The Mental Health Risks to Lone Workers

The mental health risks to lone workers

The majority of human beings thrive in supportive, friendly work environments.

This is inevitably much harder to achieve when a role requires lone working. And while some people are naturally better suited to working independently, not needing the camaraderie and interaction of the workplace as much, even those more used to lone working or less prone to stress still find themselves experiencing stress, anxiety and loneliness.

It’s important to remember that any experience of reduced mental wellbeing will be completely unique to an individual; symptoms can overlap and there is often no neat way to sum up how a person is feeling or how they might be helped. The NHS provides a useful list of mental health helplines for people who want to seek professional advice for themselves, or for a colleague or loved one: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ stress-anxiety-depression/mentalhealth-helplines/

Here, we explore some of the mental health risks which lone workers are vulnerable to:

Feeling isolated

With no direct support from colleagues, less opportunity to collaborate with team members, and no ‘water-cooler culture’ or casual conversations, lone workers can often feel lonely and isolated. This in turn can damage motivation and productivity, leading some lone workers to feel that they’re not successful at their jobs. Left unchecked, this can quickly become a ‘catch 22’ situation, with workers becoming increasingly despondent and unable to break the cycle.

Feeling overwhelmed

For lone workers, a lack of close supervision can sometimes feel like a lack of support - and a lack of options if something goes wrong or the workload becomes too heavy. Combine this with a possible blurring of work/life boundaries and the likelihood that they may be dealing with extra responsibilities: child care issues or concern for their health or the health of a loved one, and it’s easy to see how some lone workers might become overwhelmed. While everyone gets a little overwhelmed from time to time, feelings of ‘emotional overwhelm’ can become serious if a person is so submerged in those feelings that they become paralysed by them or unable to think and act rationally.

Anxiety and depression

When feelings of loneliness, isolation and stress go unnoticed or unaddressed, the outcome can often be unmanageable anxiety, or depression. When these kinds of illness arise, they can have long lasting effects; causing deep feelings of hopelessness and despair, as well as physical symptoms like sleeplessness and fatigue. Anxiety disorders and depression can both leave a person unable to function as they usually would in their work and home lives. But with the right treatment and support, the symptoms can often be managed or even fully overcome. Organisations like Mind offer valuable support and advice for anyone dealing with anxiety and depression, as well as a range of other mental health problems.