A rapid review of mental and physical health effects of working at home: how do we optimise health?

Abstract

Background The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in changes to the working arrangements of millions of employees who are now based at home and may continue to work at home, in some capacity, for the foreseeable future. Decisions on how to promote employees’ health whilst working at home (WAH) need to be based on the best available evidence to optimise worker outcomes. The aim of this rapid review was to review the impact of WAH on individual workers’ mental and physical health, and determine any gender difference, to develop recommendations for employers and employees to optimise workers’ health. Method A search was undertaken in three databases, PsychInfo, ProQuest, and Web of Science, from 2007 to May 2020. Selection criteria included studies which involved employees who regularly worked at home, and specifically reported on physical or mental health-related outcomes. Two review authors independently screened studies for inclusion, one author extracted data and conducted risk of bias assessments with review by a second author. Results Twenty-three papers meet the selection criteria for this review. Ten health outcomes were reported: pain, self-reported health, safety, well-being, stress, depression, fatigue, quality of life, strain and happiness. The impact on health outcomes was strongly influenced by the degree of organisational support available to employees, colleague support, social connectedness (outside of work), and levels of work to family conflict. Overall, women were less likely to experience improved health outcomes when WAH. Conclusions This review identified several health outcomes affected by WAH. The health/work relationship is complex and requires consideration of broader system factors to optimise the effects of WAH on workers’ health. It is likely mandated WAH will continue to some degree for the foreseeable future; organisations will need to implement formalised WAH policies that consider work-home boundary management support, role clarity, workload, performance indicators, technical support, facilitation of co-worker networking, and training for managers.

Lack of Social Support and Its Role on Self-Perceived Health in a Representative Sample of Spanish Adults. Another Aspect of Gender Inequality

“…Women still play a different social role as regards family and work [52]. A recent literature review on remote working due to the pandemic conducted by Oakman et al found that working at home reduced the opportunities for women to improve their health and was associated with poorer self-perceived health [53]. Besides, Chai et al described that non-spousal social support was more important for women's than men's health protection [54].…”

Restrictions on mobility due to the coronavirus Covid19: Threats and opportunities for transport and health

“…Evidence of the effects of working at home on physical and mental health are mixed. There is research to suggest that working at home can cause musculoskeletal issues increase stress and exhaustion but it can also improve wellbeing (see Oakman et al, 2020 )., The context to working at home is crucial in determining positive outcomes for individuals, including other demands of person around the home environment, the level of support from the employer and external social connections ( Oakman et al, 2020 ).…”

Association between the physical work environment and work functioning impairment while working from home under the COVID-19 pandemic in Japanese workers

“…perpetuity. preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in The copyright holder for this this version posted March 26, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.23.21254207 doi: medRxiv preprint There is currently no consistent evidence on the impact of working from home on the health and productivity of workers, as it varies depending on the worker's situation (20). While working from home has its advantages, including improved work-life balance and reduced burden of commuting, it also has disadvantages, including the psychological burden of a lack of separation between living and working spaces and time, and the lack of communication with colleagues.…”

“…There is currently no consistent evidence on the impact of working from home on the health and productivity of workers, as it varies depending on the worker’s situation (20). While working from home has its advantages, including improved work-life balance and reduced burden of commuting, it also has disadvantages, including the psychological burden of a lack of separation between living and working spaces and time, and the lack of communication with colleagues.…”