Managing mental health biggest challenge of working from home for third of workers
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More than a third of workers (36%) say the biggest challenge of working from home is managing their mental health.
That's according to a new survey from eir Business which also found some 38% of workers are finding it more difficult to contact and interact with the people they regularly do business with in a remote environment.
The survey, conducted in November, also found that just 55% believe they’ve improved their work/life balance since the beginning of the public health restrictions, despite 82% saying they believed working from home would help them achieve this in eir’s April survey on the same topic.
Almost half of the respondents indicated they still want to work from home three days a week when public health restrictions come to an end, though only 22% expect to.
Commenting on the findings, Nicola Mortimer, Commercial Director, eir Business, said: “At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a real enthusiasm among businesses and employees to make things work and do their best in the circumstances."
"That enthusiasm has now waned and while the way we work has been transformed forever, some disagreements about the future of work have started to appear between employers and employees.”
"Flexibility could be a key selling point for forward-thinking companies,” Ms Mortimer said, pointing to the fact 85% of respondents said flexibility in working arrangements would be a key factor in considering a new job.
Separately, new research from recruitment firm Matrix Recruitment found that one in three workers are concerned that working from home long term will affect their career opportunities.
Of those concerned about the impact of remote working on their career prospects, 61% said they are worried that their employer would not be aware of all the work they do while 31% are worried that their relationship with their manager might be affected if they are not seeing them in person regularly. Almost half fear they will not be seen or heard by senior managers.
More than a third (38%) said they are concerned remote working will not provide the right supports to progress their career.