While most employees say that remote work has helped their
About a third of employees say they struggle to leave the house enough when working remotely, according to a recent survey from Flexjobs, while another third report feeling overworked. While remote work comes with many benefits — such as reduced commute time and improved sleep — workplaces need to be cognizant of maintaining a work-life balance and how employees remain engaged.
"People sometimes have a hard time disengaging from work," says Keith Spencer, a career expert at Flexjobs. "Because they are working from home, it's really easy to say to yourself, 'I should just send one more email,' or 'I should just do one more task.' That can be damaging to our stress levels and our mental health."
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Maintaining a designated workspace and break times can help create more distinct boundaries. Without clear spatial divides, remote workers — especially those living with family or roommates — may find it difficult to untangle their jobs from their personal lives. Employers should also check in and make sure that employees are taking sufficient time-off. While almost half of employees report improved mental health, with lessened stress levels, some employees are even forgetting to take PTO, Spencer says.
Remote work has potentially isolating effects. Almost 20% of those surveyed by Flexjobs reported feeling "invisible" to their boss, and over a third felt that collaboration suffered when at home. To help ensure that employees feel seen, companies can be intentional about scheduling time for both work and non-work engagement. Workplaces can create joint problem solving sessions and have designated meeting times to check-up on each other's personal lives, Spencer suggests.
"For employers or supervisors, it's also a good idea to maybe build in some office hours," he says. "Simply saying, 'I'm available for this hour. If you just have any questions, pop into a huddle or into a Zoom meeting with me,' can be really helpful."
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Proactively using communication platforms like Slack can be another crucial tool for engagement. It has the potential to not only be a platform to check-in about work, but an opportunity to connect with peers. Meanwhile, other platforms such as Sococo or Walkabout Workplace can create the illusion of sharing a physical office space. This need for active engagement in a digital workplace can even be helpful in advancing people's careers, helping them learn new skills and expanding people's capacity, Spencer says.
"It can be important to really find time to just kind of completely unplug, leave, work aside and focus on life outside of work," Spencer says. "It is really important to set and maintain those boundaries."
