Does working from home impact mental health?

The UK is experiencing a mental health crisis. Both the pandemic and rising cost of living have shaken us all - and continue to do so at an alarming rate. 

At Health Assured, we've seen a 26% increase in calls to our mental health helpline from 2019-2022. 

As part of our ongoing effort to provide better health and wellbeing support, we’re always looking to gain more insight into the issues organisations are tackling.

So, after seeing this increase in calls we thought it necessary to conduct more in-depth research. 

We surveyed 5400 organisations across the UK to identify which areas they were finding most challenging right now. Here are the results: 

Q1. Which of the following do you expect to have the biggest impact on employee mental health in 2023?

It's no surprise that the cost of living is weighing heavily on individuals across the UK. 91.8% of people are concerned about rising prices, listing it as the biggest threat to mental health in the workplace. This was followed by workload (53.4%) and redundancy (23.3%). 

To further support these results, we've also seen a 40% increase in financial-related calls to our helpline over the last year. And, with energy costs set to rise again, we expect many more people will begin to struggle, both financially and mentally. 

Q2. We are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of people reporting feelings of declining mental health over the last couple of years due to isolation. Do you think working from home has had a negative impact on mental health? 

Working from home kept global business running during the COVID-19 pandemic and, since then, many UK companies have started to use flexible working. It became an exciting opportunity for companies to better support their employees work-life balance.

However, our survey results show that working from home may be having the opposite effect. Our results showed that: 

double the number of people thought that working from home had a negative impact on mental health rather than a positive one. 

Despite the advantages, working from home can cause problems for employees. Some of the most common downfalls of working from home include isolation and loneliness. 

Remote staff often find it hard to stay connected with other people. As a result, these working conditions can often lead to anxiety, disengagement, and poor emotional wellbeing. 

Conclusion

Our survey results indicate that working from home may be a risk factor for poor mental health.

With this in mind, organisations must make efforts to preserve the mental health of their employees; encouraging them to return to the workplace.

Working in collaborative environments not only helps prevent loneliness but also helps employers recognise the signs that an employee may be suffering from poor mental health.

The mental health crisis in this country is not going away anytime soon. 

Providing mental health support looks different for every organisation. But an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) can be a great way to offer your teams access to the support they need to manage their mental health, without having to pay privately or sign up to a long waiting list.

With mental health support at their fingertips, employees have somewhere to turn to when life’s inevitable challenges come their way. When you support your people in this way you make them feel valued, you increase loyalty, and you allow them to show up as their best selves at work.