Consequently, it is key to lowering the risk of contracting the virus and preventing it from spreading. We would like to acknowledge Dr. Sue Gilbert, La Trobe University, who provided her professional services to assist in the database search. Teams with a strong group identity—for instance, those that have unified against a competing team or organization—tend to have more perceived proximity, Wilson says.

health benefits of working remotely

As a result, your cubicle mate spends most of the day sneezing and blowing her nose while she explains to you, “I just don’t have the paid time off to stay home sick today! You can easily make a salad, eat healthy leftovers from the https://remotemode.net/ night before, or grab an apple from the fruit bowl instead of chocolate from the candy bowl. However, working remotely may involve other difficulties that an individual may not encounter in a brick-and-mortar work environment.

The Benefits of Working From Home (Working Remotely)

Subsequently, teleworking employees may experience more negative emotions than office-workers, largely due to feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Teleworking participants also reported higher levels of work engagement on days spent teleworking; however, participant overall work engagement did not change compared to pre-intervention. Considering the previous discussion, more research is needed to uncover the intricacies in the relationship between telework and worker psychological well-being. However, the majority of evidence seems to suggest the beneficial association between telework and psychological well-being may largely rely on the design of one’s teleworking arrangement, as well as the job resources in place for mitigating personal and family demands. In the current review, we propose a conceptual framework for organizing and synthesizing telework and worker health and well-being research across disciplines.

The risk of bias assessment was used as a proxy for the quality of the study and undertaken for both qualitative and quantitative studies using separate forms. The risk of bias domains were derived from the RTI research bank, Cochrane Collaboration tool quality assessment, and the Johanna Briggs appraisal tool for qualitative research [14,15,16]. Each potential source of bias was assessed as high, moderate, low, or unclear risk with justification given for judgement. In line with rapid review principles, data extraction and risk of bias for each article was undertaken by at least one author, with a sub sample screened by a second author for accuracy. Employers can hire geographically distributed talent and reduce overhead expenses, while employees can gain flexibility, save time, and reduce transportation and some child-care costs. But the impact of such arrangements on productivity, creativity and morale has been up for debate, primarily because working from home offers employees fewer opportunities to talk and network with their colleagues.

Current Review

However, evidence from the review does suggest there are some reasonable actions employers can take to support their employees in optimising their working conditions whilst at home. This discussion will outline the physical and mental health outcomes of WAH and then, drawing on these findings, outline implications for practice. The subjectively perceived increase in one’s own autonomy was surveyed as a job resource. WFH gives employees more autonomy, which is needed to cope with the demands of this new form of work. In future crises, the autonomy of employees should be increased as quickly as possible from the beginning [40]. Flexible work arrangements that enable WFH and hybrid work models, as well as a certain degree of technical flexibility, can empower employees in crises and possibly protect their health.

health benefits of working remotely

Men have also shown higher ratings of mental and physical health while teleworking in general, although these differences are not statistically significant when compared with traditional office workers [19]. Given that women are more likely to assume multiple roles when teleworking [19], gender is likely to act how companies benefit when employees work remotely as both an antecedent and moderator in the relationship between telework and worker health and well-being. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, women spent more time teleworking overall, but also spent more of that time completing work in the presence of children and attending to housework than men [94].