In mid-May of 2021, Taiwan's epidemic alert for COVID-19 was raised to level 3, causing many enterprises to implement remote work. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) and the Institute of Labor, Occupation Safety, and Health ("Institute of Labor Safety") conducted the study "A Preliminary Exploration of the Health Impacts of Working from Home" in order to understand the physical and mental health implications of working from home for supervisors and employees. A total of 502 questionnaires were collected from 11 domestic businesses, and the results showed that during periods of remote work, the amount of vegetable intake was 63% (compared to 47% when working in the office), an increase of 16 percentage points. Fruit intake was 60% (compared to 40% when working in the office), an increase of 20 percentage points. 74.5% of people working remotely slept an average of 6 hours or more per day (compared to 62.75% when working in the office), an increase of 11.75 percentage points. 48.7% of people working remotely conducted 4 hours or more of video conference meetings per day (compared to 24.7% when working in the office), an increase of 24 percentage points. In work from home environments, 56.6% of subjects used laptop computers and more than 25% felt they suffered from noise interference. 21.7% expressed that their eyes often or always felt fatigued. In both office work and remote work, the scores for musculoskeletal discomfort were highest for individuals who sit while leaning forward. In terms of mental health for those working from home, women exhibited slightly higher scores in mild mental distress compared to men. Those aged between 40-49 and 50-59 who have families to care for, live with their families, or are married scored higher in the area of work-family conflicts. Only 15.3% of remote work subjects believed that "working remotely feels great". More than 40% of subjects preferred working in the office and felt that remote work was merely a necessary supplementary work method. The Institute of Labor Safety compiled a "Physical and Mental Health Protection Manual for Remote Workers" to provide self-health assessment tools for the health and safety of workers working from home.
Keywords: Work from Home, Physical and Mental Health, Protection