Remote hiring, work from home, hybrid work—all of these terms were mostly alien to us; something of a distant dream when the pandemic hit in 2020. The business world was bound to work from their home which was a stressful situation to cope with as no one was comfortable with remote work setup.

But that is a pretty much standard reaction to any major transformation in the industry.

Today, according to the Talent Tech Outlook 2022 study 82% of employees prefer to work from home. As a result, it has become difficult for companies to hire employees who are ready to work from the office only. This situation has triggered employers to look for a middle ground.

How does remote work affect employees’ mental health?

The remote work model concept has brought multiple opportunities for both employers and employees. However, you should not forget that it also has a negative impact on employees’ mental health. 

According to Forbes, a majority of remote working employees are experiencing negative mental health impacts due to tremendous work pressure. Fast Company also issued a piece discussing how remote work often “exacerbates existing mental health issues like depression and anxiety.”

Loneliness and isolation

Remote employees neither have an office setup at home nor can enjoy socializing with their colleagues. The physical separation of coworkers has made employees think that they don’t have any friends at work. The feeling of loneliness impacts their collaborative efforts and daily productivity at work.

High-stress levels and anxiety

Employees working from home are often overloaded with work. Such high work pressure and back-to-back meetings increase their stress levels and anxiety, which in turn make them feel exhausted and lethargic.

Depression

Loneliness and anxiety are the two prominent reasons for depression. Some symptoms of depression they often have are irritability, sadness, hopelessness, excessive errors in work, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, and panic attacks.

What are some of the effective ways to improve employees’ mental health?

Mental health issues are prominent among employees working from home. Consequently, these lead to loss of productivity, poor employee-management relationships, team inefficiency, high employee turnover, and eventually a significant loss in business. 

The only way to get rid of such challenges is to take care of their mental health needs. You can offer proper mental health resources and support your remote employees in this crisis to get the benefits of a remote work model. 

The following ways can certainly help you support remote employees’ mental health and improve productivity. Don’t miss out on any of them!

Stay connected with all your employees

Technological advancements have made it easier for organizations to stay connected with their employees, even if they are working remotely. For example, at Brainium, we use Skype to keep in touch with our employees. Not only for work purposes but also, we try to connect with them over a voice call or video call if required. Similarly, you can leverage such tools to have seamless communication with your remote workers. Be it a work-related discussion or any personal talk, these tools would always help you learn about your employees’ well-being and work conditions. 

Read More:

Rise of video conferencing apps due to COVID-19

Promote physical activities

Physical exercise is very important for mental fitness. It boosts mood, increases energy, relieves anxiety, and improves sleep. An article in the Economic Times stated that even brisk walking for 30 minutes can boost your mood, keeping your anxiety at bay. Hence, you can encourage your remote workers to perform physical activities daily to boost their physical and mental health conditions. You may ask your employees to go for a walk or perform yoga daily and keep track of these activities. You can even gift a fitness tracker to invoke interest. 

Socialize virtually

Working from home is pretty boring as they have no colleagues in-person to interact with. Therefore, to make work-life interesting and fun-loving, you can organize different virtual activities for your remote workers. For instance, you can conduct virtual quiz sessions or other contests and encourage your employees to participate. Such activities will not just improve their mental health but even keep them engaged with your organization, thereby reducing the staff turnover rate.  

Ask them to take regular breaks

A healthy work schedule must include breaks. Regular breaks act as a refreshment and help employees to deliver better performance. Instead of asking your employees to stick to their desktop or laptop screens for hours, you can encourage them to take a break and have some refreshing drinks or snacks. Adding flexibility to work is a healthy behavior that helps develop a work-life balance and reduce employee burnout. 

Appreciate good work

Appreciations are always helpful. When you appreciate your employees for their hard work, they feel motivated and always try to give their best. Keeping this in mind, you can organize a virtual appreciation and reward ceremony and felicitate them in front of the leaders. These programs can work as a stress buster and eventually captivate employees to deliver quality work. 

Run mental health surveys

Last but not least, you can run various mental health surveys to get a better insight into your employees’ mental health conditions. Sometimes, people hesitate to talk about their mental health issues. The best way to give them a space for pouring their heart out is by sending them survey forms. You can design a questionnaire related to mental health topics and send them via official email. Some common questions are –

✓ Do you feel comfortable working from home?
✓ Do you have an office setup at home?
✓ What are the different activities you perform at home?  

Whether you are a manager, team leader, or an employer, these questions might you understand the mental health condition of your remote employees and take preventive measures.

Is hybrid working mode the answer to these challenges?

While in 2022 employees got used to working from home, employers, on the other hand, are thinking of ways to bring back the workforce into the office. Some companies are considering incentives like wellness bonuses, afternoon naps, and appraisals to lure employees back into the workplace.

However, according to most surveys, employees are pushing toward a hybrid work model for 2023. For employees, hybrid work offers the flexibility that lacks in work-from-home and work-from-office environments. As employee mental health conditions are piling up, employers are understanding the attraction behind a hybrid workforce. Hybrid work gives the perfect balance of work life without diminishing productivity.

Conclusion

A remote work model indeed comes with tons of benefits for an organization. Nevertheless, it also has this major drawback – a serious risk to employees’ mental health. This is why responsible companies like ours are taking proactive steps to support the mental health of our remote workers. Employee engagement programs that include mental health eventually help you boost business productivity amidst any crisis. 

How have you contributed to improving the mental health condition of your remote employees? Don’t forget to share it with us!