How to Prevent Burnout While Working Remotely

When we don’t see or hear from people intrusive thoughts say “They must not like me” or “I must have messed up”. It puts people off and it means communication and conversation productivity become negatively correlated. Remote work demands more communication but the virtual calls are draining employees. Implementing a supportive and collaborative approach to flexible working requests will also help to avoid employees reaching burnout in the first place.

“We join RSPH in calling on employers to commit to protecting their people by encouraging positive and healthy remote working routines, and providing clear remote access to appropriate mental health support services and resources. Everyone should have the right to good mental health and wellbeing, and the best employers will set up their workforces not only to cope, but to thrive as we move out of the pandemic. Another important factor that has escalated the risk of employee burnout is increased pressure.

Employee burnout: causes, costs and cures

In conclusion, the statistics on stress experienced by female workers in 2022 demonstrated a clear need for further action and support to address their challenges in the workforce. While only 5 percent of workers received unlimited holiday from their company, discussion around ‘unlimited paid time off’ has increased 48 percent in the last 12 months in employee reviews on Glassdoor. Research by HowNow discovered that over two-thirds of workers (67%) feel ‘disconnected’ from their colleagues and 42% feel ‘lonely’ at work.

• It will also help you address any concerns before it impacts employee performance and productivity.
• Read our tips from top interview experts and be more prepared for your interview than anyone else.
• This includes separating your work space from your living space, turning off any work devices in the evenings, sticking to your working hours and ensuring that you take breaks during the day.
• As part of this, levels of burnout, time wasted and imposter syndrome were measured and shows how each was impacted during 2020.

And the negative aspects of management can be particularly pronounced in virtual teams. Studies show that remote workers often feel indebted to their employers for giving them the opportunity to work from home.43 Something that is especially true of organisations where the majority of the workforce is not remote. That said, if you’re just looking to do a quick appraisal of your current situation, check for these common signs of stress in remote workers and remote teams. So, organisations that are thinking of going remote should ensure managers, remote workers and in-office employees understand how to do it well. For example, in 2020, Gallup found that remote workers consistently show higher rates of engagement than employees working on-site37.

A scalable solution for all organisations

However, if we want a detailed analysis, we can look at the top 10 most stressed jobs and compare them with the jobs females dominate. As per an article by Emerald Insight published in February 2022, women who worked in the IT industry suffered more stress than those in teaching and government jobs. Moreover, only 43% of women were comfortable talking about the work-related stress challenges they met at the workplace.

Having virtual team building activities can make those employees who are remote feel as connected as teams in the office who see each other regularly. Taking half an hour or an hour out of someone’s week to incorporate joy and connection into their day can make all the difference in their connection to the organisation and encourage them to make personal connections. However, the health and wellbeing issues which are affecting home workers and the fact that some groups of people are impacted more severely than others needs to be addressed by employers. This is because combatting employee burnout requires the long-term and effective management of workplace stress – whether your employees are working from the office or from home.

Before COVID-19 Shutdowns

In short, there are always things that you can do to distract yourself and use your time in healthy and productive ways, rather than overworking. Of course, staying focused and distraction-free while working from home can be especially tricky for those with children. Speak to your manager if it’s possible to work on a flexible schedule, allowing you to take some time off during school pick up and continue working later in the evening. Make sure that you still stick to your working hours and don’t continue on for longer.

“Remote work that doesn’t revisit the working culture can often foster online presenteeism, which is an issue that in part fuelled the burnout pandemic. This type of poorly designed remote work can erode work-life barriers and increase stress and burnout. Organisations need to create and implement curated guidelines and best practices, such as giving employees the right to disconnect,” he says. RingCentral’s study looked deeper into https://remotemode.net/blog/remote-work-burnout-fatigue-and-how-to-avoid-it/ how hybrid and office-based workers respectively felt about their working lives. On almost every metric – from productivity to motivation, work-life balance to burnout – hybrid workers reported higher levels of satisfaction. As with most employment issues, prevention is better than cure and employers should therefore ensure adequate training is provided for managers so that they are able to recognise the early signs of burnout.

Is a good hybrid work culture the antidote to quiet quitting?

But, more than that, you also need to consider less obvious provisions like ergonomic equipment and tech support. This one’s a sneaky shortcut, but sometimes you need a workaround to get speedy results. Think of it like this… you’re eating dinner with your kids when your phone buzzes. You take https://remotemode.net/ a peak thinking it might be another hilarious cat meme but it’s an email from your boss chasing up your expenses or micromanaging your new project. You can compensate for the deficiencies of virtual communication by being smart about which media you use for certain types of conversation.

With so much uncertainty around us, as well as an ever-weakening economy, employees are battling a number of increased pressures. Financial worries, anxiety relating to furlough schemes and job insecurity are major concerns for many employees. Because of this, they feel they have to work harder for their jobs and should always be present and available, even when they are sick.

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In it, Wharton School organisational psychologist Adam Grant posits a link between quiet quitting and that other post-pandemic trend – the great resignation. You don’t always need previous experience or qualifications and there are loads of opportunities to train on the job and learn new skills. Find out if a support worker job role is for you, with expert advice on how much you could earn, what types of support worker jobs are available and how you can progress your career. Our latest research illustrates the increased levels of imposter syndrome, anxiety and burnout many British office workers are currently experiencing. According to the data, increased volume of unnecessary video calls and meetings has led to three hours and 17 minutes to be wasted each week – just under half of an average full-time UK employee’s work-day.

• At Totaljobs, we’ve been considering the pros and cons of working from home.
• The people we work with can have an impact on our happiness at work, and the hours we spend working.
• They also found that when mums were remote workers, their children slept more.
• We’ve created a nifty infographic to visualise the changing faces of our workplaces and clarify exactly how a new way of working may impact on our day-to-day lives.
• 51% of those working in the property and construction sector have also worked more hours throughout the pandemic, with 22% now wanting a career break due to the pressures felt throughout the pandemic.

If you have ever been new to a company before, you understand there is a certain awkwardness. You’re trying to fit into the culture, make some friends and get up to speed all at once. The issue with remote work is that the window to doing these things is much narrower. The mechanics of a virtual call mean that group interactions are far less cohesive. As much as 92% of people are multitasking on virtual calls and as soon as any two people speak at the same time, messages get lost and diminished.