In any case, our emotional and psychological wellbeing is with us whether we’re at work or at home. As such, it makes sense that we take a holistic view of burnout. Social connection is a key driver of burnout. Studies conducted by Kiffer George Card, an assistant professor in health sciences and his team at Simon Fraser University in Canada:

The social costs and benefits of working from home

In conducting this study, we found that loneliness and lack of social support come out as leading contributors to burnout, perhaps just as important – if not more so – than physical health and financial security. In summary, the study contributes to a growing understanding of burnout as a social problem driven by isolation.

One potential and evolving source of isolation is the emerging trend of working from home. As many people have had the privilege to learn, there are many benefits of working from home. It enables people to save time on their commutes and have more freedom to get chores done around the house or take a quick nap on their breaks. This means they have more time and energy for friends and family at the end of the day.

On the other hand, working from home means losing out on those water-cooler conversations and casual collisions with co-workers – which have a surprisingly profound impact on wellbeing. Furthermore, considering how important workplaces and schools are for finding and building friendships, a loss of these spaces could have serious long-term consequences for people’s social health – especially if the time spent with others at work is now spent at home alone.

The importance of social connection to health and happiness

To understand the impacts of working from home on mental health, the team conducted a second study to look at differences in self-rated mental health across individuals who work only from home, only in person, or who worked partially in person and partially at home. Controlled for potentially important factors such as income, hours of work, occupation, age, gender and ethnicity.

A whopping 87 per cent of those who reported a hybrid work arrangement – meaning they worked partially at the office and partially at home – had good or excellent mental health.

While the type of work done at home and in the office certainly shapes these trends, our findings nevertheless point to the possibility that hybrid work might give employees the best of both worlds – especially within the context of the first study, which highlighted the importance of social connection to

workplace wellbeing. Indeed, hybrid work arrangements may allow employees to maintain those positive connections with colleagues while also providing a better balance between work and life. It really may be the best of both worlds.

This research provides a strong reminder for us to all remember the importance of social connection. It’s all too easy to forget that strong social relationships and communities a  the foundation of health and happiness within and outside the workplace.

Source:

Sydney Morning Herald

Best of both worlds: hybrid happiness

https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/best-of-both-worlds-hybrid-happiness-20221101-

p5buro.html