In recent years, more and more people are working from home. While working from home can save commuting time and costs, and offer more flexibility in work, this work arrangement lacks the office environment and face-to-face communication, potentially leading to extended working hours and increased psychological stress. A long-term study in Australia aimed to explore how working from home affects mental health.
Researchers Jan Kabatek and Ferdi Botha from the University of Melbourne’s Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research analyzed data from the 20-year-long “Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey,” tracking the work and mental health status of over 16,000 employees.
The researchers pointed out that they did not include the two years (2020 and 2021) during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as people’s mental health during that time could have been influenced by factors unrelated to working from home.
This data enabled them to track people’s mental health over the long term and examine how changes in commuting patterns and working from home arrangements may impact mental health. They focused on whether commuting time and working from home have an effect on mental health.
Furthermore, they investigated whether these effects differed between individuals with good and poor mental health status, which was an innovative aspect of their study.
The study found that commuting has different effects on men and women. For women, commuting time does not significantly impact mental health. However, for men, the longer the commute time, the worse the mental health of those who already had poor mental health.
However, this effect was not very significant. For men with moderate mental health status (close to the median), an increase of half an hour in commute time led to a decrease in mental health comparable to a 2% decrease in household income.
For women, working from home only had a significant positive impact on mental health in specific circumstances. When women primarily work from home but spend some time (one to two days a week) at the office or workplace, they experience the greatest mental health benefits.
For women with poor mental health status, this work arrangement improves their mental health more than commuting to the office, equivalent to a 15% increase in household income.
The researchers noted that the mental health benefits for women working from home are not only due to saved commute time but also reflect other advantages of working from home, such as reducing work stress or helping them better balance work and family life.
They mentioned that occasional or light working from home did not significantly affect women’s mental health. Evidence on full-time remote work was less conclusive, mainly because the number of women observed working full-time from home was relatively low.
For men, regardless of the number of days worked at home or in the office, working from home did not have a statistically significant impact on their mental health. This may reflect gender differences in task allocation within households, and the fact that men’s social and friendship networks often revolve more around work relationships.
The researchers stated that employees with poorer mental health are most sensitive to long commuting times and are more likely to benefit from working from home. This is partly because individuals with poorer mental health have limited capacity to handle stressors.
For women with poorer mental health, working from home significantly enhances their sense of well-being. For men with poorer mental health, reducing commuting time is similarly beneficial.
However, employees with good mental health seem to be less sensitive to commuting and working from home arrangements. They may still value flexibility, but the impact on their mental health from working at home or in the office is less significant.
Based on the study findings, the researchers offered some recommendations:
– If you are a working professional, pay attention to how commuting and different remote work arrangements affect your mental well-being. If you have mental health issues, arrange the most demanding tasks in an environment where you feel most comfortable.
– If you are an employer, provide flexible remote work arrangements, especially for employees with mental health issues. Consider adopting a hybrid work model that combines working from home and in the office, as this model seems to be most beneficial.
– If you are a public policy maker, strive to alleviate traffic congestion, enhance public transportation capacity, and promote flexible work arrangements to support access to mental health services.
It’s worth mentioning that you can improve the home office environment and comfort by adding plants, which can enhance productivity while reducing stress. (For more details, please click on “Still working at the dining table? 9 tips to enhance comfort while working from home.”)