Remote work has been a godsend for many of us striving to achieve work-life balance but for some parents, it’s still hell on earth.
New survey results released by child care provider Brighter Horizons revealed a remote or hybrid setting has led to extreme lonesomeness. In the report, nearly half shared they only communicate with people under their roofs about 41% said they go days without leaving their homes at all.
Younger parents are faring the worst, according to report.
“Many working parents are struggling personally and professionally. While they have embraced a more flexible work environment, it has come with unintended consequences that are impacting their mental health and their ability to manage life’s responsibilities,” Stephen Kramer, CEO of Bright Horizons, said. “The moment is now for employers to step in to fill these voids,” he said. “This includes clearly defined benefit programs, mental and professional support services, as well as access to quality child and adult care.”
This loneliness issue isn’t relegated to parents. Early careeriests who are child-free attest to feeling cheated out of benefitting from social opportunities traditional office settings have long-provided.
As ESSENCE previously pointed out, unlike older generations, shelter-in-place mandates forced a large portion of Gen-Z to graduate from college, intern, and start their careers while fully remote. This has caused a huge chasm in experiencing cultural workplace milestones, and a slight delay in young professionals learning social norms and even some key soft skills.
According to January 2023 Harris Poll survey results, two-thirds of respondents said that understanding corporate office culture is essential to their career, and 57% agreed that face time with coworkers is important as reported by Bloomberg. Another 37% of fully remote or hybrid workers said they feel like they’re lagging behind their counterparts who work in offices full time.
“There’s been a huge paradigm shift in generational work experiences and a few factors at play caused that,” Carmen Bryant told ESSENCE. She serves as the VP of Marketing at WizeHire, an online recruiting company.
“Gen-Z has a hugely connected presence on social media and digital channels, which can naturally result in increased isolation.”
To mitigate, Bryant suggests workers seek out opportunities that prioritize mental health.
“There are lots of companies and small businesses that do care about {their employee’ morals and values, but it requires both the employer and employees to just be really thoughtful about what are the top priorities for us, what do we stand for, what is the right space and environment for us.”