Stress, Anxiety, Loneliness On The Rise Among Working People: WEF survey
More than half of working adults experienced anxiety relating to their job security and stress due to changes in their working patterns, according to a World Economic Forum-Ipsos survey. With the virus continuing to affect every region of the world, the results shine a light on the widespread disruption to life and show how the effects go beyond physical health, to mental health and everyday working patterns.
Among those able to work from home, family pressures, finding a work-life balance and feelings of loneliness and isolation were cited as increasing as the pandemic disrupted lives and interrupted long-established practices.
Some are affected more than others
While for some, there are upsides to working from homes, such as a reduced commute and more personal time, there are also limitations. And much of the global workforce has little or no opportunity to work remotely, with jobs requiring machinery or person-to-person contact.
More than half of the people surveyed between 20 November and 4 December worked from home, while 32 per cent worked longer hours, 32 per cent worked shorter hours, 30 per cent took a leave of absence and 15 per cent left their job. Others reported falling productivity, working very early in the morning or very late at night and difficulties in getting work done due to inadequate home office set-up.
The report also showed variations from country to country. While around half of the respondents said they felt lonely when working remotely, this varied from 75 per cent in Turkey to just 24 per cent in Japan. Most countries showed more than 40 per cent of homeworkers feeling isolated.
And the findings showed the pandemic is taking its toll on some more than others, with people under age 35, business owners, decision-makers, lower-income workers and women more prone to reporting negative effects on their well-being.
An expensive mental health legacy
COVID-19 is likely to leave a legacy of mental health problems, according to work by the University of Sydney and the World Economic Forum, which explored how past economic crises had a ‘scarring’ effect on the mental health of young people. It suggested that the right interventions and investments could help mitigate the impact.
“The projected cumulative cost of lost productivity associated with psychological distress, hospitalizations and suicide over the period 2020-2025 is estimated at $114 billion,” the researchers, including Jo-An Atkinson, Head of Systems Modelling and Simulation, University of Sydney and Cameron Fox, Project Specialist, Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare at the Forum, wrote.
Is it advisable to ask for a salary raise during the pandemic?
Trending
-
Google Extends Work From Home; Mulls Over 'Flexible Work Week'
-
Ola to Set up First Factory in Tamil Nadu; Create 10,000 jobs
-
Aon to Invest $30 Million and Create 10,000 Apprenticeships by 2030
-
Urban Company Announces Unlimited Mental Health Leave Policy
-
G Suite Rebranded As Google Workspace
-
Tech Mahindra Launches ‘Gift a Career’ Initiative for Upskilling of Youth
-
NASSCOM, Deakin Varsity Offer Courses for IT-BPM Industry Workforce
-
40% Women Prefer Flexible Working Options in Post-COVID World: Survey
-
Ecom Express to Hire 30000 Employees This Festive Season
-
DB Schenker Names Katharina Rath as New CHRO
-
No Layoffs, Salary Cuts to Be Reviewed in January: Vistara CEO
-
Hiring in India climbs up 35% from April-June
-
OYO announces employee wellbeing and work-life-balance initiatives
-
TCS launches return-to-work solution
-
3 out of 4 companies believe they can effectively hire employees virtually: Report
-
Wipro collaborates with Intel to launch digital workspace solution
-
Capgemini to reskill 50,000 employees in India
-
Cognizant ropes in Jan Siegmund as CFO
-
Niyo announces salary hikes, bonuses, ESOPs
-
Vodafone , CGI and NASSCOM Foundation launch digital skills platform
-
Odisha: Bank, postal employees to deliver cash for elderly, differently-abled persons
-
Skill India launches AI-based digital platform for "Skilled Workforce"
-
Hiring activity declines 6.73% in first quarter: Survey
-
NetCom Learning appoints Subir Sinha as Director-HR
-
70% startups impacted by COVID-19 pandemic
-
Omega Healthcare ropes in "Kannan Sugantharaman" as CFO
-
Bajaj Allianz Life ropes in Santanu Banerjee as CHRO
-
Over 70 Percent MSMEs look at cutting jobs to sustain businesses
-
Snapdeal onboards counselling experts to help employees
-
93 Per Cent employees stressed about returning to office post-lockdown
-
Johnson & Johnson India announces family benefits for same gender partners
-
Indian firms turning friendly towards working mothers
-
Welspun India names Rajendra Mehta as new CHRO
-
COVID-19 impact: 61 Per cent Indians suffering from mental health issues during lockdown
-
93 Percent employees stressed about returning to office post-lockdown
-
Wipro partners with NASSCOM to launch Future Skills platform
Human Capital is niche media organisation for HR and Corporate. Our aim is to create an outstanding user experience for all our clients, readers, employers and employees through inspiring, industry-leading content pieces in the form of case studies, analysis, expert reports, authored articles and blogs. We cover topics such as talent acquisition, learning and development, diversity and inclusion, leadership, compensation, recruitment and many more.
Subscribe Now
Comment