19 August,2021 07:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Somita Pal
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As the government allowed reopening of offices for fully vaccinated employees, psychiatrists are seeing an increasing number of people becoming anxious about returning to work. Many have even confined themselves inside their homes for the past 17 months and are now worried about stepping out, they said.
Janhavi Samant, a PR professional said, "When the lockdown first started in March last year, there was hope and anticipation about our lives going back to normal. Then we thought working from home won't work for long, but we haven't been to the office for nearly 17 months. Now that we are talking about resuming office, the big fear is how will I get ready and reach office by 9 am."
The Dadar resident, who will take her second dose by August end, said she has got comfortable with the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement, and the thought of going back to work is giving her jitters.
"Besides, there is a fear of the virus. We equate crowds with spread of infection. During the pandemic, I have completely avoided the crowd. Now that I will have to return to the office, I am anxious about facing the crowd again," Samant said.
Rajnish Panchal, an IT executive, pointed out that "one disadvantage of WFH is that you are expected to be available throughout the day. Sometimes even on weekends. But the major advantage has been saving the tiring travel time."
He said the anxiety of getting stuck in traffic and a long travel time along with the fear of getting COVID-19 has been disturbing him off late. The Kandivli resident, who completed his vaccination last month, said his office has sent an email about resuming office for vaccinated people, and the thought of taking public transport shudders him.
"It takes two hours to reach South Mumbai from Kandivli via road, and the same time, sometimes more, while returning home. Train travel is about an hour, but one-and-a-half hour is spent on reaching the station or coming home from the station. Also, trains are so crowded that travel completely drains you out. Besides, it is difficult to find an auto to and from the station. Journey via both road and train is draining. In this case, WFH is a big advantage. Moreover, there is fear of getting COVID-19 even though I am vaccinated," Panchal said.
Dr Avinash Desousa, president of Bombay Psychiatric Society, said they are observing this more among young adults. "I am getting a lot of calls from people who are anxious about returning to normal life and socialising again. Initially, when the lockdown was imposed people were facing difficulty in staying home. Now they are anxious about stepping out."
Some said they got panic attacks on seeing the crowd, he said. "With reports of people getting Coronavirus infection even after vaccination, anxiety has gone up a little," Dr Desousa added.
Dr Harish Shetty, senior psychiatrist at Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, termed it as work hesitancy and joy hesitancy, that's affecting many people presently. "Those currently getting affected are the ones who are shy, introverted, who don't want to see the face of their boss and are already anxious to go out. But it will go away after sometime," he said.
There are others who have completely shut themselves off from the outside world and are now anxious about stepping out for anything, Dr Shetty said. He added, "I advise such people to start speaking to someone who has started stepping out with precautions. They need to start stepping out for short bursts of activities, like going to a nearby shop, which will give them confidence," said Dr Shetty.
Dr Desousa said, "I have even spoken to HRs of such people, and asked them to allow grading their presence in office and gradually increasing work hours in office." Dr Shetty agreed and said the HR and office has to reassure and help employees get acclimated to the change of returning to the workplace.
