The Neuroscience of Work in a Remote Environment

Category: Technology

The New Normal Here is some hard data to consider. Within the span of two years, remote work has transformed every type of business in the world. Before COVID, only 5% of employees worked from home for an average of three days a week. A very small segment of the population was truly remote full-time. As of April 2020, 37% of the workforce is fully remote. More and more organizations are allowing employees to move to a permanent remote full-time job. A recent survey of US workers revealed that 54% would leave their current job for a remote work option. However, there are a lot of drawbacks to this approach. Anxiety and stress, as well as feelings of loneliness and disconnectedness are also on the rise. Another recent survey revealed that 46% of workers in the UK experienced loneliness while working from home. Pandemic Versus Syndemic There is a term that epidemiologists use to describe the current situation. It is not just a pandemic, but it is a syndemic. A syndemic is a confluence of pandemics that disrupt the fabric of everyday life. As an example, the COVID syndemic is not just the viral pandemic but it is also a pandemic of job losses, mental health issues and other socio-economic factors. Within the span of two years, not only have we witnessed millions of people losing their lives, four out of ten people in the United States have reported significant loss of income and job losses. In addition, there is a mental health pandemic where tens of millions of people are struggling with anxiety, stress, insomnia and even depression. One of the most profound impacts of this syndemic is related to loneliness. Either due to our lockdown separation from family and friends or due to detachment from remote workers, this loneliness impacts every business and employee.