It’s the Hunchback of Work From Home.
First becoming in vogue during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work continues to be the modus operandi for many employees today.
However, researchers claim the human race could suffer a frightening devolution should we continue working from home — which apparently includes sprouting gnarled troll hands and a hunchback in under 100 years.
Case in point: Anna, a 3D model created by UK furniture company Furniture@Work, which is supposed to represent what we will look like by the year 2100, should we prolong this arrangement. Which, as you can see, is not pretty.
“Anna displays many physical effects because of consistent use of technology, screen exposure and poor posture, as well as highlighting potential mental health issues,” Furniture@Work described in the study, which coincidentally comes as companies are increasingly demanding that workers return to the office.
This model was concocted as work-from-home rates continue to soar since the pandemic.
Pew Research Center found that as much as 14% of the US population is working from home all the time.
Meanwhile, 28% worked on a hybrid schedule.
To generate Anna, Furniture@Work sourced scientific research and collaborated with health experts to examine the “potentially damaging health effects of working from home.”
They then enlisted a designer to concoct a 3D model of someone whose body has evolved due to the consistent use of “laptops and smartphones, poor posture and an unhealthy diet.”
Back at home
As the model shows, one of the main side effects is developing a hunched back like a reverse-evolutionary Progression of Man chart.
This is the result of years of neck and back strain due to poor computer posture, or working from a sofa or a bed, per the site.
“Lack of regular movement and ergonomic inefficiencies can lead to musculoskeletal disorders,” said orthopedic surgeon Dr. LS Wang. “Chronic pains and degenerative conditions can also develop because of prolonged sitting and inadequate posture (especially when no one is watching).”
In September, a survey of UK workers found that 63.7% had newfound back issues since working from home.
Red eyes
Along with an apostrophe-like posture, Anna also suffers from bleary red eyes, the apparent result of the aforementioned awkward posture coupled with remote workers’ tendency to work sans proper lighting.
“Without enough natural light or the bright lights provided in commercial offices, remote workers will be putting extra strain on their eyes which could lead to headaches,” the site writes.
To mitigate this ocular side effect, remote workers should employ the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes spent staring at a screen, work-from-homers should look away at something that is 20 feet away from them for 20 seconds, per Healthline.
Claw hands
Experts claim remote work has affected Anna’s hands.Just as fish sprouted legs to walk on land all those years ago, we could develop “text claw” from excessive typing in awkward positions, per the model.
While not an official medical diagnosis, this condition is defined by the Atlanta Hand Specialist site as wrist and hand pain caused by continuously performing fine-motor movements such as typing.
“Long hours using a mouse or smartphone while working from home, curling your fingers around into an unnatural position, could lead to repetitive strain injuries and permanent ‘Text Claw’ for remote workers of the future,” claims Furniture@Work.
In other words, going full goblin mode could literally have us looking like goblins.
Weight gain
As Anna’s image plainly illustrates, working from home can lead to obesity, which Furniture@Home chalks up to remote workers’ sedentary lifestyles.
While working from an office might not seem like a triathlon, it does involve commuting, walking to meetings, getting up for meal and drink breaks, and other fat-fighting activities that are oft-avoided during a home-office arrangement, per the site.
Conversely, a study out of Sweden found that returning to the office could prove equally detrimental to one’s health.
“A lengthy commute to work is associated with being less physically active, being overweight, and having sleep problems,” wrote researchers from Stockholm University, who surveyed more than 13,000 Swedes aged 16 to 64. “And, depending on where your office is located, you may also be more likely to drink in excess.”
They added, “People who worked more than 40 hours and commuted more than five hours each week were more likely to be physically inactive and experience sleep problems, compared with times when they only commuted one-to-five hours a week.”
Anxiety
Of course, the adverse effects of working from home aren’t just physical.
Furniture@Work claims that remote employees could experience isolation, loneliness and depression due to missing out on the social interactions that come with being in the office.
A Japanese survey conducted during the height of the pandemic in 2020 found that 35% of workers who telecommute experienced poor mental health due to working from home.
Meanwhile, another study from around that time found that nearly 70% of Americans struggled to maintain a healthy work-life balance while working remotely.
Meanwhile, 56% of respondents claimed they’ve been more stressed about work than ever before, per the poll.
Remote work is apparently not just taking a toll on the employees.
It’s also wreaked havoc on offices with workplace occupancy in New York City falling from nearly 90% to 10% during the pandemic and only recently bouncing back to 48.4%.
