The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in a transformative shift in the way we work, with a notable impact on those fortunate enough to have the option to work remotely. Recent data from the UK reveals that from April to June 2020, nearly 60% of individuals were either partially or completely engaged in home-based work.
As we move forward, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this trend toward remote work is more than just a passing fad. Reports indicate that between September 2022 and January 2023, a significant proportion of working adults in the UK – 16% fully and 28% partially – continued to work from home. This compares starkly with 2018, where a mere 5% worked from home completely, and 9% worked partially from home.
Mental impact
Research from UCL explores the impact remote working during this period had on the mental health of workers. The study highlighted that while home working did not appear to have a detrimental effect on mental health in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was linked to negative outcomes later on.
Pooling data from seven prominent UK longitudinal studies – Next Steps, the British Cohort Study, the National Child and Development Study, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, Generation Scotland, Born in Bradford, and Understanding Society – the researchers sought to investigate the correlation between working from home and mental health across three distinct time points.
The first time point coincided with the initial UK lockdown between April and June 2020, followed by a second period when restrictions were eased (July to October 2020), and a third phase during the second lockdown (November 2020 to March 2021). Each stage involved analyzing information from over 10,000 employed individuals aged between 16 and 66.
In addition to collecting data on working location, the longitudinal studies featured also gathered valuable information on mental health and social wellbeing. As part of the investigation, the researchers closely examined variables such as psychological distress, loneliness, and life satisfaction.
An evolving picture
The research revealed that the link between home working and mental health underwent a notable change during the course of the pandemic. According to the authors, there was no significant difference in mental health outcomes between individuals working remotely and those working at their employer’s premises during both April-June and July-October 2020.
However, during the period from November 2020 to March 2021, individuals engaged in partial or complete home working experienced higher levels of loneliness and psychological distress, in contrast to those who worked on-site.
This shift in the findings could be attributed to a combination of evolving characteristics of individuals working from home and the pandemic’s overall context. For instance, the novelty of working from home may have influenced perceptions during the first lockdown, while pandemic fatigue could have exacerbated mental health challenges during the second lockdown.
The absence of any significant changes observed during the easing of restrictions (the second time point) suggests that working from home may not adversely affect workers’ mental health as we transition into a post-pandemic era. Nevertheless, further research is necessary to confirm this hypothesis.
