The concept of working from home had been offered to some desk jobs, even before the pandemic happened. In some companies, working from home is already an option before 2020 to lure more employees with convenience and the promise of a more well-balanced work and life.
Working from home allows people to do their job flexibly in the comfort of their homes, which was strongly realised by many companies when health lockdowns were a must.
However, after three years of working from home since the pandemic, this job condition is not all about rainbows and unicorns. Working from home has its advantages and disadvantages, economically, mentally and physically.
8 benefits of working from home
Let’s start with the good part. Working from home saved millions of companies all around the world during the greatest global health threat in the 21st century.
Aside from essential workers, like health professionals, security guards, grocery staff and police authorities, no one was allowed to go outside to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially going to non-essential work.
The solution is… a worldwide work-from-home job condition for roles that can be conducted at home; and although it was three years ago already, the memory is still fresh to us.
With the worldwide experience of working from home for several years, experts have come up with the eight major benefits of working from home.
1. Higher productivity
Initially, productivity is one of the top concerns of many companies when doing work from home; however, many studies suggest the other way around.
Remote workers are considered more productive despite serious issues they may be facing in the professional and mental aspects.
In an Airtasker survey, remote workers were found to be great at managing their time and using it for more work tasks, as the daily commute going to the office and casual chitchats with co-workers have been eliminated from their everyday work routine.
There are no interruptions from office occasions, like a co-worker’s small birthday party or a congratulatory party for promoted colleagues. Another factor is some employees may not be used to setting work boundaries and still work even after working hours.
Although the office distractions were removed during work from home, there are also home distractions, which can be simple as petting your dog, taking care of your crying baby or washing dishes in the sink.
The best way to deal with home distractions is to set up a clean and organised space at home where you can work remotely in peace [1].
2. A greater opportunity for inclusivity
As everything is becoming more digital, people with disabilities can have the opportunity to work in remote jobs at their homes. It also provides a chance for elderly people or pregnant women in their critical months to work easily.
Access to jobs in foreign countries while staying in their local country is possible as well, giving people of whatever race and nationality more job opportunities.
Working remotely helps a lot of employees to be their authentic self in the comfort of their own home, in contrast to the office setup where there are expectations and physical barriers.
Although hiring people with disabilities for a work-from-home setup can give companies a sense of workplace diversity, there still should be workshops, seminars and training about inclusivity so they may feel genuinely welcomed by peers.
3. Better for the environment
Harmful greenhouse gases are one of the major issues our environment has been facing for many years, not just for the environment but for people with exposure to them as well, as they can have serious health effects like respiratory diseases.
With them being the number one contributor to air pollution, harmful greenhouse gases can disrupt the food supply, change the weather to extreme and increase wildfires.
Here’s another pressing issue that the work-from-home setup may help with. Driving to work or even commuting, in general, can add to the increasing number of greenhouse gas emissions.
Hence, if the majority of the population is staying and working from home, greenhouse gas emissions may be reduced. In fact, one research suggests that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced from vehicle travel by more than 51 metric tons annually if people in the US are working from home [2].
4. Increased job satisfaction
Employees who work remotely were found to be more satisfied with their role compared with those who work on-site by more than 8 percent.
Meanwhile, the satisfaction between work-from-home and split employees only differed by 0.7 percent. Also, in comparison with office workers and split workers, people working from home are reported to have greater satisfaction with their job opportunities and compensation.
5. Better work-life balance
The term ‘work-life balance’ was originally used in 1980 and has become popular ever since. It basically denotes that you must balance out the time you are spending at work and the time you spend on everything else, including family, friends and hobbies. Work-life balance promotes proper time distribution for professional and personal obligations.
People who are working from home cite better work-life balance as the top reason they prefer working remotely.
The reason is they can have the autonomy to structure their workday so they can be their most productive while working. They get their tasks done efficiently according to their most productive time all throughout the day and make time for activities outside of work.
6. Less likely to have high turnover
It was found that companies and organisations that offer work-from-home have lesser turnover.
A study shows that employees are most likely to find new job opportunities elsewhere when their employer is no longer offering work from home. The reason behind the high turnover after requiring employees to start working at the office is due to increased focus on work-life balance [3].
