As the world becomes increasingly globalized and the workforce continues to shift towards remote and hybrid models, the issue of remote work burnout has emerged as a significant concern. In my recent conversation with Kelly Knight, President and Integrator at EOS Worldwide, we explored how individualization can be the key to addressing this pressing issue. Remote work burnout statistics underscore the complexities of workplace flexibility. While this arrangement presents challenges, a significant majority of the workforce still favors remote work. Over 95% of employees express a preference for some form of remote work, whether hybrid or fully remote. Take steps to set realistic goals, be honest with your employer, and keep a watch on your mental health.

It seems like the main reason for this lies in the remote employees’ inability to disconnect from work, the interconnectedness of work and personal spaces, and the challenge of working with colleagues from different time zones. Most people who work from home work harder than they would in the office. The researchers used social exchange theory (Emerson, 1971) to explain this. The remote worker sees home working and flexibility as a benefit, and ‘repays’ this benefit with discretionary effort, by working harder. The researchers added that some employers mirror this mindset by regarding flexible working as a benefit that justifies their making unreasonable demands to get a return on their ‘generosity’. Ariane Ollier-Malaterre’s research at the University of Quebec in Montreal focuses on work-family interface and work-life balance, with a particular emphasis on remote work.

Individualization Is Key To Addressing Remote Work Burnout

Friends or family, who think “they don’t really work” because they work from home, could impose on them by assuming they have time to babysit or drive someone to an appointment. These kinds of chaotic situations can absolutely contribute remote working fatigue to burnout among remote workers. The beauty of remote work is that you don’t have to waste hours on the commute. Working remotely gives you the freedom to optimize your workday and develop a healthy life-work balance.

It serves as a comprehensive solution that has greatly simplified our operations, making remote work effortless. Sometimes, the impetus for a second job is the state of the economy. One mortgage loan worker Reyes knows went from earning more than $1 million a year to making $40,000 last year as home sales and refinancing cratered amid the hike in interest rates. Census Bureau economists, rates of multiple jobholders have increased over the last two decades. He’s curious whether the ubiquity of remote work will return when the economy improves and companies again face pitched battles to attract new hires.

What can leaders do to identify and prevent work-from-home burnout

Also, the more tightly-knitted a work community you have, the less likely it is that they’ll be experiencing symptoms of burnout in the first place. Providing the right team collaboration tools and processes lets everyone stay productive and avoid burnout. This is because they can easily find what they need when they need it, collaborate, work, and communicate in the way that suits them best. If you have done everything you can to help the person who is performing poorly, remember that just because the person is working from home, that doesn’t excuse them from your company’s performance-management policies and procedures.

• During working hours, some experts recommend taking stretch breaks from sitting and eye breaks from screens at least every 50 minutes.
• The jury is still out regarding the degree to which burnout affects these two categories of remote workers or why it seems like remote workers are more liable to experience burnout.
• Some of the most prominent researchers in this field include Christina Maslach, Michael Leiter, and Cary Cooper, among others.
• Over the next three years, that share would triple, according to the latest available data on the researchers’ website, WFH Map.
• It’s important to recognize the signs of burnout and take steps to address it before it becomes a more serious problem.
• Join leaders who depend on RemotePass every day to be ahead of the curve.

Surprisingly, high-earning polyworkers — those making at least $113,200 in 2018 — brought in a fourth of their earnings from second jobs. Working an additional 20 to 30 hours a week can provide an extra $50,000 to $60,000 of household income, Reyes said. Today, he’s seeing higher rates of polyworking than ever before in his 20-year career.

Remote Work from an Employer’s Viewpoint

Create and hold firm boundaries in order to create a more happy, healthy, and sustainable work-life balance and prevent remote work burnout. Office Whisperer” and “Hybrid Expert” by The New York Times, I help leaders use hybrid work to improve retention and productivity while cutting costs. I serve as the CEO of the boutique future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. I wrote the first book on returning to the office and leading hybrid teams after the pandemic, my best-seller Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams, as well as seven other books.