WFH disrupts the social nature of human beings
Other factors such as the fear of the unknown worsen the problem:
When the office shifted to home with the pandemic raging, many felt they are safer in the initial stages as they could avoid the rigmarole of commute and peak hour rush and help in increasing job fulfilment. But that initial shine is dimming. Many studies indicate mental breakdowns are common and domestic clashes are rampant during the pandemic. Man being a social animal, working in isolation from the confines of homes can create loneliness and isolation, which can lead to deteriorating mental health.
This has now become a matter of concern for HR professionals and is haunting the familial ties. To what extent have the lockdown and WFH contributed to this situation?
Pallab Mukherji, Chief People Officer at Equitas Small Finance Bank, admits that mental health is a concern both at home and office. Though working from home seemed a lot safer and easier in its initial period when the pandemic kicked in, he says the cracks have now widened causing rampant burnouts and breakdowns. “WFH fundamentally changes the way the employee has ever worked in his/her life and any change is difficult. WFH goes against the social nature of a human being and people tend to miss the camaraderie that they can enjoy at office,” he explains.
MAJOR CONCERNS
According to Priya Vasudevan, President - Human Resources at Liberty General Insurance, mental health concerns have arisen more in the pandemic due to social isolation, fear of the unknown and other existential concerns. She adds that mental health concerns seem to be rising and waning with covid waves. “I would attribute it more to the pandemic than to the remote working model,” she says.
While mental health issues have always been around, the forced WFH way of life has indeed precipitated these concerns significantly, believes Ruchira Bhardwaja, Chief Human Resources Officer at Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance. She elaborates: “Working in solitude can be disconcerting and disconnected. Individuals living alone, who were dependent on colleagues for company and friendship to a large extent, have been affected the most as a result of the loneliness and isolation. Loneliness can become chronic and cause deterioration of mental health as much as a physical ailment. The temporary reality of isolation has been the cause of breakdown that ranges from mild to severe in some cases.”
She also believes that those staying at home with families too face unique challenges brought up by the strain of workload that needs to be balanced within the demands of family life and time for self. This has led to increased instances of frustration, anger issues, depression and in some cases domestic violence too. Additionally, extended hours of screen exposure have led to fatigue, tiredness, headaches and attention issues, she adds.
Ramakrishna Vyamajala, Chief of Human Resources at HomeFirst Finance, however, is of the view that mental health issues were always present mostly among the urban population and it has gained prominence in everyday conversations in the last 2-3 years due to some sustained efforts by mental health professionals and some unfortunate events in the public space.
To summarize, the benefits were foreseen, but the mental health problems were not.
IMPACT ON FAMILY TOO
When work came uninvited to our homes, life had no place to stay. While the root cause of problems ranges from stress due to work or personal environment, the current situation has only accentuated it. The incidences we are occurring point to some of these reasons.
Pallab Mukherji of Equitas Small Finance Bank points out that there are multitude of ways that mandated remote working can damage one’s mental health. Firstly, working in solitude is disconcerting especially for those who are accustomed to conventional office life and always scouted for a steady rate of social interactions at the office or customers. Secondly, it has blurred the line between working from home and homing from work, which increased the stress level of employees but also penetrated and impacted family well-being too, he says.
DISTRACTION, DISILLUSIONMENT
“Ot h e r members o f the f a mi l y , particularly kids and non-working members, sometimes have not seen the `work persona’ and can get distracted or disillusioned. And for those returning to office, `anxiety factor’ still grips them altogether in a different form. Their
anxiety level gradually rises as they may witness colleagues either being too stringent about social distancing norms or flouting them blatantly depending on their personal standing on the issue,” says Pallab.
He emphasizes that it is important to be cognizant of the fact that root cause is the gripping fear and anxiety as most of us have heard tragic stories involving relatives or friends and for many of us it has happened right at our doorstep. “The fear of one catching this virus and facing its despair consequences exacerbated the anxiety level and caused a profound impact on an individual’s mental wellbeing,” he adds.
UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES
Sai Suryanarayana M, Chief People Officer at Fincare Small Finance Bank, is of the view that covid has brought unprecedented changes i n the way we function, and remote working was a change embraced by almost all the organizations from the time the first lockdown was announced. “In this phase, many people experienced both, positive and downsides of being a remote worker. Benefits such as travel, physical stress, exposure-risk, etc, were experienced; however, in the long run, a typical workday started to look different from earlier, leading to issues such as anxiety, differentiating and balancing work and personal space, ultimately impacting mental health,” he says.
