The Mental Health Benefits of Remote and Flexible Work Mental Health America
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June 24, 2020Content
Arecent surveydiscovered that 21% out of 4,809 UK workers would not want to work remotely. Some employees might prefer the routine and structure that working in an office provides them. Other employees might prefer personal interaction with colleagues, and for others, it might not suit their home life. So before you make any decision, conduct a survey with your team to see if they would prefer to work remotely or have some flexibility. By offering flexibility, your employees can strike a better work-life balance because they’ll have more time to juggle the demands of their careers and personal life. Thankfully, the transition to remote work has allowed many employees the opportunity to explore healthier habits.
The survey also found that work-life balance and commute-related stress are two of the top factors that make people want a job with flexible options. Sixteen percent of the people who took the survey self-identified as living with a chronic physical or mental illness, the fifth-largest identity group out of 17 choices. Another 10% identified as caregivers of someone with a physical or mental health issue.
Easier recruitment and access to a larger talent pool
Offering remote work is one of the most effective non-monetary ways to retain talent that benefits the business. Remote work isn’t going anywhere, so it’s vital that employers understand the benefits and why they should support it. You can still ask questions and get help, but a lot of the time, it’s faster to Google it or search your company’s remote employee handbook to find the answer yourself. You might prefer to work from your favorite coffee shop around the corner, while visiting family, or outside instead of a cubicle. If you have a large team, it could also be worth keeping the office open and offering a hybrid model, so they have the option to work at home or in the office, giving them the best of both worlds.
“Any kind of flexibility is something that people are really, really ripe for, just some control over where and when they work,” she said. Graphics showing the reduction in air pollution and pictures of clearer skies over cities like Los Angeles have been among the silver linings of the pandemic. Of course, when people return to work, the roads may fill up again, especially if people fear getting the virus on public transit. And even if more people start working remotely, they might use their cars more for errands closer to home, said Bill Eisele, a senior research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Office commuters make up only about 18 percent of all traffic, he said. From zero commute to flexible hours, productive workspace, and better work/life balance, remote work is the wave of the future. The number of companies that are open to hiring remote employees is increasing every day.
Pool of talent
In addition, Bloom and his team found that employee attrition decreased by 50% among telecommuters as they took shorter breaks, fewer sick days, and less time off. On top of the reduced carbon emissions from less commuting, the company that was studied saved nearly $2,000 per employee on rent by reducing the amount of HQ office space. In addition how companies benefit when employees work remotely to personal health and well-being, coworker and manager relationships can be more positive without the distractions and politics that come along with an in-office job. A reported 72% of employers say remote work has a high impact on employee retention—plainly put, employees are sticking with their employer when they have remote work options.
Is working from home better or worse for mental health?
In a survey conducted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2021, the majority of employees working remotely reported a decline in their mental health. Respondents cited isolation, loneliness, and difficulty getting away from work at the end of the day as drawbacks to working from home.
Traditionally, companies have limited their hiring to people within commuting distance of their office. Unless you’re a large company, you’re competing with companies with more resources to outbid, out-perk, or out-cool you. For businesses outside of metropolitan areas, finding employees can be difficult. Depending on the size of your business, supporting remote employees could produce significant savings without radically restructuring your company. The average one-way commute time in the U.S. is 27.1 minutes, equating to nearly ten days commuting to and from work each year. Extreme commuters face commute times of 90 minutes or more each way and spend over a month commuting each year.
