Stress brought upon by return to office amid COVID-19 could harm health
Returning to the office will be stressful for everyone, but it could be overwhelming for some, experts said.
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Johns Hopkins Medicine held a virtual forum Wednesday to offer advice to workers and bosses alike as the return to the office is underway.
The transition from working from home back to the office is taking place as the COVID-19 delta variant takes hold, fueling a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. According to mental health experts, it's also compounding stress and anxiety for employees who will soon be back in the office.
The forum's organizers were upfront in saying the delta variant changed the essence of the webcast in just a few weeks. A month ago, the idea was to help companies make coming back to the office less stressful for staffers.
Instead, the focus on Wednesday was to validate the serious health concerns employees may have and to warn employers they might need to retool their transition plans.
"I went back to work mid-June," Kanika Burgess said.
Burgess' office, like many currently, is operating in a hybrid model with staggered in-person staffing. Burgess said there are benefits to being back at her desk. For one, she has a clear start and end to the workday.
"I like having a specified beginning and end time. It helps me keep a balance," Burgess said.
Dr. Karen Swartz, a Johns Hopkins Medicine associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said there are other benefits of being back in the office, saying it makes some people more efficient and productive and revives the synergy and energy of teamwork and collaboration.
However, it can also be stressful.
"Good things, like getting back to normal and getting back to the office, can be incredibly stressful," Swartz said. "People are exhausted and they're demoralized and we're about to ask them to do something else, which is hard."
Burgess said she worries returning to the office might be dangerous amid the spread of the delta variant.
"I definitely have reservations because I have a 6-year-old who, unfortunately, can't get vaccinated. So, of course, the concern is making sure I keep her safe," Burgess said.
Swartz said the wellbeing of children represents one of the biggest concerns she has heard in her psychiatry practice.
"Young children still can't get (the vaccine), and so some people are very worried that they might get a COVID infection and bring it home to their children who are not yet vaccinated," Swartz said.
The Hopkins experts urged employees to look out for themselves and their colleagues. They also urged employers to be flexible and mindful that one size will not fit all at this point in the pandemic.
"It's a safety issue for a lot of people. They're worried, they're worried about what is this going to mean?" Swartz said.
Swartz said transitions will be stressful for everyone as baseline stress is already really high. She said that matters because stress can not only lead to depression and anxiety, but it also decreases immune response -- amid a spreading delta variant.