Chatter That Matters: How is work from home affecting your mental health?

Chatter That Matters: How is work from home affecting your mental health?

For me Work From Home has been good for my mental health because I can save money on canteen, transport and other expenses.

Dipti SinghUpdated: Sunday, January 09, 2022, 11:10 PM IST
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75% of industry workforce may continue to work from outside office: IT Secretary | /Pixabay

Work From Home emerged as an option during the first Covid-19 wave, and has virtually remained in place for last two years for technology intensive sectors like IT. Some other sectors returned to Work From Office, much to the relief of employees. But, the surging Covid cases propelled by fast-spreading Omicron variant has once again forced most offices in Mumbai to switch back to the WFH mode. For many, WFH also means being cooped up in the house, working remotely, and hours on end without any interaction with colleagues and teammates. In Chatter That Matters this week, we asked the question: How is work from home affecting your mental health?

For me Work From Home has been good for my mental health because I can save money on canteen, transport and other expenses. But I have colleagues especially women who are married and have a lot of responsibilities at home; they have to juggle between work and the chores of the house. They have to take care of their children, husband, in laws while also finishing their office work. Moreover, many people have small houses with big families where it is difficult to manage office work without disturbing others and getting disturbed. These things have surely affected many people’s mental health while working from home.

- Rinto Joseph

I believe Work From Home has blurred the line between work and life. Juggling chores and work has been tough. Although I'm an individual contributor at work, isolation in a remote environment has not always been great for my productivity. There are a few perks to work from home but human interaction at work and the privilege to leave work-related stress at office and head home is of the past now.

- Neha Raj

I came across the concept of Work From Home only after COVID-19. Initially it did affect me mentally since I was into the habit of going to office daily, but since March 2020, I have gradually adapted to this work culture. Also, if we take the current COVID situation into consideration, WFH is the best thing to do. By stepping out, we are not only putting ourselves to a risk, but our family members as well. I have managed to cope up with this work culture now.

- Kishore Pandey

I believe Work From Home continuously for months would certainly affect mentally, but again, what other options do we have? After having worked for several months from home, I have developed the habit of performing yoga and excercise to keep myself stress free. This has brought very positive change in me.

-Somnath Yadav

I think a specific time to work should be followed strictly, like working hours to be not more than 8 hours in such pandemic era. Employers should not bother employees after the working hours. Work From Home concept is ruining peoples mental and physical health as routine is not followed and everyone is doing their household chores and work simultanously. Work From Home should be time bound and strictly to be followed by employers, bosses, teams etc so that employee is not disturbed during their personal time. Few virtual activities like health , fitness, hobbies, learning sessions could be initiated during working hours to keep employees happy, fit and motivated.

- Mohammed Saad Shaikh

I felt lonely while working at home as I did not get the necessary support for my work. The sudden lack of physical connection with colleagues also left me with a feeling that there is no one when I was anxious or depressed. It becomes more challenging to work from home as the network available at the office was missing, which is crucial for good mental health.

- Shweta Rajendra Salke

With fewer opportunities for informal catchups, we are spending more time on zoom and online meetings. Over the period, these video meetings triggered fatigue and ironically left a feeling being disconnected. Even adapting to Work From Home has, in fact, increased the workload. There is a requirement to work for longer hours, even without an office setup and left a disconnect between home and office life.

- Susmitha Rajan

Not too badly. As an entrepreneur and angel investor, a lot of work is done via screen meetings anyway. So Work From Home or Work From Office – its not a big difference. For good mental health, I take breaks daily and weekly. One must maintain social interactions too.

-Rickson Rodricks

Considering the rising number of Covid cases, work from home (WFH) is the need of the hour. WFH has a dual effect - it reduces the output to a great extent. Also it has a negative impact on an individual’s mental state of mind. Having said that, it should be considered temporarily in the interest of the society.

-Puja V Ahuja

As an actor, it’s of utmost importance for me to stay fit both physically and emotionally at all times. It’s been rather difficult during COVID times to be at peace with oneself on the emotional front, especially with unfortunate incidents all around. However, my work has been my mainstay all this while. Good work and constant appreciation from my well-wishers have helped me pave the way even in most difficult times. There are many interesting projects in pipeline which keeps me motivated and makes me hope to return to a brighter, normal world very soon. It’s only humane to feel low at times, but what’s important for each one of us is not to lose hope!

-Sapan Krishna

Work from home has saved travel time. However, with no meeting with colleagues and office banter has really affected the mental health of everyone. The time for self is lost as at home you work for extra hours. I believe companies should give some leisure time to their employees on rotational basis and provision for counselling. So that they can spend quality time with family, friends and return to work in a refreshed mood.

- Hitendra Walve


As long as it is not extending for like months, WFH is really good. We are able to work without need to travel to our work places, spending hours in traffic and that time could be given to our respective work. It also reduces chances of contracting virus which will benefit everyone. However it should not be stretched for too long as there are high chances of the Work From Home culture reducing efficiency and productivity which could put the job at risk.

-Pradeep Pandey

The concept of Work From Home is really great, as long as its not compromising with productivity and quality of the work. All the employer wants from their employee is maximum output at minimum cost. If the employees are able to perform well irrespective of their work place, I don’t see any mental health issue here. The employer is also able to save from enormous office expenses, while the employee also able to cut the time and energy required to reach the office and back forth.

-Rajeshwar Narvekar

"Work From Home doesn't affect my mental health, but as a human being I need change. Because of WFH, I am stuck at home. In office, we can meet colleagues and there is a certain amount of time you spend sharing with others. I am missing that environment.

-Chandan Talekar

Work from Home has helped me gain a personal balance with my family life amd now I can attend to both-- personal and professional matters at once. Nobody and nothing is ignored and I hope once the COVID dust settles, we will be able to resume the WFH as it has given many what was really needed, exquisite family time.

- Rammohan G

The connect with the outside world and communication skills have gone for a toss as one is holed up inside the four walls of the house, which has turned the world topsy turvy. A people's person like me needs to be amid people and it has been a real downer for mental and physical health as well. Having next to no physical movement is an added burden of WFH.

- Deepali Vijay

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