7. Remote-work stipend
Economically speaking, working from home is great. Employees can save from lesser gas expenses and receive a one-time remote-work stipend or compensation for their home office.
Around 40 percent of employers distributed a one-time payment to their employees for work-from-home expenses in 2021. Moreover, working from home can positively affect employers as well. They can save on office expenses, such as office rent, internet, electricity and water bills and other utilities.
8. Provide job opportunities in economically disadvantaged areas
As the location is not a requirement in remote work, people who are living in rural or economically-challenged areas can compete with the workforce within the city.
It opens the door for the workforce in provinces or remote areas to have equal opportunities based on their skills and knowledge without relocation.
However, stable internet and well-functioning devices are a must, but there are also companies that offer this kind of assistance to their employees.
Relocation or migration for work is quite a big decision for the majority of employees, leaving them stuck in work that they are overqualified with to stay in their homes or, worse, for some people, they remain unemployed. Long-term high unemployment has a direct impact on mental health.
Most especially, there is a high rate of depression and anxiety in rural areas, particularly among older adults who have often had their lives massively affected by the community’s economic decline. Work-from-home jobs show promising opportunities to lower unemployment in rural areas.
Side effects of working from home
While there are promising benefits of working from home in different aspects of life, it also comes with serious effects on mental, physical and eye health in the long run.
1. Feelings of isolation among remote employees
Have you ever heard some good news about your co-worker and don’t have anyone to share it with who exactly knows the context?
Because most remote workers experience that. They can share it with their house members, but where’s the fun if they don’t know your co-workers, right?
Initially, working from home can provide positive impacts, but it can be detrimental to employees’ mental health for a long period of time.
Humans are social creatures, and whether you are an introvert or not, you still need someone to talk to from time to time. Staying focused on your screen and working non-stop for eight hours with no face-to-face conversation can affect your mental health.
Also, work-from-home jobs can cause anxiety. One recent study concluded that the lack of close contact among employees hinders the formation of trust, connection and mutual purpose, which happen to be the three key ingredients in any effective working relationship.
People working from home were also found to have a high potential to struggle with office politics, thinking that their colleagues were saying bad things behind their backs and lobbying against them.
2. Fostering enthusiasm at work is hard
Motivation is what keeps employees working diligently; however, working from home fades away this powerful element in business. Being passionate about work can help achieve more tasks and objectives at work.
Some possible culprits of loss of motivation at work could be lacking privacy or personal space, feelings of isolation and difficulty connecting with co-workers. Bringing work into your personal space is not for everyone.
Some may feel that they don’t have their own space anymore where they can rest and relax when working from home. Also, building camaraderie is difficult to conduct remotely.
3. Increased fatigue
With the dramatic increase in video conferences during the pandemic, it was found that people working remotely have experienced more fatigue and become more stressed, according to a study published by the Journal of Applied Psychology.
The requirement to remain online to fulfil work-related obligations and different recurring video or audio meetings left people working from home drained and exhausted, which apparently can take a heavy toll on mental health widely.
In a conventional workspace, there is a sort of community that provides genuine support and ambience that enhances the level of energy and motivation of the employees at work. Community support is missing in a WFH setup, causing lethargy due to limited options for recuperating and re-aligning focus.
4. Blurred lines between personal and professional space
Although for some people working from home can draw the line between work and life, some others can’t keep up with the demands of their job, causing them to extend their work even after working hours.
The boundary between personal space and professional life has blurred when working from home. Working on-site allows people to unwind after work by driving or commuting with some music on, socialising with colleagues and walking around for sightseeing. With working from home, employees are restricted to online video calls and messages.
5. Over-eating
Aside from spending most time wearing sweatpants and track pants, people who work from home may also develop unhealthy eating habits that can affect overall health.
When working in the office, eating may be restricted in the workspace area, which is opposite to working from home, where every snack and food is just an arm’s length away.
It also explains why millions of people gain weight during the pandemic. Unhealthy habits are concerning as they can lead to overweight and obesity, which are the root causes of many fatal diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Musculoskeletal pain
Musculoskeletal pain can be acquired from a not-quite-right desk setup, an unsupportive chair or simply long hours sitting down. It is a common problem among remote workers, as they usually don’t take short breaks and extend work hours.
