Remote work is a double-edged weapon

Mental health and work are strongly bonded. As such there are effects of remote work on mental health. In that case, work can either worsen your mental health or it can act as a supportive mechanism. On one side of the spectrum, flexible working hours can provide a lot of support to the mental health. In addition to that, remote work can help workers reduce stress and enhance their productivity by being in a quieter environment away from the interruptions of their colleagues. This would make them more comfortable and do their job in a personalized workplace. However on the other side, remote work can challenge mental health and turn an optimistic productive person into a tired and unmotivated one.

Negative effects of remote work on mental health

1. Lonliness and Isolation:

While working remotely, you could spend days not talking to anyone and spending so much time working only. Even though you got rid of the distractions and interruptions, you miss the social aspect of working within an office with your colleagues. Even the use of technological tools like slack and Microsoft teams won’t compensate for the face to face social interactions.

2. Anxiety is one of the negative effects of remote work on mental health:

When you are working remotely, you’re pressured to hustle the 24 hours of the day. You have no time to disconnect from work or unplug and this results in a burnout and anxiety. Remote work causes the boundary between work and home life to blur because you work in the same place that you live and sleep. At this point it becomes hard to disconnect, especially most of us are using our phones so it becomes difficult to resist the urge to check your email.

3. Pressure and Stress:

 When you are always on the run and seem to work without the ability to disconnect. Here is where stress comes into play, nevertheless stress causes memory problems. Stressed remote workers tend to have low energy levels, less productivity and difficulty staying focused. Workers who are stressed and burned out are more likely to develop negative feelings about their work. In addition to that they distance themselves from work so they don’t get much done.  

Positive effects of remote work on mental health:

1. Flexibility:

People place a massive amount of energy and time for the sake of their work. Hence when they are offered flexible options to work, they now have the ability to devote some time for their mental health and wellness. Therefore flexible working hours help people develop a healthier lifestyle. There are also other factors in which people prefer flexible jobs is that they tend to save so much time. So flexible jobs with flexible working hours lead to time and money saving. In addition to that, they spend more time with their families and kids. They now have the freedom to do other tasks as such exercise and grocery shopping. They also have autonomy and control over their schedule, this makes them feel empowered.

2. No commuting:

Spending so much time in a car on daily basis increases the stress level and results in negative effects on your mental and physical health.  You are always stuck in the traffic and the crowd. Longer commutes mean that you have only few hours to sleep. Workers that tend to commute for long hours don’t have time for gatherings and social events. So working remotely saves you the time you spend stuck in the traffic. It also saves the energy and provides you with more time to sleep and attend social occasions.

3. High productivity:

Research shows that when you work remotely, you tend to get more done. They tend to do better in their jobs at home than you used to do in office. If you are productive and focused, in this case you will have more time for non-work activities like exercise and hobbies.   

So remote work has it’s advantages and disadvantages on the mental health of the remote worker. You can now simply make the best of the advantages of the remote work and avoid the disadvantages.