Most people dream of an arrangement that would allow them to work from home on a full-time basis. But don’t let the allure of working in your PJs disillusion you — remote work does come with its disadvantages, and some of them may not be as obvious as you may think.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought many adjustments to our workforce, but perhaps the most significant of them was the shift to remote work. The change proved to be beneficial to many companies, which reported increased productivity and output numbers. Employees were also grateful, as they saved many hours on early mornings and long commutes.
However, as business began to return to normal, the amount of work also increased, and many work-from-home employees were faced with much more burdensome workloads. Because of the flexibility of remote work, these employees are finding themselves spending their weekends catching up on additional tasks, leaving them completely overworked.
According to a report by ActivTrak, American workers worked more hours on Saturdays and Sundays in 2022 compared to 2021, with 5% working through entire weekends. This increased their time on the job by an average of 6.6 hours.
On top of this, many companies (especially in the tech industry) are also in the midst of conducting mass layoffs, causing many employees to take on even more work to make up for the shortfall.
“As companies downsize and attempt to do more with less, it’s very possible that work is extending beyond the 5-day work week and into the weekends,” said Gabriela Mauch, vice president of the productivity lab at ActivTrak, to Fortune. “We’re apt to see a lot more experimentation as companies begin to realize their approach to work must be uniquely suited to their business and their people.”
With remote work ushering in the new era of the 7-day workweek, a single question lingers on every worker’s mind: “Is the greater flexibility of a work-from-home arrangement worth my health and well-being?”
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