A RETURN to the workplace can鈥檛 come soon enough for some people. Others, however, may be experiencing post-lockdown anxiety, triggered in part by thoughts of sharing indoor space, socialising with other people or commuting on crowded buses or trains.
The covid-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on mental health. A study of more than 53,000 people in the UK that tracked mental health before the pandemic and into the first lockdown showed an in people aged 16 and older (The Lancet, ).
Despite a slight improvement in anxiety levels over the past year, they are , according to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). The effect is stronger for people in a lower socio-economic bracket. Medical insurance company Bupa tells 麻豆传媒 it has seen twice as many calls to its mental health direct access service as it did two years ago.
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New stressors arrive as lockdowns end. Anxiety UK and found that of those who were feeling anxious about the lifting of restrictions, 46 per cent cited pressure to socialise as their biggest concern, while 23 per cent were worried about public transport and 20 per cent were anxious about returning to work. About 23 per cent felt that they would be pressured to go back to the office sooner than they would like.
But it wouldn鈥檛 necessarily be best for our mental health if we continued to work from home, says Peter Smith at the University of Toronto, Canada. Smith and his colleagues studied people working in different environments in Canada in 2020.
They found that anxiety and depression were lower for those working remotely than for people still working on site or who had lost their jobs. However, when workplaces had adequate infection control schemes, on-site workers had the lowest prevalence of anxiety (Annals of Work Exposures and Health, ).
鈥淓very worker has the right to feel safe at the work site, and it is an employer鈥檚 responsibility to ensure that if they require people to be at the work site, that they make sure the environment feels safe,鈥� says Smith.
of people in the UK anxious about the end of lockdown worry about going back to work鈥�
Going back to workplaces could mitigate some 鈥渂rain fog鈥� or stress that may be a result of social isolation and loneliness. Left unchecked, loneliness 鈥� which a recent ONS survey shows has 鈥� can be as detrimental to our health as smoking or lack of exercise. It can cause , often associated with feelings of blurriness or a lack of concentration as well as changes to the amygdala, a brain region involved in emotional regulation.
Increased social interaction in an office should boost well-being. Although some studies suggest that online interaction is as psychologically valuable as interacting in person 鈥� reducing anxiety and depression and increasing feelings of well-being 鈥� others indicate that meaningful, face-to-face interaction with a few people is key to happiness.
Partly, this may be down to our mirror neurons 鈥� cells that fire in the same way whether we perform an action, like smiling, or see someone else do the same thing. This may be one of the reasons that seeing people in person tends to , where such nuances can be lost.
Eventually, working together in person will lead to increased social touching 鈥� shaking hands, hugging 鈥� which can boost well-being. The feeling of another鈥檚 touch activates a brain region called the orbitofrontal cortex, which generates feelings of reward and compassion. Touch also builds trust, increases our pain threshold and triggers a burst of endorphins and the feel-good hormone oxytocin, which protects against stress.
If you feel anxious about the prospect of returning to an office, there are also several things you can do, says Arun Thiyagarajan, medical director for Bupa鈥檚 Health Clinics. 鈥淧racticing mindfulness, taking time to exercise and downtime away from work can all help to reduce anxiety,鈥� he says.
