Feelings of isolation and alienation are plaguing workforces across the world as remote work spurred by the global pandemic continues. Results of a recent research study revealed a multitude of employee concerns in regards to working from home. The research was led and released by Canadian-based partners, inclusive workplace learning company Dialectic and intranet software platform Jostle.

Overarching results from the study, which sought to understand how remote work affects employee inclusion and connection, reveal social isolation, communication obstacles, technological challenges and work/life balance implications. These new barriers intersect with and may further compound existing barriers to inclusion, such as discrimination, underrepresentation and stereotypes.

With 82 per cent of respondents reporting communication obstacles and 83 per cent reporting feeling disconnected from their workplace culture, it’s safe to say remote work has muted many norms and practices of workplace culture that build belonging. The study also revealed 35 per cent of participants feel their managers give them more responsibilities, but 54 per cent feel their supervisor does not provide them the support needed to deal with issues arising from working remotely. As transactional work relationships have become the norm, managerial support is limited. Asking employees to shoulder more responsibility with less support is untenable in the long run and could lead to costly burnout and turnover.

Feelings of unfulfillment were reported, as 80 per cent of people feel they have access to the tools and resources they need to work remotely, but 30 per cent feel less fulfilled by their work. It is possible leadership has not been promoting enough time off, with 52 per cent of participants experiencing stress at work in the past year caused by work overload, and 70 per cent taking fewer sick days than in years past. 59 per cent report using few to no sick days for mental health reasons.