How to manage the psychological load of hybrid working

Since the recent easing of pandemic restrictions, the workplace looks a little different. For many of us, a successful period of remote working has produced a reluctance to return to the office full-time. Instead, a hybrid working approach is becoming the ‘new normal’.

However, this sudden shift in approach has left many unprepared for the demands of balancing office and remote working. Instead of embracing the benefits of the two approaches, many are left struggling to cope with their unique stresses.

With the right support, the hybrid workplace represents an opportunity for employees to embrace a healthier work-life balance and enjoy greater productivity. But business leaders have a responsibility to help employees manage this new working approach and reap the rewards on offer.

Hybrid burnout – a pandemic of stress

Full-time office or remote working can be uniquely stressful and demanding. On-site work often means tiring daily commutes, while remote workers can struggle to ‘switch off’ from work when they’re unable to shut the office door behind them at the end of each day.

So, the idea of balancing the two would appear a healthy middle ground – allowing individuals a break from the negative impacts of either working approach. In reality, though, juggling the two is simply leaving many with a ‘hybrid headache’ – simultaneously enduring the stresses of both approaches as well as the disrupted routine of splitting time between the office and home.

As a result, individuals are burning out – a phenomenon now recognised by the WHO as the result of ‘chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed’.

Unhealthy hybrid habits are leaving them in a constant heightened state of stress, impacting their physical and mental wellbeing. When we’re unable to recover from this chronic stress, we experience physical symptoms including nausea, fatigue and musculoskeletal problems, as well as mental ill-health including anxiety and depression.

It’s a cyclical and unhelpful pattern. Unwell individuals become unmotivated and unproductive, impacting their work performance. As a result, their stress increases, often under a mounting workload and looming deadlines, making it only more difficult to make positive changes. Instead, it drives unhelpful behaviours like ‘leavism’ (taking leave to catch up on work backlog) and presenteeism (showing up for work without being productive).

Without the right support from employers, individuals may continue this spiral of negative behaviours, exacerbating symptoms of stress and leading to negative outcomes for both the individual and the business.

How to spot the signs

The challenge for employers and managers is that burnt-out employees are often reluctant to speak out. In addition to the perceived stigma around mental health, employees also fear the career consequences of admitting to experiencing work stress – like being overlooked for promotions.

To nurture a healthy and productive workforce, managers need to recognise the signs of burnout in others – as well as themselves – and feel confident talking about it, approaching others and offering support.

So, it’s important to note that hybrid burnout isn’t just stress. The workplace naturally encompasses some daily stress for conscientious employees, and this isn’t always negative – in fact, short bursts of stress can actually help us concentrate and perform under pressure.

Burnout occurs when this stress isn’t managed, and individuals haven’t learned the resilience needed to bounce back from short stresses and instead experience the adrenal fatigue of chronic ‘fight or flight mode’.

Signs of burnout may include a measurable decline in standards of work, and changes in behaviour and mood such as withdrawal, irritability, chronic tiredness, poor sleep, pessimism, hopelessness, and an inability to concentrate.

Managers and leaders spotting these signs in others should feel comfortable approaching and supporting them. This may include simply asking ‘how are you feeling today?’ or ‘is there anything I can do to help?’, as well as signposting them towards the formal support on offer from the business.

At Nuffield Health, we’ve delivered Emotional Literacy Training to all our staff, equipping them with skills to hold conversations confidently around mental health. This has created a culture where conversations about mental health are welcome and expected. Not only are individuals capable of supporting others, but they are more likely to seek support for themselves at the earliest signs of distress – before they become burnt out.

Treating the hybrid headache

The key to supporting those experiencing the hybrid headache is understanding the unique stresses posed to those balancing different working approaches. This may include the ‘working from home guilt’ that often plagues remote workers, who feel pressured to work longer hours to earn their flexible working privileges. Similarly, those returning to the workplace post-pandemic may be struggling to re-adjust to the busy and sociable office environment.

Firstly, managers should outline remote working expectations clearly to ease these worries, letting individuals know they aren’t expected to work longer hours just because they’re not commuting. Employers have a responsibility to help their team manage remote working boundaries, too, for example by reiterating that they aren’t expected to reply to emails out of hours.

This way, employees establish personal time each day when they can switch off. Advise employees to mark that work has finished for the day. For home workers this may mean shutting your laptop putting it away in a drawer, switching off your work phone, closing the door on your work room, and going out for a walk, to mark the end of the working day.

When we work, our stress levels naturally rise (this is what makes us alert and productive). Employers should help staff maintain a buffer zone, for stress levels to return to normal before trying to sleep.

It’s then important to cover office expectations – which may mean agreeing set ‘office days’ for those who would prefer to know how busy they can expect the environment to be on given days. This helps individuals establish a routine that can reduce unhelpful ‘what if?’ thinking patterns that exacerbate stress.

Employers should also signpost individuals towards the emotional wellbeing support available to them. This may include employee assistance programmes or cognitive behaviour therapy sessions, which give individuals direct access to a specialist who can help them understand and break unhelpful thinking and behaviour patterns to cope in new and uncertain situations.

Ultimately, encouraging healthier habits help us remain at our peak physical and mental fitness as we enter a new working landscape with a degree of uncertainty.

The author is Brendan Street, professional head of emotional wellbeing at Nuffield Health.

This article is provided by Nuffield Health.