Stress and Insomnia Increases for Telecommuting Employees

"You work from home? Wow, so lucky, I envy you!"

Isn't that what most people think?

You don't have to travel from work to home. You're not interrupted by other coworkers. You can eat when you want. What could be bad about working from home?

Telecommuting

Well, you can work overtime and not be paid for it. You can become overstressed from having to complete deadlines, even though you are at home. This can result in other issues like a loss of sleep and even insomnia from being too stressed out.

The United Nations International Labor Organization released a report today that studied the impacts of working remotely. Data from 15 countries found that employees are more productive, but that might be because they spend more time working.

Even if there aren't colleagues to interfere with your work, there are other factors that can interfere at your home. This can drive up work intensity and provide for longer working hours in order to meet the demands placed upon an employee.

Three types of at-home workers were distinguished:

1. regularly working at home
2. highly mobile and working in different locations
3. split their time between the office and other locations

All three groups reported higher stress levels and more incidents of insomnia than people who work in an office or other employer-owned locations.

41% of highly mobile employees felt stress, while only 25% for office workers. 42% of home workers or those who work at multiple locations reported insomnia, with only 29% for those who work from an employer's location.

Instead of permanently working from home, getting two to three days of work at home can be the most optimal for some people. Some people might need some face-to-face contact with colleagues, and some people might need physical isolation and autonomy in order to better complete a task successfully. But even some employers don't like to do this because it gives up an element of control where they feel threatened of losing that control.

The increase in technology is going to promote regular telecommuting in many workforces across the globe. For now it's hard to get data on precisely how many people are teleworkers.

An American Community Survey conducted in 2014 reported 2.6% of the American workforce as regular telecommuters. In 2015 a Gallup poll showed 37% of US workers had done some telecommuting. Among the 15 countries used for data, telecommuting varies from 2 to 40% of employees, but an average of 17% of workers in the European Union engage in telecommuting.

With telecommuting on the rise, some nations are addressing negative impacts. France has a new labor code provision for "the right to be disconnected", where employers will be forced to shut down servers in order to curtail "working without end". Germany has already employed similar measures in 2013 with a "minimum intervention in leisure time" policy. Managers can't contact employees outside normal working hours to deal with exceptional situations if it can be postponed until the start of the next working.

What's you're experience? Have you done telecommuting? How did it work out for you?

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References:

• Study links working remotely to more stress, insomnia
• Remote workers at risk for more stress, insomnia - UN study
• Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work

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@krnel
2017-02-15, 5pm