Countries and companies are experimenting with patterns of working as Covid changed the way we look at the working world. The ‘work from home’ during Covid became ‘work from anywhere’ later on.

However, it is about 18 months since Covid has almost disappeared, yet many workers are resistant to start working from offices making the debate still relevant. Most of them are IT workers and even threats from large corporations in India don’t seem to be working.

For many companies, WFH has become a norm. In the US, for example, by 2025, Americans working from home is expected to reach 36.2 million, which is 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels.  

The performance of the worker did not dip drastically during Covid while working from home and doesn’t seem to be dipping; however, there is a possibility that prolonged WFH (work from home) or WFA (work from anywhere) may impact mental health.

Lack of space in the house is an avoidable micro-stress that builds up and can lead to interpersonal strains and mental health issues in the entire family.

WFH during Covid has created a mental block in many office workers making it difficult for them to return to offices to work. The issue of WFH is peculiar to large corporations. MSMEs (Micro Small Medium Enterprises) and small enterprises do not have the issue about their employees returning to offices.           

Workers who are not returning to work are not realizing that prolonged WFH or WFA, both push you into isolation. Most homes in the world are not designed for WFH as they are just enough for living. Most couples work and they need space to WFH and there isn’t; in addition, there are children who need space too to study.

There are a lot of micro-stressors in everyone’s life. Lack of space in the house is an avoidable micro-stressor that builds up and can lead to interpersonal strains and mental health issues in the entire family.

WFH for too long may alienate you from co-workers and push you into isolation and loneliness and eventually depression. Coming to work at least 3-4 days in a week can mitigate the micro-stress of lack of space and open up newer avenues of mental wellbeing including opportunities to talk to people.  

Today, not going out to work may not starve your family but can potentially starve your mind and create imbalances leading to mental illbeing.

Performance issues or not, when companies are calling workers to office at least 3 days a week, it is not just good for them but also for workers. At the same time, there are countries who have a 4-day work week or are in the process of implementation, for the wellbeing of their citizens.

Even if workers view it historically, millions of years ago when the basic work was to hunt animals to provide meal for the family, it was an outdoor activity. Those who didn’t venture out for hunting starved their families. Today, not going out to work may not starve your family but can potentially starve your mind and create imbalances leading to mental illbeing. In contrast, in the era of hunting for food, the family would starve if the hunter worked from home, because you can’t hunt an animal for a meal for your family working from home!

One of the things that can transform one’s mental illbeing to mental wellbeing is to work out of the home as it gives opportunities to meet people, talk to them, have team meeting and lunches etc. No app in your mobile phone can help you mitigate the mental imbalance that one can go through due to prolonged working from home – you have to step out and talk!

The large companies who had an Occupational Health physician (OHP) were able to get workers to workplace much earlier. This demonstrates the significance of Occupational Health (OH) in an organization.

Instead of threats or a hardened attitude by the management of some companies, workers should be made to understand what they are losing by working from home. They should be made to feel that workplace is safe again after Covid. They should be told to stagger their arrival to workplace – work on alternate days to start with and then align with company’s policy. Many companies give the option of working 60:40, meaning 3 days work in the office and 2 days from home – which I think is a fantastic offer! I never had it.

No app in your mobile phone can help you mitigate the mental imbalance that one can go through by working from home – you have to step out and talk to prevent the mental imbalance!

Time will tell if WFH is detrimental for mental health, and how much. It is just 4 years since WFH began on a mass scale and initial research, according to 2022 study from Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics, 62% of employees feel more productive when working remotely. 

One should also keep in mind the 2023 State of Remote Work report by Buffer, Nomad List and Remote OK reveals that ‘23% of remote workers struggle with loneliness because they thrive on the energy of others to feel motivated and productive.’

Whatever be the research and reports in future regarding benefits or ill-effects of WFH, companies should prioritize mental health as there are reasons more than one for someone to burnout; WFH being one of them.

One of the things that can transform one’s mental illbeing to mental wellbeing is to work out of the home.

Companies should have OHP and fully support them to enable health initiatives – coming back to work in office after WFH being one of them, as prolonged WFH can lead to mental health issues which is detrimental to both the employee and the employer. One should act before that happens; that is what OH is all about – to prevent proactively before damage to mind and body happens.   

Organizations have an obligation to support mental health and wellbeing of workers working remotely by training managers in empathy and understanding as well as making them aware of the EAP. Guidelines on expectations for work hours, availability, communication protocols and performance metrices can help remote workers establish work-life balance by having boundaries between work and personal life to reduce the risk of burnout. Companies should prioritize mental health. 

Whatever be the future of working patterns, if you aspire to be a CEO or a senior officer in a large company, working from home may not help – the choice to not give yourself a chance to be one is yours! 

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Dr Ajay Sati is an Occupational Health physician who prefers to describe himself as an Occupationist, to denote, ‘an expert in diseases and other concerns of occupations.’ Dr Sati has managed health and wellness programs in industries he worked, like the atomic energy, and energy (oil & gas) in India and overseas. An experienced virtual consultation expert he was involved in many greenfield and brownfield projects providing inputs from health point of view.