOTELY
"Many employees excel in hybrid or even fully remote work settings, outperforming expectations to deliver outstanding results. Others in the same roles struggle to work effectively outside the office, even if they have the same home office arrangements and are deemed equally talented by their managers.
Such seemingly random differences can frustrate and confuse managers. Unsurprisingly, managers focus on the underperformers and end up developing a general mistrust of employee productivity outside the office. No wonder that Microsoft research found that “85 percent of leaders say that the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are being productive.” Learn more