Experts called the main danger of remote work

Clinical neuropsychologist Katherine James says there are issues here that need to be addressed now to prevent future mental health crises.

Top experts say working from home is bad for mental health. In particular, it leads to the development of anxiety, depression and eating disorders. The Daily Mail writes about it.

“There has been the biggest shift in job shifting in decades, with just under half of the UK’s working population – some 13.4 million people – now moving from the office to work from the living room, kitchen and homework,” They said.

According to cultural guru Malcolm Gladwell, it’s very hard to feel needed when you’re physically disconnected.

“Because we’re facing a battle that all organizations are facing today. Getting people back into the office is really hard to explain the basic psychological fact that we want to have a sense of belonging and a sense of being needed. It’s not in your best interest to work from home. I know going to the office is a hassle, but if you’re just in your pajamas in your room.. what have you reduced your life to?” – he said.

In addition, psychologists warn that hunger for social interaction, excessive use of screens, and constant distractions can have a profound effect on mental well-being.

“Flexible working hours, some days at home here and there are good for a lot of people, but I’m especially worried about companies that say they have nowhere else to go,” said General Practitioner, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners Dr. Claire Gerada.

In addition, a pre-pandemic study in the US found that journalists who work remotely are 67% more likely to suffer from loneliness than those who work in the office.

“You can’t talk to anyone about business and you can’t hear any chatter during coffee breaks, so it’s a bit lonely here. A therapist’s chair is broken because she sat in it every day for six weeks during the pandemic, except for sleeping “It’s kind of a metaphor. The chair was broken, but so was his spirit. If you move ten meters from your bedroom to your office every day, you can expect your mental health to suffer as a result. Video calls are not substitutes. for face-to-face communication, studies have shown,” said Dr. Gerada, who runs a helpline for disadvantaged general practitioners struggling with mental illness who also struggle with telecommuting.

However, despite this obvious psychological damage, more than half of all homeworkers said they would quit if they were forced to return to the office full-time, according to a survey last October.

“First of all, people don’t like us being forced. If we’re not given a choice, we resist. We also like routine, and once we get used to something, it’s very hard to break this habit. There is a physiological basis for this. Brain imaging studies show that doing the same activity repeatedly triggers the release of chemicals associated with feelings of reward in the brain. The workplace is often associated with negative emotions such as stress. However, being in an office can provide some relief from psychological stress. When we go to the office or another place that is not our home, we change our thinking. Our the brain suspends the negative emotions that occur in one environment when we move to another environment. By the time we later remember the difficult emotions, they are usually no longer they are annoying, because we have moved away from them a little. something called isolation that helps us to continue despite difficulties,” added Dr. Anyone.

Experts also note that people have important boundaries between family life and work – and thanks to these boundaries we change our identity.

“For example, it feels strange to me to do professional counseling in your own bedroom. You have to go home, take off your metaphorical white coat and take on a different persona, be it mother, girlfriend, wife, husband. , whoever, ” concluded the experts.

One remote worker whose mental health has worsened as a result of working from home is Hannah Hickinbotham, 25, from Cambridge.

When the researcher received his master’s degree in March 2020, he was eager to start his new career. Then the coronavirus hit.

“I started my first job in September, but it was completely remote, so I mostly sat at the kitchen table or at my bedroom table. After a few months, I started to worry more about going out. I feel like I don’t ‘ I don’t know how to get along with other people or how to behave. And nothing interrupts my disturbing thoughts, “admitted the Briton.

In January 2021, a general practitioner diagnosed her with anxiety and depression and referred her to psychological therapy.

“I had a constant sense of impending doom and a sense that something bad was going to happen. I would panic after seeing friends for an hour and feel like I had to go home. I started to shut down and spend most of my nights on the couch . I felt very low and worthless,” added the woman.

Then the eating disorder she suffered from in her late teens resurfaced.

“I started exercising to keep myself busy, but it quickly became an obsession. Eventually, antidepressants prescribed by a therapist and a new office job helped me cheer up. I forced myself to ride by bike five days a week and I try to see my friends as often as possible. Everyone is different. But for me, being around people is important for my mental health,” he says.

It can be remembered that the quarantine caused by the coronavirus pandemic also revealed the negative aspects of remote work. These include burnout and anxiety.

After switching to “remote control” people began to prefer work – poll

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