Dealing with remote work burnout

Three years ago, remote work was akin to mythical creatures like bigfoot or mermaids. We had all heard about it but never seen it for ourselves. Well, I exaggerate, but it was definitely something reserved for places like the tech industry or consultancy roles. Fast-forward to 2022 with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work is a part of everyone’s lexicon, with Mckinsey (Smet et al., 2021) reporting that 70 percent of white collar employees work remotely at least two days a week.

Remote work is predicted to continue for the foreseeable future as the world continues to battle COVID-19 in all its variants. Additionally, employees have proven to their employers that working from home works! Therefore, a large number of organisations are expected to implement post-pandemic hybrid working systems that combine office time with remote work.

Though there have been many positive consequences of remote work, there have also been a number of negative consequences on employee mental health. Mckinsey (Alexander et al., 2021) reports that employee anxiety and burnout have increased by 50 percent since the advent of the pandemic. Burnout involves feelings of mental and emotional exhaustion. It manifests as:

• Constantly being tired
• Detachment from professional, social and personal networks
• Reduced concentration and memory retention
• Perpetual feelings of inadequacy and underperformance

This is a concern for employers because employee burnout:

• Reduces productivity
• Decreases satisfaction and engagement
• Increases interpersonal workplace conflict
• Increases employee turnover, which increases recruitment costs
• Increases employee sick leave

Why is remote work so tasking?

1. Work-life imbalance –  Between household responsibilities, home distractions and worrying or grieving over family members who have been infected by the pandemic; it’s no surprise that employees are feeling more burnt out. This is particularly prevalent in women who have traditionally been the primary caregivers at home. Parents with school-going children have also been more affected than other groups as they have to deal with extended school closures and remote schooling.
2. Zoom fatigue – Video conferences require large amounts of mental bandwidth as people are forced to focus intently on conversations and computer screens. When this is compared to in-person meetings that have non-verbal cues and whispering to your neighbour to ask what the presenter said, the additional exhaustion makes sense. Therefore employees are forced to hyper-focus or be left behind, which results in higher fatigue. 
3. Missing colleagues and in-person connectivity – Human beings are social creatures, we miss water-cooler gossip. Our social interactions with co-workers have been condensed to chats and one-minute catch-up sessions before meetings officially start. It’s lonely to constantly work alone.
4. Technical and connectivity issues – “Hello!!! Can you hear me?!” during an important meeting with a client or the CEO can seem career-breaking. Remote work has brought various technical issues that employees have to personally deal with, ranging from internet connectivity to machine malfunction. This is an additional layer of stress that was not present during in-person work sessions.
5. Overworking – It’s now easier than ever for employees to start work early, skip lunch and work into the night. Many remote workers have failed to demarcate work time and home time which has led to an increase in overworking and, consequently, burnout.

How can organisations help build employee mental and emotional resilience?

1. Communication – Employees want to feel included and know what’s going on in the organisation. I recommend regular town halls, virtual meet-ups and avenues like newsletters to make employees feel included. This serves to reduce employee anxiety that they are out of the “knowledge loop”. Additionally, increased communication has been related to employee productivity (Alexander et al., 2021). Therefore, both the employee and organisation win!
2. Prioritise mental health – Instead of pretending that everything is business as usual, employers can take a proactive stance around the implications of remote work on employee wellbeing. Part of tackling this challenge includes providing employees with additional mental-health support. This can be done through virtual counselling, virtual wellbeing sessions or subscriptions to mindfulness applications such as Headspace or Calm. Additionally, employers can encourage employees who are struggling mentally and emotionally to open up so that they can be provided with additional support. This can only be done if the organisational culture encourages psychological health.
3. Leverage technology and set clear procedures – Several free and paying technological tools exist that can make remote work easier. These include Trello, Slack and Microsoft Teams. These allow organisations to keep track of their various employee activities and also reduce the constant video conference calls. Additionally, having very clear procedures for how things should be done reduces employee confusion and dependence on managers. While these require significant effort to create, the returns are worth the effort as it results in clear expectations and deliverables.   

How can employees boost their mental and emotional resilience?

1. Avoid multitasking – While it’s easy to assume that you can do your emails while on a video conference call, this is not the case. For most people switching between tasks costs them 40 percent productivity (Fosslein & Duffy, 2020). Because while it may appear that you are saving time, you are expending more energy which results in greater fatigue. Therefore, save yourself the mental anguish and do one thing at a time.   
2. Ask for help – You don’t need to suffer in silence. If you think you’re burnt out and require leave or additional support tell someone. While there is still a stigma in society around mental health issues, the 21st century has seen greater acceptance of the relationship between employee productivity and mental wellbeing. If you had a debilitating illness no one would judge you for going to the hospital, this is similar.
3. Set clear work and home boundaries – With work and home life being intricately meshed, it’s not uncommon to hear about people receiving and responding to emails at midnight. However, this does not allow you to properly rest. Therefore, set clear boundaries for yourself, your workmates and your manager about when exactly you work. This will allow your mind to switch off, rest and enjoy all the other things that encompass your life.

In conclusion, there is no magic solution to reducing remote work burnout. However, by acknowledging all the consequences that come with remote work such as employee burnout, we can begin to carve a path for healthier working behaviours. By introducing some of these interventions in your organisation and personal life, I hope you’ll improve employee wellbeing and organisational productivity.

Sources

Alexander, A., De Smet, A., Langstaff, M., & Ravid, D. (2021). What employees are saying about the future of remote work. Mckinsey Global Institute, April, 1–13. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/what-employees-are-saying-about-the-future-of-remote-work

Fosslein, L., & Duffy, M. W. (2020). How to Combat Zoom Fatigue. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-to-combat-zoom-fatigue

Smet, A. De, Dowling, B., Mysore, M., & Reich, A. (2021). It’s time for leaders to get real about hybrid. In McKinsey Quarterly (Issue July). https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/its-time-for-leaders-to-get-real-about-hybrid