Research Summary. Remote work has been growing more commonplace, and the COVID-19 pandemic only increased this. Companies realize that many remote workers are burnt out, however. Here are the key employee burnout statistics from the latest 2022 data:
-
86% of employees who work from home full-time experience burnout.
-
67% of remote workers report feeling pressured to be available all the time.
-
48% of remote workers feel as though they have no emotional support from their employers.
-
Only 30% of remote workers completely avoid working on the weekends.
-
51% of remote workers feel they don’t have support from their employer to deal with burnout issues.
-
45% of employees working remotely due to the pandemic report working more hours than before.
For further analysis, we broke down the data in the following ways:
Mental Health | Top Reasons for Workplace Stress | Pandemic
General Remote Work Burnout Statistics
-
86% of remote workers say they’re burnt out at their current jobs.
In comparison, 81% of hybrid workers and 70% of in-person workers say the same.
-
33% of workers say they don’t want to work from home in the future.
This is based on a survey conducted in March 2021, and in October 2020, 28% of respondents said they didn’t want to work from home in the future, showing that people are becoming increasingly tired of remote work.
-
41% of workers who do a high amount of remote work say they feel high levels of stress “always” or “most of the time.”
25% of fully in-person workers, about 33% of hybrid, and 30% of fully remote workers say the same.
Remote Work Burnout Statistics and Mental Health
-
49% of remote workers say they feel overwhelmed by their work and personal responsibilities.
-
45% of remote workers say they’re not expecting much from their employers anymore or are even concerned about the future of their jobs.
-
Only 36% of workers can keep up strong interactions with their colleagues when working remotely.
-
Moving from full-time office to full-time remote work increases loneliness by 67%.
-
12% of workers who say they’re lonely also say the quality of their work is lower than it should be.
-
63% of workers feel they’re discouraged from taking time off.
-
76% of remote employees say that workplace stress has a negative effect on their mental health.
-
49% of remote workers say they lack the work-based support they need to manage their stress.
Remote Work Burnout Statistics By Top Reasons for Workplace Stress
-
52% of remote workers say they miss getting a change of scenery every day.
In addition, 61% of remote employees say they miss having face-to-face interactions with their colleagues, showing that there is value to going into an office for many people.
-
46% of remote workers say they miss the clear boundaries that in-office work sets between their work and personal lives.
This is even more likely to be true of the 22% of employees who feel less productive at home than they do at the office: 51% of this group said they miss having clear boundaries.
-
45% of employees working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic say that they regularly work more hours each week than before.
In addition, 70% say they now work on weekends, and, as a whole, remote employees are working an average of 2.5 hours per day more than they were before the pandemic.
-
67% of remote workers say they feel pressured to always be available.
Much of the reason workers are willing to be available at all hours is because 60% of them are afraid they’ll lose their jobs if they don’t go above and beyond.
-
15% of remote workers didn’t take any time off from mid-2020 to mid-2021.
However, this doesn’t mean the remaining 85% took full advantage of their vacation time, as almost 50% of remote workers only took a week or less off.
Remote Work Burnout Statistics and the Pandemic
-
The percentage of people who work from home full-time and feel burned out at work “very often” or “always” has gone up during the pandemic.
Here are the statistics of each type of work and their levels of burnout before and during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Remote vs. In-Person Percentage Who Were Burned Out Before Pandemic Percentage Who Were Burned Out During Pandemic Do not work from home 30% 26% Work from home part of the time 27% 25% Work from home all the time 18% 29% -
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 59% of workers took off less time than they normally would.
These workers blamed COVID-19 specifically for not taking as much time off.
-
69% of people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced burnout symptoms.
This statistic was gathered in July 2020 and is an increase from early May 2020, where burnout levels were at 51%.
Remote Work Burnout Statistics FAQ
-
Remote work burnout is when workers are tired, stressed, and no longer invested in or passionate about their work. This can happen for various reasons, including high levels of stress, larger workloads, or a lack of interpersonal connection with superiors and colleagues.
Many remote workers say they miss being able to get a change of scenery and interact with their coworkers every day, which takes a toll on mental health and adds to burnout.
