COVID-19 forced all companies to shut down and start working remotely. So, it’s a significant movement in the traditional setting of the working environment.
Now, most people work from home, all due to the recent pandemic. We all know that the world needs to remain socially distant to stop the spread.
But like many other things, working from home comes with both positive and negative sides. But at first, we need to understand the worker’s perspective:
What Do Workers Think About “Working from Home”?
Workers are the main people forced to work remotely; that’s why we need to understand their perspective in the first place—the buffer, a famous social media platform, surveyed with 2500.
However, around 99% of workers said that they want to work remotely for their whole life. Apart from this, some percentage stated they are enjoying work from home due to great flexibility.
People believe that now they have more time to spend with their families, friends, and other social activities.
Other Side of the Story:
But like other things, we have two sides to the story. Some employees think opposite, and the following pointers highlight the crux:
- The survey found that 4/5 employees complained that pandemics and working from home affected their sleep patterns.
- Apart from this, 45% of employees feel less mentally healthy because they are working from home.
- It’s worth mentioning that people working from home report back and neck pain.
- The percentage of people with issues increases daily, but it has become a new normal. Thus, we need to accept that remote work will stay here for many companies.
How Does “Work from Home” Affect Human Health in the Long Run?
Since the pandemic started, we have been experiencing and listening to work from home.
People are talking about it, but today we will divide the discussion into two parts. Here are two ways in which WORK FROM HOME could affect our lives:
| The positive side of working from home | The negative side of remote working |
People always talk about the positive side of remote working. But there is less percentage who spoke about the opposing sides. So, in today’s conversation, let’s focus on this:
Side Effects of Working from Home on Human Health:
Many research and surveys have proved that remote working comes with opposing sides and positive ones. Health is one of the precious gifts of God, and remote working is affecting that in the following ways:
Muscle Pain
If you are working from home, it means long sittings in front of the screen and less physical activity. Apart from this, the wrong posture while working is another common problem that we have seen in employees.
In addition to this, unsupportive chairs, the wrong desk set up and late sittings are other significant reasons behind this.
In America, 56% of adults complain that pandemic negatively impacted their health. But you can avoid to some extent by following these medical recommendations by a specialist DPT and Ph.D.:
- In the first place, avoid long sittings and divide work into small parts.
- Keep your monitor and computer screen at arm’s length and keep your knees and hips at a 90-degree angle.
- It’s best to change your position every hour. You can also try alternatives like try standing desks etc.
But if you are already in pain, don’t ignore it for too long. It’s better to get treated at an early stage instead of waiting for a worse situation.
Apart from this, you can automate tasks to reduce the workload. You can use different apps software like digital invoice maker to pace up the work.
Mental Health
Many researchers concluded that working from home harms mental health. Human beings need to create a balance between their working and social life.
But while working from home, socialization isn’t possible. According to the results of health surveys:
“Indoor work settings and poor environment isn’t suitable and could be a cause of headache and pain disorder.”
When someone is working remotely, there would be no boundaries of office hours. As a result, people deal with obesity and weight gain problems. The following stats elaborate the situation in detail:
- 24% of the UK citizens think COVID isolated them by affecting social life
- There are 93% of countries that have seen disruption in their mental health services.
But organizations can help employees by maintaining boundaries between their personal and professional life. For instance, they can automate a few tasks using software like a paystub generator. In this way, employees can save some time for entertainment.
Physical health
In addition to mental, physical health is on top of the list. Due to isolation and fewer activities, people have started putting on weight.
Many people are dealing with obesity because they are following an unhealthy lifestyle. Working from home gives us less control over our lives.
For instance, we start skipping meals or eating unhealthy stuff. Apart from this, the order in has increased because remote working has eliminated the office boundary and people feel themselves in work settings all the time.
Eye Health
Another biggest concern is the eye health effect when you work on computer screens for long hours. So, it’s another downside of the COVID-19 and becoming a common complaint of employees. According to doctors:
“There are eye muscles that get upset when we look up close for a long time.”
So, we need to look away to avoid this problem. Apart from this, many other reasons are causing eye strain.
- The blue light emitted from the computer screen focuses on the retina, and as a result, your eye works hard to see objects.
So, if you are experiencing persistent headaches and disoriented focus, then book an appointment with the doctor. You can take the help of eye drops if the problem is minor. Furthermore, try wearing glasses that protect you from the blue rays.
Anxiety
If you aren’t happy at work and face mental and physical health issues, you can’t give your 100%. So, ultimately all these things affect job performance and negatively impact careers. Later, these issues add anxiety in your life that leads to the following matters:
- High blood pressure
- Cholesterol problems
- Risk of depression
So, all these things are interlinked, and you need to improve your experience by focusing on small details. But workers also need employers’ help to maintain the working environment up to a healthy standard.
Remote work shows excellent productivity, but we need to do it in the right way to get positive results.
