![]() ![]() 14 Ongoing work-family conflict can lead to emotional exhaustion. In some cases, parents might choose to sacrifice their sleep hours and work at nights or early mornings since these are the only quiet hours where they could concentrate on work and avoid frequent interruptions. ![]() 12 A common area of concern in work-life boundaries is balancing work schedules around other family members, where, for some parents, work time becomes “porous” 13 as they might need to take care of house chores and run errands in between their work meetings. 1, 5 For others, blurred work-life boundaries can make it difficult to detach mentally from work 11 which can increase stress and anxiety. 10 For individuals who live alone, full time WFH without face-to-face interactions and social support everyday could contribute to mental issues such as social isolation and depression. 1 Moreover, extended hours of screen exposure due to full time computer work can lead to fatigue, tiredness, headaches and eye-related symptoms. Employees who are at home do not have the opportunity to socialize with colleagues and may have decreased physical movements, such as loss of walking between different meeting locations. While there are benefits to WFH, numerous negative aspects of full time WFH have also been described. 6 In fact, research has found that home offices might provide better air quality conditions compared to traditional offices. 8 Unlike in conventional offices, where the workspaces are usually arranged by employers, during WFH, workers have full autonomy and the responsibility of setting up their workspaces at home, being able to work in a location at home that may have better IEQ conditions as opposed to being in a fixed cubicle or open-plan offices. 7 Specifically, IEQ factors influence a workers’ comfort, which in turn impacts satisfaction. Finally, workers may have more control of environmental factors when WFH indoor environmental quality (IEQ) factors (eg, lighting, temperature, humidity, air quality, noise, ergonomics, etc) are important for physical and mental health of workers. 6 With options to WFH, workers can take a break from their offices and focus on organizing an individualized approach to their work-life balance that can promote a healthier lifestyle, a benefit for both physical and mental health. 1 WFH allows employees to choose working at times when they are most productive, and WFH can be beneficial for avoiding distractions from coworkers, especially in open plan offices. Most significantly, WFH saves daily commuting time and offers more flexibility for workers to take care of their families. In addition to companies seeing benefits of WFH, there are noted direct benefits to employees. 3 Companies are now determining if operational costs could be dramatically decreased by reducing the required office space. Many companies believe that WFH will become more common after the pandemic due to the fact that employers have already paid the fixed cost to set up remote work systems for their employees. 1, 2 During the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers were advised to WFH full time, which redefined the conventional concept of WFH that was typical only for certain types of work, on an occasional basis, or given unique employee circumstances. Work from home (WFH) emerged in the early 2000s, when telecommuting technologies started to develop and workers could WFH to avoid commuting, provide flexibility in schedules, and achieve a better work-life balance. In response to the national and local containment policies, companies, organizations and institutions encouraged their employees to work remotely at home to stay safe. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of our work and life. Discuss the effects of WFH on physical and mental well-being and the risk and protective factors associated with WFH-related declines in well-being. ![]()
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