The jury is out on whether virtual work environments help or hurt employees’ mental and emotional well-being. However, research shows it can contribute to feelings of isolation or anxiety, which adversely affect retention and efficiency. Luckily, leaders can use various strategies to ensure that remote work and mental health are mutually beneficial.
The Link Between Remote Work and Mental Health
For many, the shift to telecommuting was abrupt. COVID-19 forced working adults out of the office and into their living rooms, bedrooms or even closets. Five years later, they have mostly adjusted to this paradigm. However, since the flex work culture is still relatively new, they must handle unforeseen obstacles like safety and mental well-being.
For some, remote work facilitates emotional wellness. It gives them control over their working environment, provides free time for family obligations and makes them more engaged. For others, working alone and attending virtual meetings is isolating. There is less camaraderie between colleagues and less transparency in workplace policies.
Conflicting studies exist on whether telecommuting improves mental well-being. However, most experts agree that there are always shades of grey for employees who work in virtual environments.
Work is a significant stressor. Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workforce report found that around 41% of employees feel this way. Their stress levels vary depending on their workplace cultures and leadership, with management accounting for 70% of this variance. Those with actively disengaged higher-ups are 60% more likely to feel anxious.
Read our article, Key Workplace Mental Health Research.
How Technology Shapes Mental Health
Employers have less oversight of virtual work environments. As a result, many use time-tracking tools that log keystrokes, mouse movements and website visits. Some software even takes screenshots at regular intervals or accesses devices’ cameras.
Many employees dislike workplace surveillance software. In one survey, 37% of respondents agreed it adversely impacts them. It felt invasive and called their honesty into question, making them stressed. Exacerbating the issue, 47% of respondents felt that their employers were not transparent about using this technology.
These tracking tools may not be the answer to a lack of oversight, but employers need some way to monitor workers. Remote employees may not show the typical signs of disengagement. If they keep clocking in on time, no one notices if they are dishevelled, antisocial or visibly unwell.
Why Employers Should Improve Virtual Work Environments
Managers should care about remote workers’ mental health because it can affect productivity, engagement and retention. A Society for Human Resource Management report found workers are three times more likely to actively seek employment elsewhere if they feel burned out, and they are more than twice as likely to feel burned out if they don’t belong.
Beyond that, prioritising emotional wellness in the workplace helps managers create a culture of health and safety. Proactive, open communication about work-life balance and job-related stressors is becoming increasingly essential.
Ultimately, whether remote work is a net positive or negative does not matter. Employers should help if they notice even one person struggling. They can enact policy changes and implement new programs for an across-the-board improvement. Everyone will benefit, regardless of their feelings about working from home.
Read our article, What Does Safely Working from Home Mean?
Strategies to Improve Employees’ Mental Well-Being
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution since every company is different. However, businesses can use several general strategies to improve remote work mental health.
Develop a Mindfulness Program
A company-sponsored mindfulness program can teach people how to identify and mitigate anxiety and burnout. Empowering them to take charge supports management and safety professionals.
Training employees to recognise the signs and symptoms of declining mental health is a good start. Ensuring that supervisors and managers understand where to direct employees working in virtual environments who need support is vital.
The TIS Training Platform can help. We have a library of short courses and information articles that train on the signs and symptoms of mental well-being decline, offer support strategies that employees can immediately use and teach supervisors and managers what to do to support workers in virtual work environments.
Leave Some Time Unaccounted For
Telework has blurred the line between work and home life. The rise of tracking software and an “always-on” mentality has contributed to a growing sense of anxiety at many companies. When employers account for every minute of the workday, typical office activities like chitchat and midday walks are less acceptable.
Employers should allocate free time outside of standard breaks. Even 15 minutes could make a difference. Whether people use that time to take a walk, play with a pet or catch up on work is up to them.
Provide Mental Health Stipends
Stipends for gym memberships, counselling sessions and meditation classes encourage people to stay active and mindful, contributing to a healthier workforce. Small businesses with less room in the budget could post a monthly list of relevant coupons and sales. They may be unable to provide sessions for free, but they can help in other ways.
Companies Can Support Their Remote Workers
Organisations can’t always offer telecommuters the same perks as their in-person counterparts. Luckily, implementing remote work mental health programs is relatively straightforward. For instance, they can pay for a gym membership instead of giving team members access to an in-office gym.