3 Ways Working From Home Long-term Could Be Good Or Bad For Your Health

3 Ways Working From Home Long-term Could Be Good Or Bad For Your Health Shutterstock

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us to work from home, often in less than ideal circumstances.

Many employees had little choice in the decision, limited time to prepare, patchy technology skills, and inadequate home workspaces. Some managers neglected remote workers, while others zealously monitored them.

And yet some people thrived. Having tried it, many employees anticipate they will continue to work from home, and value employers who encourage it.

So if you decide to continue working from home after the pandemic, is it good or bad for your health in the long run?


 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

1. Less fit or more fit?

Easy access to snacks meant some employees may have gained weight while working from home during the pandemic. Some employees stared at their screen for hours, sitting in awkward positions with no breaks.

Excessive screen time can damage the retina, and poorly designed workspaces can generate back pain and stress injuries. In the long run, sedentary behaviour is associated with a range of physical health problems, including higher cancer risks.

But properly supported working from home could improve employees’ health. It enables them to work toward aspirational fitness goals by scheduling workouts at convenient times.

It creates opportunities for employees to take breaks from the laptop to toss in a load of laundry, take the dog for a quick walk, vacuum the carpets, or do a few stretches in another room. Small bits of activity, interspersed throughout the day, have long-term positive impacts on physical and psychological health. Ten minutes of energetically climbing the stairs in your house could boost your lung capacity and raise your spirits.

Achieving those benefits requires employees to have control over their work schedule. Organisations can help by providing resources to design better home workspaces and software that nudges employees to take breaks throughout the day.

2. More free time, or just more time working?

Commuting — especially by car in dense communities — exposes employees to air pollution and raises their risk of respiratory or cardiovascular problems. In theory, working from home should let employees breathe easier, both physically and psychologically. Avoiding the commute saves time and money, two crucial resources that can be channelled to improve the quality of employees’ personal lives.

However, the commute serves a valuable function that is often overlooked. It gives employees time to transition between work and non-work roles, which is especially important for people in difficult service and professional jobs.

 

The loss of a 30-minute commute can blur boundaries and increase stress spillover between work and non-work. When we lose the defined “buffer zone” of a commute, too often the “saved time” is gobbled up by more work. Long work hours are associated with more stress, lower-quality sleep and higher blood pressure.

Working from home therefore needs to incorporate transitional periods that substitute for a commute. This might be as simple as a walk around the block before sitting down at the desk, or doing a meditation practice before cooking dinner.

Organisations need to respect role boundaries too. This involves clarifying when employees need to be available, and establishing clear policies about email and phone access outside business hours.

3. Less distraction, or lonely and disconnected?

Working from home can create opportunities for employees to engage in “deep work” — focusing on a demanding task without distraction. It helps employees fully engage with their work when they are working, and be more psychologically present with their family when they are not working.

Employees who work from home can intersperse their work and family time to benefit the entire family, for example by using a work break to read a story or share a meal. Quality moments of connection with parents have a more significant impact on children’s academic achievement, behaviour, and emotional well-being than the quantity of interactions.

3 Ways Working From Home Long-term Could Be Good Or Bad For Your Health Workers who engage in office chatter tend to enjoy work more. Shutterstock

But not every employee has those close family relationships, and contact with coworkers can be an essential source of support for many workers. Employees who participate in office small talk experience more positive emotions, go out of their way to help coworkers, and end the workday in a better frame of mind.

The spontaneity of office small talk is hard to replicate in a virtual context, so employees working from home can experience loneliness. This can lead to depression, insomnia, and substance abuse. In terms of death and disease, loneliness is in the same league as smoking, obesity and alcoholism.

Organisations can help by providing “virtual cafés” to foster informal interactions. Research also recommends hybrid models of remote work that can achieve the benefits of working from home (more focused time for deep work) alongside those of the office environment (more collaboration with coworkers). For example, employees might work from home four days a week, with the fifth day in the office.

Employees need to be supported

Working from home is not always better or worse for an employee’s health than traditional office arrangements.

It will be most beneficial when employees make wise decisions about their time, and employers provide support in the form of technology, ergonomic equipment, and managers trained to supervise remote workers.

Most importantly, when employees are given choice over the schedule and location of their work, the psychological, physical and productivity benefits can double.

About The Author

Carol T Kulik, Research Professor of Human Resource Management, University of South Australia and Ruchi Sinha, Senior Lecturer, Organisational Behaviour & Management, University of South Australia. This article is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

books_careers

Monday, 24 July 2023 16:37

Uterine fibroids, or leiomyomas, are benign tumors commonly occurring in the uterus. They affect many women, particularly African Americans, and can lead to clinical symptoms such as abnormal...

Friday, 21 July 2023 15:37

During uncomfortably hot weather, people seek ways to cool down their homes. Air conditioners often become the default solution when temperatures rise as they provide fast and effective relief from...

Friday, 21 July 2023 14:28

  Brushing your teeth is essential for maintaining optimal oral health, but like most aspects of health, the full story is more complicated.

Friday, 21 July 2023 06:06

Are you seeking a gentle yet powerful practice that brings balance to your body and mind? Look no further than Tai Chi. 

Friday, 21 July 2023 05:40

  As the world grapples with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge of interest and concern regarding vaccines. Vaccines play a crucial role in preventing infectious diseases,...

Thursday, 20 July 2023 22:38

As the temperatures rise during the summer months, it's important to be aware of the risks associated with extreme heat.

Thursday, 20 July 2023 15:45

People who exercise only on the weekend have similar heart-health benefits as those who exercise throughout the week

Wednesday, 19 July 2023 17:42

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported that around one in six couples globally are affected by infertility. For many years people tended to blame women for a couple’s infertility –...

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English Afrikaans Arabic Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Malay Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese

follow InnerSelf on

facebook icontwitter iconyoutube iconinstagram iconpintrest iconrss icon

 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Thursday, 27 July 2023 20:13

How to train your body for hot weather if you are active or work outdoors Heat exposure is inevitable for those who work or are active outdoors. (Shutterstock) Global warming is making outdoor...

Wednesday, 28 April 2021 08:57

Replenishing antioxidants in the body may help protect against oxidative stress and lower the risk of cancer

Wednesday, 26 July 2023 12:55

With the rising cost of living, gyms memberships and fitness classes are becoming increasingly unaffordable. But the good news is you can make just as much progress at home.

Friday, 28 July 2023 17:45

Respiratory viruses like influenza virus (flu), SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can make us sick by infecting our respiratory system, including the nose, upper...

Friday, 14 May 2021 16:24

The chakras set the frequencies that give rise to every aspect of the human experience. The foods we eat have consciousness and provide an energetic blueprint that stabilizes and entrains...

Sunday, 23 May 2021 08:15

We sometimes need to use antibiotics to treat sick animals, but taking advantage of opportunities to reduce antibiotics use could benefit everyone

New Attitudes - New Possibilities

InnerSelf.comClimateImpactNews.com | InnerPower.net
MightyNatural.com | WholisticPolitics.com | InnerSelf Market
Copyright ©1985 - 2021 InnerSelf Publications. All Rights Reserved.