Work from office better than work from home for mental health: Study

Forging good relationships at the workplace and a sense of pride in work are more important for mental wellbeing than the oft-touted ‘work-life balance’ factors, such as workload and flexibility, over time, a new mega global study reveals.
In another surprising finding of the study that looked at nine aspects of work culture, Indians who worked from offices had better mental health indicators than those in work-from-home or hybrid arrangements.This contrasted with the Americas and Europe, where hybrid workers were found to have the best mental health indices.

The study, Work Culture & Mental Wellbeing, was conducted by the US-based mind research organisation, Sapiens Labs, which used data obtained this year from 54,831 employed, internet-enabled respondents across 65 countries.
‘Bad relationships bigger cause of distress than high workload’
The report comes in the backdrop of a debate in India over high workload, stress and “toxic” workplaces, triggered by the recent death of a 26-year-old chartered accountant in Pune. The report did identify workload as an important cause of distress among workers. But these ‘work-life balance’ factors were found to be half as impactful on mental health as some other parameters.
“Relationships with your colleagues and feeling a sense of pride and purpose in your work came in at the top of the list in terms of impact to mental wellbeing, regardless of what type of job you do,” the report said. Poor relationships and a low sense of pride and purpose at work were found to be linked with severe feelings of sadness or hopelessness, being unwanted and reduced energy levels and motivation, among others.

In India, where the study had a sample size of 5,090, the link between poor relationships with colleagues and mental distress was stronger than the global average. While across the world, people working in teams showed better mental health than those working alone, the increase in mental wellbeing with team size was steeper in India than in western countries.
“The percentage who indicate unmanageable workloads in India (13%) is actually better than the global average (16%) and US (18%) while those who indicate good relationships with their colleagues is comparable to the global average of around 50%,” said neuroscientist Tara Thiagarajan, founder and chief scientist of Sapiens Labs.
Globally, the study found that those in customer services and physical labour fared worse than those employed in knowledge-based jobs.
The study used an approach called mental health quotient, which assesses 47 aspects of mental feeling and function that are aggregated into an overall mental wellbeing score. “We define mental wellbeing as not just mood & outlook factors but the full complement of mental capacities that allow us to navigate life’s challenges and function productively. These include adaptability & resilience, social self, drive & motivation, cognition and mind-body connection,” Thiagarajan said.
In sum, the findings seem to break down the segregation between personal and professional spaces. “What it says is that our relationships with people matter profoundly to our mental health and wellbeing regardless of their nature and context. Humans want to feel valued and included in whatever realm we are in,” said Thiagarajan, who has a PhD from Stanford.
The data used for the analysis is publicly available and the researchers hope it will lead to a better understanding of the dimensions of work culture that drive human wellbeing and performance. Said Thiagarajan: “Rather than inadvertently creating mental health problems and then trying to solve it with therapists and other downstream interventions, organisations can work towards actively cultivating mind health for high performance.”