Gaining trust and remaining mentally sane while working from home : The importance of employee wellbeing

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit us hard. It is not only difficult in terms of psychological and medical issues, but it has turned into an economic crisis as well. One of the most significant ‘side effects’ of the first wave was widespread remote work, which was not regular – many people had to work from home while also taking care of their loved ones (be they children or other family members, or friends). Our research – part of an EU-funded project on sustainable mobility – was carried out in the city of Szeged (Hungary) among seven companies/employers. As the project was strongly affected by the crisis, the research focused on the impact of COVID19 and the lockdown on remote work. How did remote work affect employees’ mental, physical, and social wellbeing? How did employers and employees deal with the new situation? What can we learn from this crisis regarding the relationship between remote work and mental health? To find answers to our questions, we used mixed methods, i.e., combined qualitative with quantitative methodology. This case study analyses the related difficulties and challenges from the employee point of view and sheds light on some of the good practices and measures which can be applied by other companies.