As May is dedicated to raising awareness about Mental Health and Well-being, it’s essential to explore how remote work can influence mental well-being by contributing to health challenges in people’s daily lives. Understanding these effects can help create healthier, more supportive work environments.
The EU-OSHA’s 2023–2025 Healthy Workplaces Campaign aims to raise awareness about how digital technologies affect workplace safety and health. When used with a human-centred approach, these tools can improve safety and productivity of employees, but more understanding is needed to develop effective strategies.
The use of digital technologies – such as personal computers, smartphones, internet connectivity, and other useful tools – enables employees to perform their tasks virtually from anywhere. The flexibility to access work-related resources, communicate effectively with colleagues, attend meetings, and manage responsibilities without being physically present at the workplace has made many aspects of people’s lives more convenient. This shift has actively contributed to greater autonomy, reduced commuting time, and enhanced work-life balance.
On the other hand, teleworking is linked to increased prolonged sitting and time pressure, extended working hours, and social isolation. These challenges can negatively impact employees’ physical and mental health, potentially leading to issues such as stress, burnout, and musculoskeletal disorders, including neck and back pain.
Digital technologies are essential for enabling remote work, but they are also associated with various psychosocial and physical risks. Due to long working hours or heavy workloads, many people tend to skip breaks, which can lead to stress and physical strain over time. Furthermore, individuals who extensively use digital technologies may experience episodes of virtual presenteeism, where they continue working even during periods of illness and avoid taking sick leave. This can be compounded by prolonged screen exposure, leading to conditions like computer vision syndrome, which causes eye strain, headaches, and discomfort.
Several safety risks can emerge when people are teleworking, including cyberbullying and cyberattacks, particularly if there is insufficient training on the secure use of digital tools. Without the necessary knowledge and training, remote workers can be more vulnerable to that kind of attacks. People can take steps to improve their remote work experience by setting up an ergonomic workspace, taking regular breaks, and staying connected with colleagues to reduce feelings of isolation. These simple actions can support both their physical and mental well-being while working from home.
You can read more about the Healthy Workplaces – Safe and Healthy Work in the Digital Age by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) here: https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Remote_Hybrid_work-infosheet-EN.pdf
