A new report by the 4 Day Week Campaign has found that mental health is deteriorating due to people working longer hours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Heejung Chung, a Reader in Sociology and Social Policy at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR), has commented on how flexible working during the pandemic has led to implications for many. She said:
‘A recent report from Autonomy found that ‘those who have started working from home in the wake of the Covid-19 emergency have been working longer hours – with the prevalence of mental distress among all employees now 49% higher than it was from 2017 to 2019.
‘Previous studies have also shown that flexible working, especially those that give workers more control over where and when they work – such as flexitime and working from home – has been shown to increase working hours, even unpaid overtime hours.
‘So, why does this happen? I can think of three reasons…
- Sometimes employers may increase workload of workers when they know the boundaries between work and non-work spheres are blurred. It is much easier to increase workloads when it is project based, rather than set by whatever you can get done in the office between 9 to 5, and clear boundaries are set.
- For many, flexible working and the right to work different schedules and from home can feel like a gift given by employers you need to reciprocate – i.e. through longer working hours or working harder. You may do this especially if you feel like there is still a stigmatised view on working from home or flexible working, which unfortunately still exists in the UK.
- Thirdly, flexible working and blurring of boundaries can create a spiral of increased competitiveness among workers and shifting the work culture where people believe that you should be working all the time and everywhere. When you work from home, it may be harder to stop especially when you know that others may be working a bit longer to get that extra edge. It does not help to get emails pinging in the late hours of the night, exacerbating the feeling that you should be working all the time to keep up. The increased feelings of insecurity given the economic downturns we are facing and knowing that there may be some restructuring happening in the company soon will not help workers in trying to reduce their work during these times of pandemic.
‘The impact of these long hours are clear. It is damaging for one’s mental and physical health, for one’s work-life balance and thus bad for the well-being of one’s family. What is more, increasingly we are seeing evidence that it is even bad for performance outcomes. However, unless we find a new and better way to measure workers’ productivity, loyalty and commitment, especially in these times of uncertainty, we may see an increase in workers working longer hours despite given more “freedom” at work.
‘What is more, it is becoming clear that women were bearing the brunt of the additional housework, childcare and home schooling during the pandemic, especially when they were working from home – as found in research I carried out with the University of Birmingham earlier this year. Thus, the impact of homeworking may have been even more dire for mothers, and women, especially when we consider the tiring emotional labour they were experiencing.’
Dr Chung’s current research is focused on how working time flexibility impacts an individual’s work-life balance, and the role of contexts in moderating that influence and how welfare state institutions and socio-economic factors shape individual’s perceived employment insecurity.
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