To reduce musculoskeletal pain, you should place your computer monitor about arm’s length away and keep your knees and hips at a 90-degree angle. It can also aid in avoiding sitting on the couch or in bed for prolonged periods.
Many health experts suggest getting up and moving or changing positions every hour of your working hours.
For instance, try alternating between sitting at the dining room table and standing at the kitchen counter, which could serve as a standing desk.
Don’t ignore the pain despite changing positions. If the pain still persists after putting in an ointment or pain reliever, you should immediately consult your doctor.
7. Experience eye strain
Spending long hours using your computer can affect your eye health, causing you to experience a little blurry vision or even develop a mild headache.
Eye strain is a common complaint of employees working with computers or some other devices, most especially for remote workers.
Health experts explained that eye strain commonly happens to people working from home because of sustained focus on screens.
There are eye muscles that contract when looking up close and relax when looking away. As everything is done digitally for work-from-home workers, they mostly experience eye strain.
Taking visual breaks is a must to reverse this work-from-home side effect. Plus, you should adjust the angle of your computer screen to 15 to 20 degrees below the horizontal eye level.
8. Stunted creativity and innovation
Losing the sense of purpose is also one critical side effect of working from home, which is contrary to working in the office as there are strong and cohesive relationships around.
Plus, seeing other people working on tasks can motivate other employees to work as well, which then creates a community of creativity and innovation.
Synergy is essential at work, and it can be cultivated through face-to-face interaction with like-minded co-workers. Without synergy, the ability to innovate as a community of employees can be stunted [4].
In fact, the percentage of business leaders believing that they are constantly innovating with their products and services declined by almost 20 percent in 2020. One factor contributing is employees not physically spaced together, resulting in an inability to brainstorm creatively.
Challenges of working from home
With the remoulded work setup in the 21st century to adapt to the current needs, the global workforce is expected to experience different challenges. Some of these challenges are the following:
1. Too many personal distractions
Home is where others find everything about you; hence, when you work from home, you bring in with you unfamiliar tasks or activities in your most vulnerable space.
Babies, pets, household chores, sleeping and etc., are just some of the distractions that work-from-home employees are facing to their day-to-day job.
Who is more important in your life, your family or your boss? Of course, it is your family, as you can always find a new job elsewhere, but your family is irreplaceable.
With prioritisation, employees are way more distracted when working from home; they will surely prioritise their family matters over some tasks.
Some other distractions of remote employees can be playing video games, listening to some music and online shopping – these are doable as there is no one to supervise them face-to-face. Who would know, right?
2. Communication and collaboration difficulties
While there are many ways to keep in touch with work-from-home workers and enable consistent collaboration between them, many employees working remotely may find that they lack the human element.
It is found that understanding people’s emotions, general mood or energy is difficult when only using the internet. When meeting with new people, some people may find it hard to get a handle on different personalities, making it difficult to break the ice.
3. Technical challenges
Typically, employees who work from the office don’t need to worry about the technical arrangements of their work, which include computer, internet connection, software and other work-associated paraphernalia. Everything is usually managed by the company’s IT department.
Meanwhile, when working from home, it is the other way around. Technical challenges are pretty common for remote employees, which can lead to many hiccups, interruptions and, worse, security breaches. Non-tech-savvy employees may have a harder time than others as well.
4. Working too much
Many managers fear remote work as they believe employees will slack off without that physical, in-person supervision and insight.
However, the reality is the opposite: work-from-home employees are more likely to work too much. As your personal life and work life stays under the same roof, it can be harder to switch off.
To overcome this challenge, you must create a hard line between work and home affairs. It is advisable to keep your personal life away from your career; in this way, you can easily detach when your work hours end.
Research about working from home
As working from home reshaped conventional workspaces, numerous research studies have been conducted to identify its different facets.
Productivity
First on the list is productivity. Remote workers were found to be 13 percent more efficient than their co-workers in the office, according to one study conducted by a researcher at Stanford University.
Employees were also reported to have the same productivity level or even higher when they work from home compared with on-site [5].
Furthermore, work-from-home workers ranked their productivity higher in some other studies.
For instance, in a Canada Life survey, the results showed that remote workers ranked productivity at 7.7 out of 10, which is higher compared with office workers, who ranked their productivity at 6.5 out of 10 only.
