A study has found that older employees are less keen on working from home than their younger colleagues – and that the work-from-home (WFH) trend may be harming their health.

It seems one of the lasting legacies of the pandemic is a fundamental shift in the way many workers, and bosses, now view the 9-5, Monday to Friday, in-the-office work routine.

In a study led by Professor Jodi Oakman, head of the Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors at La Trobe University, older workers were found to link WFH with increased stress levels – especially when they were forced to be away from the office for more days than they wanted.

These workers were more likely to report neck and back pain if they spent more WFH days than they preferred.

The study used data collected from workers in May and ­November 2021 and in May 2022, with 75% of the participants being women. Older workers were defined as those aged 46 and over.

The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between actual and preferred days of working from home and the level of workers’ stress or neck and back pain.

The study found older workers reported higher stress levels than their younger colleagues when the number of days spent working from home increased and where there was a mismatch between their preferred number of days and the actual number of days spent working from home.

The study suggests older workers value face-to-face workplace relationships and a sense of work-related community. Work colleagues are valued for personal interaction and support.

“When they’re not in the office for their preferred number of days, the issue for them is around the connection, the sense of community,” Professor Oakman said.

“That’s the important bit, that’s the thing that influences their stress levels.

“We can surmise why those things might be: if you look at workers over 46, they have been in the workforce a long time and are used to that sort of social ­networking in particular ways.

“It’s probably not surprising they like doing that in person in an office environment.”

She said it was clear that WFH had an impact on the health of older workers.

“It does have a tangible health impact that we need to take seriously.”

Professor Oakman said “water cooler conversations” were particularly important for older workers and their stress ­levels, while younger people were more comfortable with online networking.

According to its authors, the study sheds light on the needs of older workers and the need for employers to provide support for those working from home.

The findings suggest nuance is required in workplace policies and procedures “to accommodate individual differences in working locations to ensure optimisation of employees’ health”.

An earlier study into working from home found women were less likely to experience improved health outcomes when working from home.

It concluded that organisations should implement formalised WFH policies that consider work-home boundary management support, role clarity, workload, performance indicators, technical support, facilitation of co-worker networking, and training for managers.

Related reading: National Institute of Health, SMH, The Australian