Working from home is sometimes preferred by employees
While working from home is sometimes preferred by employees, employers are doing their best to adapt to this trend.
Myrna Sachs, head of health management solutions at Alexander Forbes Health, said while working from home is sometimes preferred by employees, employers are doing their best to adapt to this trend.
In their research they found one of the biggest challenges being faced by employees is the new virtual way of working, which has placed greater strain on them as they’ve clocked many more hours of work at home than they did at the office.
“Employees are experiencing digital overload. Back-to-back meetings with no time to pause and the perception that it’s fine to squeeze in another one simply because everything is now being done digitally have become prevalent,” said Sachs.
Instead of the holy grail of work/life balance, many are experiencing a blurring of the line between work and home life.
“There are no longer any boundaries being adhered to and the expectation is for employees to be readily available all day. By way of example, many respondents in our research felt the constant urge to check their work emails after normal working hours.”
Working from home has also placed a burden on the mental health of many individuals. Sachs said their research found that many, particularly those living on their own, were reliant on the office for social interaction.
“Humans are at their essence social beings. Starving them of social interaction can have devastating consequences,” said Sachs.
The lack of social cues and gestures in the virtual setting has also led to increased miscommunication among colleagues.
“Non-verbal cues and gestures are an important part of human interaction and communication. Where these are not recognisable, as in the virtual meeting setting, especially when video cameras are off, misunderstanding between people can easily occur where they can’t observe facial expressions and body language.”
There are some solutions for organisations and their employees when confronted with the challenges of working from home. Alexander Forbes Health recommended some easy wins:
• Face-to-face check-ins are critical, including during performance appraisal discussions, and allowing employees access to the office with health and safety protocols in place.
• Creating a ‘buddy’ system among colleagues.
• Providing important support structure contact details like the South Africa Depression and Anxiety Group and gender-based violence helplines.
• Regular check-ins with team members keeping videos on.
• Introducing fun challenges to keep employees motivated.
• Auditing home workspaces and circumstance to understand what employees need in their home office space to work optimally, as well as whether they have other responsibilities at home such as having to home school their children or if their partner also works from home.
• Allowing some flexibility with proper guidelines to guard against possible abuse.
“There are myriad support systems and tools organisations can use to support their employees during this time.
If you go the extra mile to ensure their well-being, it is bound to have a positive knock-on effect on the business.
“If vaccination rates speed up, this should allow us to return to the office more safely and more rapidly and allow more normalised social interaction. This will have a direct bearing on mental health,” added Sachs.
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