WFH Pressure: The Extra Hours Worked

We are not working from home, we are living in our offices.  Blind, an anonymous professional network with 3.6 MM+ verified tech and finance professionals, ran a survey asking:

  1. Do you feel obligated to reply to work emails, regardless of time of the day?
  2. Do you contact your boss often/ stay on your laptop so you appear to be working hard remotely?
  3. Do you feel like your boss values you based on how many hours you work?

Key Learnings 07/02-07/07

  • 36% of professionals feel obligated to reply to work emails, regardless of time of the day
      • 39% of Uber professionals  feel obligated to reply to work emails, regardless of time of the day
      • 37% of Microsoft professionals  feel obligated to reply to work emails, regardless of time of the day
    • ¼ of professionals contact their boss often/ stay on your laptop so they appear to be working hard remotely
      • 20% of Apple professionals contact their boss often/ stay on your laptop so they appear to be working hard remotely
      • Only 12% of Google professionals contact their boss often/ stay on your laptop so they appear to be working hard remotely
  • 28% of professionals feel like their boss values them based on how many hours they work
    • 28% of both Amazon and Microsoft professionals feel like their boss values them based on how many hours they work
      • Contrasted with only 14% of Google and Linkedin professionals feeling that way

These learnings have serious implications for employee burnout. Prior to this survey,  Blind tracked the evolution of Burnout. This past February, a Blind survey concluded that nearly 61 percent of professionals are burnt-out. We asked the same questions again 4 weeks later to see how mental health in the workplace is evolving throughout a pandemic.

Q1. Are you experiencing burnout at your company?

Q2. What is the main cause of employee burnout at your current workplace?

Q3. What business unit do you work in?

KEY FINDINGS (4/30-5/04) 6,789 responses: 

  1. 61% of professionals were burnt out in February, that number has risen to 73%
    1. In COVID-19 economy, one in five of professionals are burnt out by their fear of job security (19%)
    2. 20.5% of professionals in a COVID-19 workforce feel they have an unmanageable workload 
    3. Over 10% of professionals feel as if they have no control over their work
  2. 88% of Lyft professionals are burnt out- making them the most burnt-out company within our study 
  3. All surveyed companies have at least 60% of their workforce burnout (pre-COVID-19 the minimum was 30%) 

With such a positive movement towards destigmatizing mental health and the conversations about permanent changes to work for the foreseeable future, burnout should now be included in the forefront of the conversation. The survey results are troubling, but not altogether surprising. Burnout has risen by 12% due to COVID-19 in four weeks. The burnout conversation has never been linear; the health implications include anxiety, insomnia, depression, substance abuse, and coronary heart disease. Mental health is becoming a more significant national concern as more Americans are forced to remain isolated away from loved ones and support systems. Prior to this study, we wanted to gauge the platform’s emotional well being in terms of their anxiety levels, feelings of loneliness, and productivity during social distancing. 56.4% of professionals are experiencing increased feelings of anxiety during work from home and social distancing. Another 52.9% of professionals are experiencing increased loneliness during work from home and social distancing. These statistics have stories and a human cost behind them. An anonymous professional at Cisco states, “Most of the folks have now spent enough time to digest what social distancing means. Now that reality is accepted, we need creative ways to occupy yourself.” These statistics and trends were foreshadowing the sharp increase in burnout. 

To add another layer, burnout can feel personal. According to our survey, the top reasons for burnout range from a fear of job security, unmanaged workload, and lack of managerial support. What can c-level leaders do to address a personal issue systematically, in a time where they cannot even have in-person interaction with them? What do leaders who are considering taking their companies remote permanently need to know? After seeing the data, we believe that those answers are found in what is mainly causing burnout. 

The pressure to work longer hours and appear productive are only adding to the sharp increase in burnout across all professions. Access the raw report here.