Others say they feel pressure to always be available to work even on their off time or feel discouraged from taking vacation days, whether by a manager or the fear that they’ll lose their jobs if they don’t go above and beyond.
This lack of a break from work exhausts employees and sucks away their enjoyment of their work and their motivation to do good work.
-
How do you prevent remote work burnout?
You prevent remote work burnout by setting clear boundaries, being intentional about rest, and finding ways to get more interpersonal connections. Having clear starting and ending times to even remote work days is vital to fully disconnect from work and be fully present in your personal life.
In addition, it’s important for employees to take all of their available vacation time and for employers to encourage them to do that. Taking intentional time to rest will improve workers’ mental and physical health and allow them to have time to reset to bring their best to their jobs.
Being able to get out of the house and connect with colleagues is vital to preventing remote work burnout. Many companies are moving toward hybrid work schedules to allow employees to work with others when they want or need to, and individual employees are finding third-party locations where they can work remotely.
While these locations aren’t necessarily the same as working in an office, they provide some human interaction.
-
Is remote work more stressful?
Remote work is more stressful for some people. For others, however, it’s less stressful.
Whether remote work is stressful or not depends on several factors, such as your particular job, your home office setup, and your boss.
If your job requires a lot of meetings with other people, for example, remote work can be stressful since it’s usually more difficult and draining to be in virtual meetings all day than meeting in person.
Add in a home office that is just a kitchen table that your kids also need to use throughout the day and a boss who is less than understanding, and you have a recipe for a stressful remote job.
For someone whose job involves mostly independent work, however, working from home might be less stressful than commuting to the office just to do the same thing they could do from their quiet home.
-
How does remote work affect mental health?
Remote work can negatively affect mental health since it isolates people. 76% of surveyed workers say that remote work has harmed their mental health, and working remotely full-time has been shown to increase people’s levels of loneliness by 67 percentage points.
Being alone all day and never feeling the freedom to fully disconnect from work takes its toll, and so does staring at a screen during hours of meetings rather than sitting and talking with people face-to-face.
For people who do feel the freedom to take breaks throughout the day to do things they love or take care of personal responsibilities, remote work can improve their mental health.
-
What are the worst things about working remotely?
The worst things about working remotely are the isolation and lack of clear boundaries between home and professional life. Many people say they miss going into the office for these reasons, as it can be all too easy to go days without leaving the house or to let work seep into your personal time when the office is your home.
This is why many people are pushing for a hybrid work schedule, which would allow them to work onsite a few days a week and remotely the other days or as needed. Few people want to go fully back to in-person work, but few want to stay 100% remote.
Conclusion
As remote work has become the norm thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, employee burnout hasn’t disappeared like some people thought it would: 86% of employees who work from home full-time say they’re burnt out.
Remote workers are lonely and cooped up, as 61% of them say they miss having face-to-face interactions with their colleagues, and 52% say they miss getting to have a change of scenery every day.
In addition, 45% of remote employees say they work more hours now than before the pandemic, and 70% say they work on weekends now. Managers aren’t always helping their employees clock out on time either, as 67% of remote workers feel pressured to always be available, and 63% say they feel discouraged from taking time off.
References
-
TINYpulse. “State of Employee Engagement Q2 2021.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
JLL. “Worker Preferences Barometer.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
ILO. “Working Anytime, Anywhere: The Effects on the World of Work.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
JLL. “Workers Struggle with Delta ‘Whiplash.’” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
Forbes. “How Remote Workers Can Recognize Burnout and 6 Actions To Take.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
SHRM. “Remote Employees Are Working Longer Than Before.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
CNBC Make It. “This Psychologist Advises Fortune 500 Companies – Here Are Her Best Tips for Avoiding Burnout.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
Benefits Pro. “Remote Workers Report Experiencing Lost Promotions, Burnout, and Desire To Change Jobs.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
Gallup. “Remote Workers Facing High Burnout: How To Turn It Around.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
-
Monster. “Work in the Time of Coronavirus: Monster Poll Results.” Accessed on March 16, 2022.
Author
Abby is a writer who is passionate about the power of story. Whether it’s communicating complicated topics in a clear way or helping readers connect with another person or place from the comfort of their couch. Abby attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she earned a degree in writing with concentrations in journalism and business.
