IMPACTS OF 'WORK FROM HOME' MODEL ON HUMAN HEALTH

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has rendered a large proportion of the workforce unable to commute to work, to mitigate the spread of the virus. This has induced a shift in the working arrangements of millions of employees to Work-fromHome (WFH). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of WFH on holistic health of workers and analyze the significant stressors among each category of social, mental and physical well-being. Approximately 30% participants reported substantial continuity of WFH considering the physical-mental issues, whereas more than 50% preferred WFH considering social-impacts. Subjective responses from two online surveys were analyzed to understand factors associated with holistic health. Vulnerable population was identified under each human-variable. While some unhealthful behaviors appeared to have been aggravated, other more healthful behaviors also emerged. Due to the flexibilities offered, it is possible that WFH may continue to some degree in future. To make this arrangement feasible and contribute effectively towards productive work, organizations will require to implement formalized decisions on continuity of WFH model based on the individual impact analysis considering demographic and professional variables of different workers. Based on the study recommendations have been made for longitudinal studies to investigate the dynamics of remote-work. IMPACTS OF 'WORK FROM HOME' MODEL ON HUMAN HEALTH Received on: 26.08.2021 Revised on: 30.09.2021 Accepted on: 02.10.2021