The majority of Spaniards prefer the hybrid way of working between teleworking and face-to-face work. But now if we want ensure health of our workers and with it their productivity, it is necessary to identify the psychosocial risks of teleworking and how to deal with them.
First of all, what are psychosocial risks? They are all those conditions, in what refers to the organization, content and performance of the work, which affect both the well-being and health of the workers and the performance of the work.
In relation to the teleworking, there are studies that show that teleworking may be associated with a greater workload, longer hours and an increase in the intensity of work.
The increased workload may be linked to a poor definition of the objectives in relation to the tasks assigned to the teleworker. In addition, there is also a reassignment of tasks from other departments or a feeling of lack of support from colleagues.
We must not forget that it is a work modality marked by a position of distance from the worker and the use of new technologies to carry out the work and communicate with the rest of the company, which can cause the origin of psychosocial risks due to teleworking.
What are the main psychosocial risks of teleworking for mental health?
We refer to “psycho” risks because they are those that affect the worker through the psyche (a set of processes typical of the human mind) and “social” because of their social origin, since they arise from the organization and management of the worked.
The psychosocial risks of teleworking can be given both by a overload as for one work underload, causing stress and tension in the health status of the worker, affecting their performance during their working day, but also altering biological rhythms.
Below we present the main psychosocial risks of teleworking.
stress and technostress
El Stress at work is a more common feeling than you would like, but currently there is another category within this, it is the techno-stress. Within the psychosocial risks of teleworking, this phenomenon arises as a result of poor adaptation or, directly, fear of new technologies.
This negative psychological state is caused, as has already been said, by the use of new technologies and their poor ability to manage, understand and work with this type of technology in a healthy way.
Technostress can generate in the worker a feeling of incapacity, lower productivity and job dissatisfaction. In addition to feeling a greater work overload.
For all these reasons, it is a clear psychological state to monitor and control if we do not want it to become one of the worst psychosocial risks of teleworking.
The addiction
One of the greatest psychosocial risks of teleworking is the addiction. This state can be caused by work overload, if a worker has certain peculiarities in his personality regarding obsessive behavior, work overload can generate an unhealthy addiction to work.
Currently, there are studies that reveal that more than 50% of the population in Spain is unable to disconnect from work once their working day is over. They do not have the ability to limit their working hours, feeling available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This makes your perception of time unreal and increases your level of self-demand, producing a feeling of guilt if you are not being productive.
The anxiety
It is a psychic disturbance caused by mental fatigue caused, generally, by fear of Loss of work, to not be productive, to change… And it is that many people are unable to concentrate or disconnect due to this new way of working.
Nowadays, this is one of the most normalized psychosocial risks of teleworking, but, in addition, the great problem that it entails is that the person suffering from anxiety usually presents other symptoms.
Una low concentration, irritability, nervousness, insomnia… are some of the symptoms that accompany anxiety, and what can result in much more serious illnesses such as depression, eating disorders, addiction problems, among others.
depersonalization
Another psychosocial risk of teleworking that affects both the employee and the company is depersonalization, that is, the invisibility of the employee.
In this technological and digital context in which we find ourselves today, the distance produced by teleworking is to blame for the lack of connection between workers and companies.
This situation makes it difficult to motivate employees and foster a sense of belonging. In addition, this psychosocial risk of teleworking can produce emotional exhaustion y decline in personal performance.
Therefore, it is important improve labor inclusion, be it the work format by traditional modality or by teleworking.
What are the main psychosocial risks of teleworking for physical health?
Depending on how teleworking is arranged, it can lead to some psychosocial risks to the employee's physical health.
Sedentary
Teleworking is a cognitive-type activity and most of the time is seated. So, a psychosocial risk factor at work it is a state of sedentary lifestyle with harmful consequences for any employee.
A sedentary lifestyle favors or exacerbates the risk of suffering from other diseases. In addition, it impairs daily functioning or, directly, prevents you from enjoying day-to-day experiences.
ergonomic conditions
Teleworking can be carried out in poor ergonomic conditions such as a poor telecommuting equipment, an incorrect physical location of the workstation at home, problems with light and temperature...
What can cause musculoskeletal disorders, palpitations, muscle tension or pain, dizziness and vertigo... In addition, all this can lead to negative psychological states that give rise to psychosocial risks of teleworking for mental health, such as sleep disorders, stress, lack of performance, mental fatigue...
How to prevent the psychosocial risks of teleworking?
The recommendations we give to companies to avoid psychosocial risks in teleworking are the following:
Identify problems and organize work
Una poor implementation of teleworking can have serious problems in the worker, so it is important to analyze the problems and create strategies to prevent the psychosocial risks of teleworking and promote good occupational health.
For this, it is essential to clearly define objectives in a realistic way, provide employees with the necessary technical resources, establish new work procedures, promote flexible hours, provide and request feedback...
All measures, among many others, are necessary to avoid or prevent Psychosocial risks in teleworking.
Be available and show closeness to the employee
The employee is essential for the company, so achieving a healthy work environment, increasing bonds and enhancing the level of worker motivation must be key points that every company must achieve.
To do this, showing closeness and being available are attitudes that foster good labor inclusionl. In short, it is necessary to demonstrate empathy with our employees to obtain their best performance.
Promote communication with workers
It is essential to carry out a transparent communication about the changes, the work situation... To improve the employee's feeling of belonging and achieve the objectives set.
To keep employees informed there are no excuses. The means of communication can range from virtual meetings or video calls to business breakfasts. All with the aim of guaranteeing effective communication and knowing how are the employees.
Miguel Angel Cristobal Carle