{"id":573012,"date":"2023-05-04T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/employees-love-remote-work-but-is-it-good-for-our-mental-health\/"},"modified":"2023-05-04T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T10:00:00","slug":"employees-love-remote-work-but-is-it-good-for-our-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/employees-love-remote-work-but-is-it-good-for-our-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"#Employees love remote work, but is it good for our mental health?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"876\" height=\"262\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Special-MentalHealth-Banner-v2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3981770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Special-MentalHealth-Banner-v2.png?resize=876,262 876w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Special-MentalHealth-Banner-v2.png?resize=300,90 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Special-MentalHealth-Banner-v2.png?resize=768,230 768w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Special-MentalHealth-Banner-v2.png?resize=645,193 645w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/Special-MentalHealth-Banner-v2.png?resize=50,15 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 876px\"><\/figure>\n<p>The best part of remote work, from a mental health perspective, may be the commute.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An hourlong slog to and from work pleases no one, and it is perhaps the largest negative associated with the nation\u2019s gradual return to the office as the pandemic wanes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Nearly 30 percent of all work remains remote in the United States, the legacy of a workplace revolution that swept in with the COVID-19 pandemic and transformed the nation\u2019s daily routine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/industries\/real-estate\/our-insights\/americans-are-embracing-flexible-work-and-they-want-more-of-it\">Survey after survey<\/a> shows that Americans love remote work. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.com\/workplace\/397751\/returning-office-current-preferred-future-state-remote-work.aspx\">One Gallup poll<\/a> found that only 6 percent of Americans would prefer to work in an office fulltime, given the choice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t mean remote work is good for us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The mental health implications of telework is a relatively new field of study. And that makes sense, given that only 5 percent of American work took place remotely before the pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere aren\u2019t really experts in it. This is all new,\u201d said Eric Elbogen, a professor in psychiatry and behavioral <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>s at Duke University. \u201cThere are just so many questions we still don\u2019t know the answers to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What we do know, loud and clear, is what Americans think about working from home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>One 2022 global survey of 12,500 people by the Tracking H<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>iness website found a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trackinghappiness.com\/remote-work-leads-to-happiness-study\/\">direct correlation<\/a> between remote work and happiness. Workers who toiled fulltime in an office rated their happiness the lowest: 5.9 on a 10-point scale, on average. For fully remote workers, the happiness rating jumped to 7 out of 10.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco.com\/c\/m\/en_us\/solutions\/global-hybrid-work-study.html\">global 2022 survey<\/a> of 28,000 workers, Cisco found that an overwhelming 79 percent of employees felt remote work had improved the all-important work-life balance. More than 80 percent said the ability to work from anywhere made them happier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Pressed for specifics, workers say remote work brings flexibility: greater autonomy over how to allocate time between work and non-work, when to start the day, when to end it, when to walk the dog, when to hit the home gym, when to nap.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cRemote work is associated with greater feelings of control,\u201d said Tammy Allen, distinguished university professor in psychology at the University of South Florida. \u201cAnd that\u2019s really powerful, because it\u2019s one of the fundamental human needs, that we have some kind of control over our lives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even more than control, perhaps, remote work is about time. In the Cisco survey, two-thirds of workers said remote work saved them four or more hours a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thus, Allen and others contend, the single best thing about remote work is probably the absence of a time-consuming commute.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think most people miss that,\u201d said Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of the hybrid work consultancy <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/disasteravoidanceexperts.com\/\">Disaster Avoidance Experts<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Returning-Office-Leading-Hybrid-Remote\/dp\/0996469257\">author of a recent book<\/a> on hybrid and remote work. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On top of the wasted time, \u201cwe have extensive research showing that the commute is the most stressful part of the day,\u201d Tsipursky said. \u201cIt\u2019s the time you\u2019re the most likely to get into an accident, to be hurt, to die.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the Tracking Happiness survey, happiness ratings declined steadily with longer commutes. Workers who commute more than 90 minutes are half as happy, on average, as those who commute 10 minutes or less.