It’s no longer surprising that people who work from home complain that they're clocking in longer hours than before the pandemic.
The line between office and home is blurred, and we've all heard complaints about supervisors who don’t respect the sanctity of after-work hours. It also doesn’t help when bosses have been kickstarting each week with back-to-back Zoom meetings for the past two years now.
And with Omicron cases still on the high side, uninfected staff has to work even harder – whether onsite or from home – to pick up the slack left by COVID-19-positive colleagues. This particular observation has been noted by doctors such as Dr Lim John Wah, a senior consultant with Singapore General Hospital’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Department.
“The work tends to be delegated to the remaining employees, who are forced to either work extra hours in the office or bring work home,” he said.
“Some may feel like there is not enough time in the day to accomplish their tasks”; they are not “able to complete a to-do list” and they feel “like they are never able to keep up with the constant flow of additional work”, said Dr Lim.
Technology, which serves as a boon to modern living, has proven to be another bane during the pandemic. “Some employers expect their employees to be available at all hours of the day due to the convenience of technology,” he said.
MORE OVERWORKED PEOPLE
While “non-specific complaints such as gastric and bowel problems, muscle and joint pains” – which are signs of overworking – have not increased at the hospital level, it is more likely because patients typically address them at their family physician’s rather than at a tertiary healthcare level, opined Dr Lim.
Indeed, family doctors such as Dr Shimona Khoo from Raffles Medical have noticed an increase in the number of patients with such “symptoms suggestive of being burnt out”. “Common complaints and signs include insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality, fatigue, feeling emotionally drained, poor mood, and increased irritability,” she said.
“Coupled with physical isolation, with little to no interaction with peers and colleagues, it is not surprising that one’s physical and mental health can deteriorate over time,” said Dr Khoo.
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