Remote work can have hidden negative effects on employee wellness.

Sure, remote work has many obvious benefits — no hassle or time wasted on commuting, more autonomy, no business attire expenses. And some workers say they would voluntarily take a 10% pay cut to work at home.

But, with nearly 1 in 7 employees in the US now working from home all the time, it’s important to consider the many possible negatives of remote work. A 2023 survey of 44 academic papers found that “Remote workers typically experienced low levels of positive feelings, triggering unpleasant emotions, and developed burnout syndrome and an acute response to professional stress.”

In short, remote work was bad for both workers and businesses: “Employee burnout and turnover, emotional and physical wellbeing, and work stress affected work–life balance and led to adverse job outcomes.”

It turns out escaping home stressors to socialize with your colleagues is important! The solution, according to the academics, is more emphasis on virtual support and community. “Workplace social support is needed for technology-mediated remote work to improve professional engagement and the psychological well-being of employees.” With no physical watercooler, companies need to create virtual gathering places and conversational hubs.

We should know: Racery’s team has been working remotely since 2015 and Racery was invented specifically to help remote colleagues and family (spread from Durham, North Carolina to Gothenburg, Sweden to Budapest, Hungary) connect with each other better.

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Here are some key issues that lead to burnout for remote workers:

1. Isolation: Without daily, face-to-face interactions in an office, employees can feel lonely, which can lead to depression and anxiety!
2. Blurring of Work-Life Boundaries: Remote work obviously blurs the line between professional and personal life. The result: longer work hours and difficulty disconnecting from work.
3. Reduced Physical Activity: Commuting from your bedroom to the kitchen table isn’t good for exercise versus walking to office meetings and going out to lunch.

Some strategies HR pros can use to battle remote work isolation and burnout:

1. Foster Virtual Social Interactions:

• Virtual Coffee Breaks: Encourage casual virtual meetups where employees can chat informally.
• Team-Building Activities: Organize virtual team-building exercises (like our employee virtual races!) and social events to strengthen team bonds.
• Online game sharing: Have a staff contest to see who does the best at Wordle or Connections.

2. Promote Work-Life Balance:

• Set Clear Boundaries: Set and publicize clear working hours to make sure employees know when they are expected to be online and working. Then let ’em log off, for Pete’s sake!
• Encourage Breaks: Remind employees to take regular breaks and use their vacation time.

3. Enhance Mental Health Support:

• Mental Health Resources: Provide access to mental health resources, such as counseling services and stress management workshops.
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): Offer programs that support employees with personal and work-related issues.
• Host a Happiness Relay: Encourage awareness of the many techniques employees can use for mental health with a Racery Happiness Relay.

4. Improve Virtual Communication:

• Regular Check-Ins: Managers should have regular check-ins with their team members to offer support and gauge their wellbeing. We make sure that Racery’s remote team members meet at least once weekly to just catch up socially!
• Effective Communication Tools: Invest in reliable communication tools and platforms make it easy to interact virtually. (We use Slack and Google Meet for work conversations and also connect with colleagues on Facebook, Instagram and Pullquote.)

5. Create a Supportive Work Environment:

• Ergonomics: Give guidance or resources for setting up a comfortable and ergonomic home office. Get everyone a standing (or treadmill) desk!
• Professional Development (and Amusement!): Offer virtual training and development opportunities (ever tried virtual improv or sketch writing classes) to keep employees engaged and growing in their roles.

Conclusion

Remote work has some positives and is here to stay. But HR teams need to be proactive to counter its hidden harms to employees. To support remote employees, tour team needs to prioritize mental health, promote work-life balance, and encourage social connections. You can read how AccountingDepartment.com, a company that’s 100% virtual, uses a Racery Virtual race every summer to create a hub for employee entertainment, competition, and conversation.