Are remote workers happy in their jobs?

What’s the main motivation to become a remote worker? For many of us, it’s about happiness, fulfilment, and taking control of our livelihoods.

This can often seem like a knee-jerk reaction to the pandemic—and employers are somewhat clawing back on the idea—but actually, the culture and ‘lifestyle’ has been evolving ever since the dawn of the internet. It’s a pivotal moment in history that helps employees, freelancers, and business people like us to branch out from the grinding rat race and, in many cases, return work to its ‘secondary’ status.

You give an individual a portable device, you emancipate them from the corporate bind and open up a world of opportunities to enrich that person’s life in ways they never knew possible.

Some groundbreaking questions have come up in recent years, with speculation as to whether jobs make people happy versus the situations in which they are expected to work. Cue the remote-working lifestyle, which is glamorised as a way of gaining freedom in—what can seem like—an overwhelmingly adverse system.

As this culture grows, I’d love for this to influence everyone and wake them up to the true impact that work can have on us mere mortals, but also how a remote-working, hybrid-working, or work-from-home agreement can change the general population’s perception of their office-bound jobs.

In this article, I’ve highlighted some of the critical topics of our time, such as mental health—and how this is impacted by work, and vice versa—and whether modern employment is conducive to a healthy life.

As the world of employment changes, we want to know if employees are happy at work, especially those who have the freedom to log in from wherever they are on this vast planet.

I’ll be covering:

• Why employees want to work remotely

• Whether remote working impacts mental health

• Causes of increased happiness among remote workers

• How happiness can impact business

Why do employees want to work remotely?

The answer that springs to mind when asked, ‘Why do employees want to work remotely?’ is often physical or financial freedom. 

However, the arguments around this are just as broad as the lives we lead. The Global Life-Work Survey 2023 highlights some critical responses that characterise individuals based on their life priorities.

It’s interesting to see how the survey depicts the four key personalities (Work Warriors, Separators, Integrators, and Family Guardians), which indicates inclusivity of different backgrounds, from those ‘flat-out’ workers looking to build a career to individual earners with family commitments. There’s also an inherent consideration for employees who like to be taken into the fold—i.e. live and breathe work—separated from those who wish to compartmentalise their work day from their personal time, creating a hard line between them.

Of the people surveyed, the percentage of in-office workers experiencing burnout was almost double that of remote workers. But why? 

Well, more remote workers rated their work-life balance more highly compared to those working in the office or expected to attend regularly. This, to me, would suggest that having the freedom to craft their own schedules and create a workspace that suits them gives employees more fulfilment in their day-to-day lives—and I’m not just projecting my own needs or desires. 

This simple change can lead to much deeper work as we’re more likely to block out unnecessary tasks (noise, if you like) to focus on more demanding duties. For example, if I need to block out four hours to write this piece, I'm likely to get frustrated if I allow instant messaging to creep in, or I could potentially lose my head if I hear one more email notification sound. For writers, it can take as much as 25 and a half minutes to regain focus after a distraction—imagine the valuable time lost per ping!

Does remote working impact mental health?

Yes. Much like anything can if you let it. However, I’m not here to even attempt to therapise.

The reality is apparent, though, that working physically separate from the team—likewise, if you don’t have a team—can impact a person’s mental health if they approach this in the same way they would in an office-based role. Pay attention to what your job demands, though, because you may find that remote working can ‘cut out the noise’ when it comes to deep, meaningful work.

The real question here is, ‘How can you manage your mental health?’ To which I answer: there are multiple methods. So, choose a solution that works for you.

Of course, the cliche arguments are to maintain a fitness routine, eat well, and take regular breaks throughout the day. Before I explain other considerations, it’s worth noting that working without distractions is likely to encourage a deep work mindset, meaning that—in my opinion—less distraction causes harder work in a shorter period.

Referring back to my personal point, I can go a whole day with the stipulated lunch break but fail to rest my mind when I’m actually doing a task. There’s also an art to taking breaks without getting distracted by menial things.

What causes increased happiness among remote-working employees?