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Reclaimed commuting time looms as a factor in each of the top five \u201cpositive impacts\u201d of remote work cited by Gallup respondents: improved work-life balance, more efficient use of time, freedom to choose when and where one works, less work burnout and higher productivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the commute, remote work is a potential <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>-changer for millions of Americans who have experienced prejudice, harassment or microaggressions at work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Telework may give a transgender worker the freedom to choose whether and when to disclose their gender identity to colleagues. Obese workers can avoid weight-based discrimination <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ro.co\/weight-loss\/obesity-and-GLPs-survey\/\">by working remotely<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cPeople of color prefer working remotely,\u201d research suggests, \u201cbecause they\u2019re less subject to aggression, microaggression,\u201d Allen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But remote work is not a panacea. The limited body of scholarly research on telework has unearthed myriad potential mental health concerns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Remember Zoom fatigue? Remote work unleashed a marathon of videoconferencing in 2020, triggering a soul-numbing wave of anxiety, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> isolation and emotional exhaustion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>A meta-analysis of telework studies by Canadian researchers in 2022 found several <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2022-64857-001\">potential psychological perils<\/a> associated with remote work.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Summarizing past research on telework, the Canadian study found that remote workers \u201cexperienced poorer sleep quality, had more issues with relaxation, felt greater irritability, and experienced more tension\u201d than office workers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While survey respondents may\u00a0believe telework improves work-life balance,\u00a0the Canadians found\u00a0remote workers struggle to maintain it, especially when they\u00a0have\u00a0no\u00a0dedicated home office or when they work in homes filled with people.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Millennials and Generation Z are happiest working remotely, according to multiple surveys. Older Americans, those in Generation X and the baby boom generation, see less value in working from home, although workers in every generation see a net gain in well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor those of us who have been working for a long time, our whole experience, our entire working life, has involved personal interactions,\u201d Elbogen said. \u201cIt includes those verbal and nonverbal components that are lost on Zoom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many Americans struggled with remote work at the pandemic\u2019s start, when Zoom culture was thrust upon the nation. Most workers, and most companies, didn\u2019t know how to handle the sudden transition to a remote office.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first, people were not eating healthy meals, they were not taking breaks, they didn\u2019t have good physical setups in their offices,\u201d said Mary Czerwinski, a partner research manager at Microsoft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe saw stress levels peak at the beginning, just because people\u2019s work setups weren\u2019t good. People were having physical ailments, because they didn\u2019t have good chairs or desks. Some people were doing meetings in the bathtub.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft paid for workers to outfit their home offices, initiated \u201cmeeting-free days\u201d and scheduled break time between the meetings. \u201cThat helped a lot,\u201d Czerwinski said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cisco, the networking giant, responded to COVID-era mental-health concerns with weekly check-ins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmployees go in and say, \u2018I loved doing this this week; I hated doing this this week,\u2019\u201d said Mike Droubay, Cisco vice president of human resources. The check-ins existed before COVID but had been inconsistent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One fundamental challenge in the remote work boom was that most workers didn\u2019t have a choice: The pandemic marooned them in their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Time revealed that some workers thrived in virtual work, while others suffered. Introverts tend to like remote work, research suggests, while extroverts prefer the office. Remote work tends to strengthen relationships to family and friends. Office work fortifies bonds with coworkers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Loneliness is a real danger in telework, researchers say, especially for people who live alone and those who crave the social fabric of an office. This week, the nation\u2019s surgeon <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> took the unusual step of declaring a loneliness epidemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe extent that that is connected to remote work is uncertain,\u201d Allen said, pointing to a need for more research.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3986860-employees-love-remote-work-but-is-it-good-for-our-mental-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best part of remote work, from a mental health perspective, may be the commute.\u00a0 An hourlong slog to and from work pleases no one, and it is perhaps the largest negative associated with the nation\u2019s gradual return to the office as the pandemic wanes.\u00a0\u00a0 Nearly 30 percent of all work remains remote in the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":573013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/05\/remote-worker_050323adobe-stock_remote.png?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134417,117,134343,134353,73798,10574,70989,78739,70289,4965],"class_list":["post-573012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-business","tag-campaign","tag-court-battles","tag-defense","tag-education","tag-mental-health","tag-remote-work","tag-senate","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}