Backto-office blues hit workers

WHILE the majority of SA’S workforce is returning to work after many months of working from home, mental health experts say most people are experiencing a new anxiety: the fear of returning to work.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, less than a quarter (24%) of people globally, worked mostly from home. Today that number has risen to almost two fifths (39%) with a further 22% working outside their homes but not in an office. Three quarters (76%) now work from home as a consequence of Covid-19.

As per the current government guidance under alert level 3, employees are encouraged to work from home unless necessary to attend in person. But with more of the adult population receiving their Covid-19 jab, the prospect of returning to some semblance of normalcy, or at least traditional office routines, appears more possible.

Clinical psychologist, Nkanyiso Madlala, says there’s a lot of anxiety that people are experiencing now that they are re-integrating back into the workplace.

“Going back to work after months of working from home is going to be incredibly stressful to many. People have been working from home for a long time and many fear what’s going to happen when they are back at the office. It has been a novel and traumatic experience for everyone, having to deal with physical manifestations of Covid-19 and now having to deal with mental and psychological manifestations,” Madlala said.

A recent global study by Limeade Institute found that out of 4 553 office workers in five different countries, every single person reported feeling anxious about the idea of returning to in-person work.

For those surveyed, the top causes of return-to-work stress included being exposed to Covid-19, the loss of work flexibility, the added commute, having to wear a mask while in the office, and the need for childcare.

Madlala advises that employees should take it easy and gradually work their way up.

“Most people are going to experience an onset of irritable bowel syndrome they never had before. Others are going to experience ulcers, they need to be on the lookout for any of these symptoms,” he said.

Cape Town-based occupational therapist, Alice Gelderblom Waddilove, said many people are struggling with Covid-19 fatigue or brain fog, “maybe it’s just for now but it is a reality”, she says.

Waddilove added, “As people return to work they need to set boundaries like being able to leave work at work. Most of the time there’s this reaction of wanting to step things up, that’s not what recovery looks like. Recovery is a slow process that will only get better if you take it one step at a time.”

Meanwhile, according to the latest Ipsos survey, the majority of people across the world say they want to keep working flexibly from home.

Globally, a quarter of people want to work in the office five days a week as soon as the pandemic is over, with the strongest support in Mexico (40%). More than a third of people in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Peru, India, and the US also want to return to five days a week.