A poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Bloomberg News found that 39% of 1,000 U.S. adults would consider quitting their job if their employer did not adopt any type of remote working arrangement in the future.
The past year revealed what a truly healthy work day looks like, and the work-life balance employees could finally achieve. Using this experience, incorporating flexibility in work arrangements could improve mental health and decrease the symptoms of burnout.
Yu Tse Heng, a management researcher at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, identifies three symptoms of burnout: exhaustion, cynical detachment and reduced efficacy.
Pre-pandemic office life contributed to this through lengthy commutes, poor company culture and in-office distractions that made workers feel less productive.
Although there were multiple challenges working during the pandemic, the inclusion of remote work allowed workers to benefit “from more flexibility and autonomy in determining how their work day is structured” according to Heng.
“For example, employees could take short breaks or a power nap during the day when they felt exhausted,” said Heng.
However, returning to the office may increase or decrease burnout depending on the worker. That is why it is essential for companies to identify burnout in employees, and understand how to improve the workplace in a way that could alleviate this issue.
