Home office takes toll on mental health
THE world has undergone the biggest remote-working experiment in history and now a study has found that Irish workers are feeling the toll on their mental health.
Although productivity has increased — 44pc of Irish professionals believe their output has improved since working from home began, and a fifth of employers agree — remote workers say their wellbeing has taken a hit.
A quarter (23pc) claim their mental health has been negatively impacted by the home office, according to leading recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters.
The sentiment is mirrored by employers, with 30pc of bosses claiming that they are concerned about staff experiencing mental health issues due to social isolation and economic anxiety brought on by remote working and Covid-19.
Whether or not workers feel a decline in well-being seems to depend on their living environment.
Those living in a shared household (69pc) reported a higher decline in mental health, compared with professionals living with their partner but no children (56pc), those residing with children (34pc), and those living alone (26pc). This points to the fact that a younger generation of workers in shared, rented accommodation have been dealt the hardest blow.
It seems discomfort and lack of suitable space could play a role.
Nearly half of Irish professionals (47pc) say they have been working from their dining room or kitchen table during lockdown — compared with a global average of 35pc.
Globally, the most frequent remote-working location was a home office or study (53pc), but it seems we are less likely to have this luxury, with only a third of Irish respondents being able to work from their home office during lockdown.
The second most popular location for the Irish was the living room sofa (15pc) and on a bed (14pc) — with the bed or bedroom typically the most popular location for Gen Z 18-25-year-olds to work from (43pc).
The decline in wellbeing among the country’s workforce could also be due to the fact that the Irish are social animals at heart.
As part of the response, 82pc of professionals stated that a lack of physical interaction with their team was the leading cause of a decline in their mental health.
Under lockdown, over a third (35pc) said they still tried to speak to their colleagues multiple times a day, with a further 40pc saying that they try to reach out at least once a day.
The most common form of non-work-related contact with colleagues takes place on group WhatsApp chats (44pc), group video sessions (41pc), and one-to-one video or phone calls (28pc). Meanwhile, half of Irish professionals say they have never received any mental health training at work.