If an average person’s work hours were aggregated at the end of their career, it would total approximately 13 continuous years. Work consumes so much time and energy that if it doesn’t go well, it can become a psychological drain that impacts employee productivity and engagement. Numerous studies have shown that mental well-being at work is on the decline.

Has remote work hurt employees and is it time to return to the workplace to boost social connections, receive in-person mentoring and reduce isolation? The answer may be yes, but there is also a need for employers to create supportive and well-managed workplaces.

Gallup’s annual State of the Global Workplace report found that just over half of employees in North America are not engaged (51%), meaning they are uninspired by their work and do the bare minimum, and 16% are actively disengaged and seeking a new employer. According to the survey, employee disengagement accounts for $8.9 trillion in lost productivity worldwide.

Gallup found that younger and fully remote workers are the least engaged. Employee well-being for those 35 years old and over increased slightly from last year. However, the percentage of younger employees who say they are thriving at work decreased five percentage points in one year after seven years of steady increases. Some of the reasons behind disengagement include lack of connection, not knowing what is expected of them, not having the resources to do their jobs, and a lack of work/life balance. Commonly reported negative on-the-job emotions include stress, anger, sadness and loneliness. Fully remote workers in North America reported slightly higher feelings of loneliness than those in other world regions.

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