Blurring of work-home lines causing stress

KUALA LUMPUR: The Covid-19 crisis has left as much damage on mental well-being as it has affected physical health.

The Oracle AI at Work survey showed the pandemic has had a negative impact on 78% of the global workforce.

Rajesh Mishra, head of HCM Apps at Oracle Malaysia, said 70% of those surveyed also agreed that 2020 has been the most stressful year ever.

The majority of those who responded to the survey also said mental health issues at work have had a negative impact on home life. They cited sleep deprivation, poor physical health and family relationships as some of the issues. Rajesh said there used to be a clear demarcation between work life and personal life.

“People were attuned to the structures and systems already in place. They had to be physically at the office at a given time to get work done,” he said. Then, there is home or personal life, which was separate from work.

However, the lockdown and being forced to work from home have blurred the lines between the two.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has radically changed what used to be the normal work style,” he added.

Apart from frontliners, including those in medical as well as essential services such as transport, food and retail, working from home has become the only option for many to ensure continuity in operations.

Rajesh said those who have adjusted well have cited artificial intelligence (AI) as the factor that has helped them to reduce stress by providing them the necessary information needed to get work done as well as automating tasks.

He said there was more that businesses could do to help protect the mental health of their workers who have to perform their tasks at remote locations. – Bernama