Is teleworking stressful? Learn how to work comfortably remotely.

by | Jun 23, 2021 | Communication , Motivation  | 0 comments

More and more companies are introducing telework, and more and more people are working remotely.

However, the introduction of telework has led to the problem of “stress under telework,” which did not exist when people worked in offices.

What measures should companies take to deal with stress caused by telework?

In this article, I will introduce the causes of stress under telework and countermeasures to alleviate it, which you should understand before introducing telework.

Many people are stressed by telework

According to OMRON Healthcare’s “Urgent Survey of 1,000 Teleworkers,” 31% of teleworkers feel unwell.

Of these, mental stress came in second at 61.3%, with a high percentage of men and women citing it as the reason, coming in first and second, respectively.
Furthermore, one in four people feel that mental stress is a serious problem.

Source: Omron Healthcare “Urgent Questionnaire for 1,000 Workers who Teleworked”.

However, the introduction of telework is not all bad.
Since there is no need to commute to work, there are advantages such as shorter commute times and not having to ride on crowded trains.

However, even with the benefits, it will be a burden for employees if stress factors are not removed.

Therefore, when introducing telework, it is necessary to implement measures that can alleviate stress.

Reasons why stress tends to accumulate in telework

In order to take measures to alleviate stress in telework, it is important to understand the reasons why stress builds up.

Here are some of the reasons and causes of stress in telework.

The distinction between work and private life becomes blurred

Teleworkers often work from home, making it difficult to switch on and off, and thus losing the sense of urgency in their lives.

It’s a situation where you can’t concentrate on your work, or you think about work even during your private time.

In some cases, you may end up working longer hours than if you were working in an office.

In some cases, they may work longer hours than they would in the office. Also, since the boss is not watching, they may become impatient, thinking that if they do not produce results, they will be judged as not working.

It will be necessary to take measures such as clearly delineating working hours, making employees aware of the need to switch on and off, and sharing the status of progress.

Not having a good environment to work

When teleworking is done at home, it is not always possible to have a proper desk and chair set up like in an office.

If the chairs and desks you use at home are not suitable for work, you will not be able to maintain enough concentration to complete long hours of work.

In addition, not having a good Internet environment and frequently losing the connection can be very stressful during work.

It is also important to prepare the working environment for teleworkers, for example, by having the company pay for the preparation of the environment or by using satellite offices.

Prone to lack of exercise

Teleworking from home eliminates the need to commute to the office, making it easier to get insufficient exercise.

This is because the amount of exercise you get from commuting back and forth between your home and office is reduced. Lack of exercise can lead to back pain and stiff shoulders, so we need to get into the habit of exercising moderately.

It is also easy to feel depressed when you are confined to your home.

This can lead to a vicious cycle of chronic inactivity, as the depressed mood makes it more difficult to exercise.

Less face-to-face contact with others

Another cause of stress under telework is the loss of opportunities to interact with other employees.

Because they can no longer chat with their colleagues during breaks or after work, employees who live alone in particular may feel very lonely.

In addition, since there will be no opportunity to talk face-to-face with clients or customers, there is a risk that employees will be in a state of mind as if they were isolated from society.

In order to eliminate this feeling of isolation under telework, it is important to stimulate communication among employees.

It is necessary to make employees feel that they are working as part of a team and to avoid an environment in which they feel as if they are working alone.



How to alleviate stress under telework

In order to alleviate stress under telework, it is essential to activate communication among employees.

However, it may be difficult to communicate closely with employees who work outside the office.

In such cases, an effective way is to use Goalous .

Goalous allows users to stay in touch smoothly through the messaging function. Goalous makes it easy for people to communicate with each other through the messaging function, making it easy to communicate even under telework. Also, by using it to report in and out of work, it will be possible to manage working hours while maintaining the rhythm of life.

Furthermore, since it is possible to share the status of goals and target achievement among employees, it is easy to understand the status of colleagues and subordinates who are working away from the office.

As a means of relieving stress in telework and eliminating loneliness by activating communication, You may want to consider implementing Goalous.

※clickherefor a free seminar by Colorkrew, the developer ofGoalous

Summary

The degree to which employees feel stressed while teleworking depends on their personality and lifestyle.

The important thing is to identify the cause of the stress and take measures to deal with it. The company should be able to take a variety of measures depending on the situation.

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