Many Canadians who have been working from home since the COVID-19 lockdown began in mid-March are happy to continue doing so, but a University of Guelph expert in human resources says that in the long term, working from home may not be ideal if it leads to burnout and being overlooked by management.
Prof. Nita Chhinzer from the Department of Management in U of G’s Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, studies downsizing practices and aspects of employment ethics and is available for interviews.
She said there can be downsides to working from home for those hoping to advance their careers, because research shows remote workers are often overlooked for promotion and development opportunities.
Not only can employees be “out of sight and out of mind” of managers, but work isolation can also result in management not being aware of competency gaps among the team.
“As a result, there is a lack of awareness of and opportunities for development for remote workers, which decreases the likelihood of promotion. Sometimes, employees who work remotely also refuse promotions because they do not want to return to the office,” Chhinzer said.
Other long-term challenges with working from home include lower productivity for some workers and burnout for others.
That burnout can result simply from blending work and home space, as so many employees currently do, which can lead to problems differentiating work time from non-work time.
Many are under other forms of stress from the pandemic uncertainty and restrictions or from managing caretaking of children and older family members. Others have underlying health issues, fear job loss or are strained financially.
“When we feel we lack control at work, we have chaotic or ever-changing demands we are trying to meet, and we feel isolated at work, risk of burnout increases significantly. As we near week 18 of COVID-19 restrictions, many workers are near or at burnout stages,” she said.
Chhinzer is available to discuss the implications of this stress and how it can be prevented as well as what employees can do to ensure they are not overlooked for promotion.
CTV News Channel interviewed Chhinzer on working-from-home burnout, as did CHCH News. She also spoke with GuelphToday.com about the transition from working at home to returning to the office.
Contact:
Prof. Nita Chhinzer
chhinzer@uoguelph.ca