The mental health benefits of working from home might convert you to working remotely in the next 4 minutes of reading. Working from home can be an extremely fulfilling experience, but it may not always be ideal.
After the first wave of covid-19, working remotely was shown to have negative consequences of mental health. However, the new hybrid model shows drastic improvements to mental health, such as less stress, reduced work conflicts, and many more.
However, if you’re in the right circumstances, working from home can be beneficial to your mental health, whether you’re an employee or self-employed worker. These are seven surprising benefits of working from home for your mental health.
1) Control over your environment
Working from home provides you with the ability to control and improve your own environment. This is significant because it has been shown that people in a comfortable, familiar setting are more likely to succeed.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should lock yourself up in your home for hours on end without going outside once, but being able to work with minimal interruptions has been proven to be more beneficial than constantly getting up and moving locations throughout the day.
2) Lower Stress Levels
Working from home doesn’t only have a positive impact on your wallet; it can have positive impacts on your mental health too. Working at home eliminates work-related stressors, such as commutes and lack of time to oneself. Plus, having control over what you wear to work allows you to make yourself feel more comfortable and take care of your mental health on a daily basis.
On the other hand, working in an office can put people under stress because they are always fighting their natural urge to go to the bathroom or get food. Working at home also gives people more flexibility with their schedules.
3) No Commuting Costs
Today, more and more employees are working remotely than ever before. This trend is for good reason too, because there are so many benefits to working from home.
For starters, not only do you save money on gas and parking costs, but you also have the opportunity to spend time with your kids and family as well. With fewer distractions at home, it’s easier to concentrate on work in a quieter environment. Plus no commute will help you avoid traffic stress which is such a burden in today’s day and age.
4) No Office Politics with remote work
You never have to deal with the petty bickering and drama that occur in an office environment. Sometimes office workers take their personal problems too far and forget where they are and who they are working with.
At home, you don’t have to worry about it happening because you can leave the situation whenever you need to. When everything seems like it’s too much, it’s nice to know you can escape your workspace for a little bit if you need to do so.
5) Improved Physical Health
There are also many benefits to working from home. As opposed to working in an office environment, you’re able to choose when and where you work based on your own preferences. This level of control is great if you like listening to music while getting work done or taking breaks by doing some light exercise. This can help keep a positive mood throughout the day.
The choice between staying at home or going into the office for lunch can be a tough one but either way, it’s important to take breaks so that your brain doesn’t get too worn out over time.
6) Staying Healthy While Working
Working at home isn’t just better for your physical health, it can also be better for your mental health too. When you’re working from home, you don’t have to commute which means less time in traffic and less frustration.
Plus, you might get to take your lunch break outside if the weather is nice! You can dress more comfortably and do more things that make work enjoyable such as cooking or gardening on breaks. For instance, you can take up meal prepping to avoid spending too much time cooking everyday.
Finally, it may provide a sense of security when family members are home during the day since you won’t need to rush back out to take care of them if they need something.
7) Mental health benefits of Optimal Work-Life Balance
By working in your home, you are able to find a better work-life balance than those who work from an office. A study found that those who work remotely spend approximately 35 hours less per week at their job than those who work outside the home and have to commute.
What this means is that by going home earlier, they will likely feel better mentally, as well as physically, due to being able to balance all aspects of their life. The mental health benefits don’t stop there though! People also report feeling more productive at home since there’s a sense of isolation and freedom not present when you’re in a cubicle or constantly surrounded by coworkers.