He stresses that while mental health is an area of concern in normal times as well, the pandemic and resultant changes in lifestyle have revealed a different dimension of it. Beyond an initial phase of ` getting into the rhythm’, says he, unexpected consequences started to emerge, such as feeling alone due to lack of physical connection with co-workers, of having nowhere to turn when stressed or anxious. “Quite naturally, WFH contributed to an increased workload, what with the temptation to work just a bit more on that document or clear a few e-mails or just a review of one more project timeline. A change in routine, uncertainty about the organization/future, overthinking about the pandemic, worries about health et al, contributed to the situation. It all becomes more challenging with lack of an effective support system in a remote environment, a crucial pillar of mental well-being,” he explains.
NON-UNIFORM IMPACT
He reveals that at Fincare, a hybrid model is in place to ensure balance between Work from Remote and Work from Office. Rostering, regular sanitization, temp check at office, vaccination camps in full swing, are among the steps taken to make employees feel safe and reduce pandemic-stress.
Shwetha Ram, Head - Human Resources at Future Generali India Life Insurance, points out that mental health has been an existing issue witnessed in the corporate world. In the past, she says, it may have manifested in several forms of employee behavior in the workplace leading to meltdowns during meetings, display of anger and passive-aggressive behavior.
“I n my view, the physical manifestation may have undergone a slight shift in the hybrid/remote working scenario. Notwithstanding that, it’s also worthy to note that managing the new ways of working may not be uniform across various employee sects and we may be witnessing increasing cases of mental health concerns being seen in employees,” says Shwetha.
Sunil Wariar, Chief People Officer at Future Generali India Insurance, says mental health is a major concern worldwide and India is not far behind in this. “If we evaluate developments in the field of mental health, the pace appears to be slow. The covid pandemic has resulted in changes to the working arrangements of billions of employees who are now based at home and may continue to work from home, in some capacity, in the foreseeable future. Decisions on how to promote employees’ health whilst working from home need to be based on the best available evidence to optimise worker outcomes,” says he.
Restrictions on travel and social
life have left us feeling isolated and despondent; those working from home have the pressures of dealing with both – work and household, also the fear of catching the virus exacerbates anxiety, he explains.
SUDDEN SHIFT STRESSFUL
Sunil also says the sudden shift to a remote work setup has been surprisingly stressful for many employees. The sudden lack of physical connection can leave workers feeling they have nowhere to turn when they feel stressed or anxious, he adds.
Pallab of Equitas Small Finance Bank considers the mandated WFH and lockdown factors as just the by-products or outcomes of the pandemic and they had indeed, played secondary role by accentuating the situation of desolation and despair. “For many, having their best pals at work but not being able to meet and not being able to share a laugh over coffee, created anxiety. In this changed scenario when one’s natural instinct of mingling with people, hugging, patting on the back, or even looking at a smile is curbed, people tend to react differently,” he adds.
Sunil highlights the factor of adapting to WFH, which creates hassles of stress and anxiety i n managing work life balance. “There’s the push to do more leading to working longer hours, without any conscious disconnect between work and personal life. A reality of back-toback virtual meetings is all over us, which would not have been possible while in a physical office,” he says.
With no/fewer opportunities of socialising for informal catch-ups, many workers are spending more time in these meetings and these video meetings coupled with increased workload to sustain in uncertain times can trigger fatigue and leave employees feeling disconnected and tired, he says.
WORKTIME & SELFTIME
He advocates that employees should be put at ease by setting clear boundaries of work timing and time for self. “A balance between their personal and professional lives is absolutely important - particularly for employees without a separate home office. There is a need for a strong support network amongst teams which is crucial for good mental health - in understanding individual issues and support them as possible,” he adds.
Shwetha of Future Generali Life
Insurance reminds that happiness and a state of positive mental being are intrinsic and there are several drivers to evoke this emotion in people. Recognizing that it is ok to have a bad day, a low period and giving them the necessary support to bounce back is important, she adds.
“Come to think of it, the alchemy of happiness is quite different. It is always easier to make others happy than to make yourself happy. People at the cost of wanting to please others put their happiness at risk leading to these low or lull periods/episodes that they experience. Being resilient to face these roadblocks and emerging stronger and almost anti-fragile is a key skill that one should be taught early in life, says she.
She is happy that schools are recognizing this need and introducing these topics to children at a very young age. “I am sure the future set of entrepreneurs, working professionals will have the mental strength and the acceptance to deal with these issues far more effectively than the current generation,” she says.
Sunil has the last word. He says: “Managers should be empathetic towards their team members and distribute the work according to the situation at home and give them their space and allow them to operate as per their choice of time evenly amongst team members to avoid over burdening some of them and relieving them of the excessive work pressure. Managers, while ensuring proper work allocation, should encourage employees to stick to the office hours and not to over work during weekdays and weekends.”