You could say that the things driving people towards remote working are ultimately the drivers of increased happiness. Naturally, they begin to take control of their daily schedules, which can be very freeing for a number of reasons:

• Flexibility (somewhat under the work-life-balance bracket)

• Avoiding the commute to work

• Clawing back financially

Improvements in work-life balance

If you indulged in the survey above, you’ll have seen that employees with digital freedom tend to take more holidays than those working in the office or even hybrid. While it may not be a problem for most, almost 20% more remote employees take consistent, long-term breaks from work, which would suggest they are not only free to do so but could also represent the financial implications of their employee situation.

Alongside this, I note that one of the key benefits outlined in the survey is "Life-Work Balance”—it’s there in writing; it’s what people want.

Remote working makes employers more flexible

Flexibility benefits any of the aforementioned personas, especially those supporting a partner or family, and is critical to maintaining a healthy personal life. Now, flexibility can be a double-edged sword, as I’ve often felt that working from home as an employee can lead to a kind of paralysis.

This brings me back to the point about understanding your role and the requirements you need to meet. Employers, in many cases, have adopted this mindset of ‘while you’re working at home, you must be online during working hours’. It’s not exactly conducive to the freedom you so desire.

This is also made worse by the companies that track their employees’ movements on a day-to-day basis and can even tell when you’ve not touched the trackpad in the past five minutes. While we’re yet to influence bosses to have more faith in their teams, I come back to the saying “society moves as slow as the slowest person”—i.e. the reason you have to check in with your team regularly isn’t necessarily due to your ability to work, but the blanket level of distrust by employers.

To achieve flexibility in your role:

• Firstly (I know I’ve said this already), understand the requirements of the job—if this doesn’t fit with the lifestyle you want, then it’s perhaps time to make an adjustment.

• Secondly (and perhaps the most difficult one), come up with ways to influence your employer to allow more flexibility in check-ins. Maybe this looks like a regular daily accountability meeting that lets bosses know what you’ve been working on throughout the day—in my opinion, they’ll be able to determine who’s working and who isn’t.

• Thirdly, if you are the boss, there are ways you can build within your time with project management systems and other methods of tracking work without putting your team on edge.

Financial benefits of remote working

Think about the times you’ve been at work and forgotten to make lunch, or know it’s much simpler to spend in the nearest supermarket every day. Tesco Express, in my case.

We’ll give you insights into how we get the most out of food when working from home—or, in fact, in another country—whilst cutting costs in a future post. However, for now, I just want to say that if you’re shifting to remote work and looking forward to that Instagram-worthy cafe culture, be aware that you’ll probably see an increase in your coffee intake—and your wallet will feel it.

Aside from food, people who work at home will save money on their commute and various other outings that come with the corporate or office-based lifestyle. Less indulgence at your nearest bakery or coffee shop. Once you break out of the rat race mindset, it becomes easier to plan food for the day or even make something a bit more exciting at a fraction of the price of eating out.

This is also a great time to note that your physical health goals can become much more achievable. Managing your time and setting a straightforward food routine often encourages greater achievement in the long term.

I’m not saying you’ll instantly be fitter or healthier…that still takes work.

For employers: Is remote working good for business?

Undoubtedly, companies that allow their staff to work from home can save thousands annually on real-estate costs and filling up the bottomless snack basket beside the free coffee machine. This also begs the question: ‘Do businesses have to spend money on their employees for retention?’

I’d be inclined to say that the workforce of today is much more driven by the career prospects that employers can give to them, as opposed to the perks of the job that are taken for granted long term. Motivating teams can be done in various ways, and you don’t have to be in the office to generate a workplace culture as long as the team can get together every now and then.

From the perspective of UK employment, FlexJobs quotes cost savings of up to £11,000 per employee per year just by allowing them to work from their own domain. This is where the traditional, office-bound business structure falls down as people want more freedom and the perks of their choosing. Imagine if your boss gave you that £11,000 and let you work wherever you like. Not only would you be pleased to see an increase in your bank account, but goodwill alone would get most people out of bed in the morning.

Build a remote-working career that works for you

Easier said than done, but it’s time for more conversations between employees and those who write their paychecks. The 21st Century is one of development—pushing the boundaries of possibility and encouraging new ways of thinking. With this in mind, I think more companies are questioning whether this is good for them and still fail to understand the needs of their staff.

Employees are taking ownership of their roles, and hopefully, with this information, they can begin to solidify the lifestyles they want with an organisation that will empower them to do so. We all strive for purpose, which is why we have asked the above questions in the first place, and becoming bolder about work-life choices might just shake things up a bit.