Employees who work from home tend to extend their hours longer. In fact, an Ergotron’s study revealed that 40 percent of employees work longer hours at home compared with when they are in the office.
Additionally, the data provided by the National Bureau of Economic Research also shows these extended workdays are about 48.5 minutes longer on average. Overall, the extended time could add up to more than 193 additional working hours in a year for full-time employees [6].
Job satisfaction
A 2019 study shows that 22 percent of full-time work-from-home employees claimed that they were happier in their jobs than workers who did not experience remote work [7].
Some perks of working remotely yield higher job satisfaction, which includes increased autonomy and a flexible schedule. The said remote-work perks meet the demand of the work and allow employees to enjoy their personal life.
In another study, the researchers found that the ability to work from home is strongly associated with happiness at work.
The study was conducted by Tracking Happiness in which the scholars exactly used 12,455 employees to survey their work conditions.
The results showed that a total of 65.1 percent of the respondents were male, and 34.5 percent were female.
Meanwhile, the location of the respondents varied, with 38.6 percent coming from North America, 36.1 percent coming from Asia, 19.5 percent coming from South America and 5.1 percent coming from Europe [8].
The work-life balance
Working remotely can greatly increase work-life balance, according to a 2019 study. Around 81 percent of respondents emphasised that the ability to work remotely would allow them to manage work-life conflict much better.
Working from home has been shown to increase sleep, reduce stress and allow more time for healthy habits, especially exercise [9].
Moreover, employees who work remotely were found to improve work-life balance. Around 75 percent of Egotron survey respondents claimed that their work-life balance has improved since they have experienced working from home.
To further prove this claim, the data from Future Forum corroborates the notion. The organisation discovered that remote employees have twice as much work-life balance as full-time office workers [10].
In working from home, both mental health and work are intertwined. Too much work can cause and exacerbate various mental health issues; however, it can also serve as a support mechanism.
Particularly, flexible work options can provide more support for the mental health of employees in their personal and work life.
Moreover, work flexibility, like being able to do remote work, follow flexible hours and have reduced schedules, can support the overall wellness of employees.
Around 97 percent of employees say that being able to do more flexible jobs would have a huge and positive impact on their quality of life.
Less stress
In a 2020 study by Nitro, the researchers have identified trends showing reduced workplace stress among employees who work from home. In that study, around 29 percent of remote respondents answered that they were moderately stressed at work, down from 33 percent in 2019 when office work was the norm.
The study further showed the number of employees who felt extremely stressed whilst working has also declined. The figure fell from 17 percent in 2019 to 15 percent in 2020 when work shifted from in-person to at-home [11].
In addition, even if an employee delights in their everyday work tasks, the general process they go through just to arrive in the office on time and from work, every day can take a toll on mental health.
On a regular day, the commute time in the U.S. can take up to almost 27 minutes each way. However, people who are interested in flexible work options have even longer commutes, according to a survey.
About 73 percent of commuters said they had round-trip commutes that take about an hour or more, while 71 percent said they would really prefer to work from home in order to reduce commute-related stress [12].
The bottom line
Working from home has its ups and downs, whether for employers or employees. While employees face deteriorating mental health when doing full work from home, they can also enjoy its perks, better work-life balance and wide job opportunities.
Employers are more after the increased turnover, low productivity and reduced team synergy.
With these different issues, challenges or even advantages of working from home for both parties, the compromise that companies have seen is doing a hybrid work setup where employees can do remote jobs and on-site work several days a week.
[1] https://apploye.com/blog/work-from-home-distractions/
[2] https://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/resources/costs-benefits
[3] https://owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2021
[4] https://news.microsoft.com/europe/features/flexible-ways-of-working-are-here-to-stay-finds-new-european-research-with-leaders-focused-on-maintaining-culture-and-innovation/
[5] https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200710-the-remote-work-experiment-that-made-staff-more-productive
[6] https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27612/w27612.pdf
[7] https://resources.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2019
[8] https://www.trackinghappiness.com/remote-work-leads-to-happiness-study/
[9] https://resources.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2019
[10] https://futureforum.com/research/pulse-report-fall-2022-executives-feel-strain-leading-in-new-normal/
[11] https://cdn.gonitro.com/express/pages/resources/library/ebooks/future-of-work/Nitro+Future+of+Work+Report+-+Part+2.pdf
