Working From Home Is More Mentally & Emotionally Stressful Than Going To An Office For 4 Legit Reasons
ANTONI SHKRABA production | Pexels Many people who work in an office believe working from home must surely be less stressful. But attitudes are changing.
According to meQ's State of the Workforce Report, remote workers don't see their work environments as quite so great anymore. Instead, they face more stress than those who work on-site, because the perks of working from home have been distorted and remote workers now have to find a way to deal with them.
Reasons working from home is more stressful than working in an office
1. You struggle to form close connections with colleagues
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Co-worker communication happens very differently in remote workplaces. While some may assume that working from home means there's no communication with co-workers at all, this isn't true.
There are still meetings to be attended and emails to be answered. The big difference is that most, if not all, of this communication is essential.
When you're working in an office setting, there's time to joke and laugh with co-workers, and there's time to be serious and focus on work. You get to know colleagues on a personal level and learn about their lives outside of work. But this isn't easy when someone is working remotely.
A study published in Nature Human Behavior examined employees who worked in-office until they were forced to work remotely in 2020. Researchers found that employees were less likely to work with people in other departments.
More communication was through email or messaging platforms rather than face-to-face conversations or meetings. This may seem obvious when you work remotely, but it could be a big disadvantage for employees.
2. You worry about opportunities for career advancement
As the report indicated, people who worked remotely had less clarity when it came to their opportunities for advancement. Another survey by Robin Powered, Inc. found that some employers were more likely to promote workers who had spent time in the office.
If a company is completely remote, it will be prepared for these kinds of challenges and handle them differently. But if a few employees work remotely while others are in the office more frequently, it can become a bit complicated.
Dan Manian, the CEO and co-founder of Donut, a platform that assists in collaboration, said this problem can also be related to some advancement methods, like virtual training, which have no difference between in-person and remote workers.
Others, like promotions that management makes the final decision on, can benefit from being on-site. It allows employees to develop a stronger, closer relationship with supervisors and higher-ups.
When someone is working from home, it's easy for them to feel isolated to the point of being forgotten in some ways, especially if other workers are still at the office. They may worry that this will change their chances of growing their career and moving up the corporate ladder.
3. You're forced to deal with technical issues on your own
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If you work in an office or on-site, there's a good chance your company has some kind of IT department ready to help whenever technological issues arise. And if you struggle with technology in the office, there's a backup option you can use.
But if you're working from home, you may not have access to an IT department at all. This means you're solely responsible for dealing with any technical difficulties.
This can be discouraging when you don't have a lot of experience with tech in this way. Technology and productivity journalist Melanie Pinola said that "technology hiccups," from your internet going out to your laptop not turning on, can all prove to be detrimental when you're just trying to get through the workday.
When you're working from home, you're also likely using even more technology than you would on-site. You can't just pop into your boss's office to tell them something. Instead, you must send them a message of some sort, and that just compounds the problem.
4. You pay more for healthcare
Working from home is more stressful than working in an office because you end up paying more for healthcare. It has nothing to do with some kind of strange insurance policy that comes with remote work. It's actually because of the effect remote work has on employees.
As meQ's report pointed out, "Among those with high uncertainty stress, the prevalence of moderate or worse generalized anxiety disorder stands at 25%, more than double the 11% rate noted among those with lower degrees of stress. Generalized anxiety disorder is known to at least double health care costs."
An analysis from the Integrated Benefits Institute found that higher numbers of remote and hybrid workers dealt with depression and anxiety (40% and 38%, respectively) compared to on-site workers, who have a risk of around 35%. This increase in mental health issues is very real and can become very costly.
Working remotely has a lot of benefits, which is why so many people seek it out. But it's not all pros and no cons. Yes, you can work in your pajamas and run errands on the clock, but everything has a darker side
Sometimes, working from home can seriously stress out employees. So, people should carefully consider the best option for them based on their personal circumstances.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor's degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
