Remote working may have provided a means of keeping businesses afloat during the pandemic, but it is also taking its toll on the mental health of employees. This is according to a new report from 8×8, which argues that remote workers have been pushed to brink of burnout by Covid-19.
Polling more than 1,000 small and medium-sized business employees for the report, the company found that mental health was the number one concern for almost half of the respondents.
Safety in the physical workplace (37 percent) and being able to work effectively under lockdown restrictions (35) were also cited as major concerns.
Remote workers were met with unique challenges in their new working environments, including constant distractions (30 percent), trying to balance between work and family life (29 percent) and getting into a working frame of mind at home (27 percent).
Regular communication appears to be the best way to mitigate the risks of burnout and make sure employees remain in a good frame of mind. Almost three quarters of respondents said frequent communication is essential to success, but almost a third (30 percent) don’t feel any more connected since they were forced to work from home.
“The switch to working from home has had a profound impact on all office workers, but for those working for SMBs, the transition has been particularly tough,” explained Chris Angus, Senior Director at 8×8.
“The experience of working remotely has revealed the power of conversation, whether that is in ensuring the latest safety information gets to the right people, or in keeping customer relationships strong at a time when so many business owners are fighting to keep operations running.”
