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Performance Requires Recovery – A Challenge at a Distance
In the new working life, the walls of the office have been erased. According to the Swedish Work Environment Authority's 2025 survey, remote and hybrid work is now a much more established standard. But behind the convenience of working from home lies a complex medical and organizational reality. As an employer, it is no longer enough to measure employee results; you must understand the physiological and psychological impact that the home as a workplace has on your employees.There is a widespread perception that remote work automatically leads to higher productivity because there are fewer interruptions. Medically, however, there is a risk of cognitive erosion. This means a gradual decrease in the brain's ability to recover and process information effectively.
When the boundary between work and private life is blurred, the brain never gets the natural break it needs. When you don't get those small moments of recovery, such as through commuting, a spontaneous conversation at the coffee machine, or a walk between meetings, the brain is often in a state of low-intensity stress during all waking hours of the day.
The result of this can be mental fatigue, poorer concentration, and slowly decreasing productivity, even though the work effort in hours may look high. Understanding and counteracting cognitive erosion is therefore crucial for long-term health and performance in remote work environments.
Gender and Life Situation – An Unequal Health Factor
Research shows that the effects of remote work are far from gender-neutral. There are differences between women and men.
Women: Often feel that the work environment at home is less than optimal and that multitasking becomes a major part of the workday. The home can thus reinforce traditional gender roles, where tasks both at work and at home are placed on the same person. This often leads to reduced recovery and increased burden.
Men: Often have irregular working hours and risk that work never ends. The risk is that it becomes difficult to completely disconnect from work, which in the long run can affect both the cardiovascular system and mental health.
The Physiology of Social Isolation
Humans are social animals, so a lack of physical interaction and organizational support leads not only to a sense of loneliness but can also be measured in physiological stress markers. Social isolation increases the risk of both depression and anxiety, which in the long run can lead to higher sick leave and reduced innovation capacity in the company.
Why Health Checks at Your Company Are an Important Investment
When the employer no longer meets the employee every day, early warning signs of illness can easily be missed. A changed posture, tired eyes, or a shorter tone of voice are not as clearly visible via a screen.
Therefore, regular health checks become crucial. By offering medical follow-up, you can:
- Identify early signs of ill health – strain injuries, stress, and mental illness can be detected before they lead to sick leave.
- Work proactively with employee health – employees fill out a health declaration and answer questions about the work environment, providing a holistic view of wellbeing at the company.
- Create security and engagement – you show that the company takes responsibility for the health of employees, regardless of where the work is performed.
- Make data-driven decisions – the employer receives an aggregated report at the company level, creating insights to adjust the work environment, policies, and support measures.
Investing in health is not just a cost – it is an insurance for continued high performance in a digitized world of work.
