Hybrid working model best for mental health, survey finds

Youth mental health charity stem4 surveyed 1038 working parents and carers across the UK to mark Parent Mental Health Day (27th January). It found that four in ten overall (39%) were experiencing mental health problems – most commonly stress (62%), depression (54%) and anxiety (50%).

Four in ten (40%) people working from home, and the same number of those working outside their home, were experiencing mental health difficulties. However, those whose working pattern combined time at home with time at a formal workplace were significantly less likely to experience problems with their mental health (29%). Only one in five (19%) working parents say their employer currently allows hybrid working. Six in ten (57%) work solely from home, and one in four (23%) in a formal workplace (23%).

Dr. Nihara Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and founder of stem4, said: “One of the few positive outcomes of the pandemic is that it’s provided a unique opportunity to test how we can all work differently, and rethink working structures that create value, whether that’s a reduced commute for employees or increased productivity for the employer. However, what this survey confirms is that as workers re-emerge from the pandemic they are not rested. As a consequence of two years of uncertainty, the blurring of the boundaries between home and work-life, less flexibility to relax in their usual ways such as going on holiday or seeing friends, people are presenting with exhaustion and poorer mental health. With one in four working parents now experiencing mental health difficulties, the pandemic has left people feeling overwhelmed, unable to cope, and lacking balance in their life. Hybrid working may afford employees the time they need to recover.”

Read more about the findings in the full press release here.