Data Reveals Growing Remote Work Burnout

By siliconindia  |  Friday, 21 August 2020, 10:29:56 AM IST

Data Reveals Growing Remote Work Burnout

With the rise of remote working in the new covid-19 era, so is remote work fatigue and burnout, according to new data.

The Findings at a Glance

Remote working seems like the perfect work set up—no time spent commuting, working at your own pace and no random meetings to interrupt. However, it is much more complex than that and there are increasing evidence that it’s not for everyone. Remote working comes with a different set of new issues that not all workers are equipped to deal with.

The Key Findings:

  • According to a July 2020 survey of 284 US workers by Monster, over 69% of employees working from home experience burnout symptoms
  • The 69% burnout figure is an increase of 20% from a similar survey just two months earlier.
  • 59% of participants in a survey said they took less time off as remote workers than they usually did before the pandemic.
  • A survey of over 11,000 employees by Fishbowl found that 68% of those working from home suffer from remote work burnout.
  • The same Fishbowl study also showed that tech workers experienced the highest burnout while teachers experienced the lowest
  • By gender, both men and women experienced similar rates of burnout—men at 67% and women at 70%.
  • A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 57% of mothers reported a decline in their mental health working from home, as opposed to only 32% fathers reporting the same.
  • Despite the burnout statistics, almost three-quarters of current remote workers say they want to work remotely for the rest of their career.

Just before COVID-19, there were approximately 7 million remote workers in the US according to data from Flexjobs. The increase in remote workers from 2015 to 2020 was 44%, so remote working was on the rise even before the pandemic.

Why Burnout Rates Are Increasing Among Remote Workers

Reasons for burnout vary a lot between people, depending on their family structure, age and economic bracket. Some potential reasons for burnout include:

  • Struggles with loneliness due to remote working, especially for those who are more productive around others.
  • As remote working requires one to be quite tech savvy, this could be an issue for those that are new to remote working—having to solve tech issues on their own.
  • Remote working may be hard for those that find it difficult to multitask, especially juggling work and household chores.
  • For some, there is an increase in household work due to summer camp closures or school closures, as well as reduced childcare options.
  • Some companies have increased the number of meetings since the pandemic, which presents more of a distraction and negatively impacts productivity for some people.

Preventing WFH and Remote Working Burnout

As remote working is here for the foreseeable future, it is crucial for workers to have coping mechanisms. Solutions need to be implemented by both the workers as well as the employers, to reduce burnout. Here are some ways it can be tackled:

1. Keeping In Touch with Coworkers

Rachel Ernst, VP of Employee Success, Reflektive reiterates the importance of staying in touch with employees to keep up their morale and productivity. It is important for managers and supervisors to regularly check in on their employees to avoid further errors, frustrations and miscommunications.

2. Setting Boundaries

One of the biggest reasons people feel burnout is because they can’t set boundaries between their work life and home life. Research from Arizona State University found that even simple routines can help draw boundaries between work and home. For example, putting on work clothes in the morning or having a short walk before starting the ‘work’ day can help get you in the mood for work.

3. Creating a Proper Workspace

According to Kavita Trivedi at UT South Western Medical Center, WFH injuries such as neck, shoulder and back pain are on the rise due to more people working from home. This is mainly caused by poorly set up workspaces that often include calling the bed or sofa and coffee table as your new office.

Some basic tips on office ergonomics:

  • 1. Sit up straight with your monitor at eye level and arms length away from you
  • 2. Do not sit cross legged. Keep both feet flat on the floor
  • 3. Check your chair to make sure it’s adjustable in the key areas to suit your body
  • 4. Work at a proper desk that is tall enough so you’re not hunched over
  • 5. Take a break from sitting at least once an hour
  • 6. Ensure sufficient lighting so as not to strain your eyes.

4. Investing In Self-Care

Especially during a pandemic, it is very important to invest time in both mental and physical health. A decline in mental health, such as chronic stress, has shown to have a negative impact on vital body functions like digestion and immunity. So, it is important to carve out time to eat and exercise properly.

Mental health is rapidly declining among the general populace because of the pandemic—with some hotlines experiencing as much as a 1000% increase in calls compared to 2019 according to the Washington Post.

Simple self-care activities are also great for decompressing. They don’t have to be super expensive or sophisticated, even a few simple breathing exercises would suffice. Studies have shown that even 10 minutes of deep breathing or meditation is enough to positively impact brain structure.

The Bottom Line

There are a myriad reasons as to why remote workers feel burnout. For some, it is about struggling with a new reality in the face of the pandemic, while others struggle with loneliness and isolation. Whatever the reason may be, investing in a good self-care routine and a healthy lifestyle is crucial to tackling burnout.

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