Remote work sounds like a dream come true for most employees. No more sitting in traffic, you can roll out of bed 30 minutes before starting your day, you get to spend more time with your family, and you don’t have a manager peering over your shoulder. Although the delights of working from home are many, according to experts, it’s causing more harm than good. In Microsoft’s 2022 New Future of Work Report, researchers discovered that while remote work has led to an increase in job satisfaction, it’s also causing employees to feel guilty about not doing enough and socially isolated.
Additionally, a study conducted by Nuffield Health found that 80% of workers are struggling with their mental health as a result of working from home. Despite these findings, remote work is here to stay which means employees have no choice but to adapt. The good news is that there are strategies you can put in place to protect your mental health, here are five of them.
1. Don’t Work From Home
Most remote workers work from home, but if you can afford to rent out a co-working space, you’ll be better off having a bit of healthy separation from personal life and work life. If not, work from a library, or a coffee shop. The aim is to separate home and work in order to avoid all the disadvantages that come with remote work such as loneliness and an unsatisfactory work-life balance.
2. Go For Walks
Sitting at a desk for long periods of time is not only bad for your mental health, it’s also bad for your physical health. According to the Mayo Clinic it increases your risk of high-blood pressure, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, going for a walk outside improves mood, reduces stress, anxiety, and boosts energy.
3. Don’t Work Overtime
It’s easy to loose track of time and keep working when you’re working from home. Additionally, managers put added pressure on employees to help out with projects they’re running behind on. Although most companies will pay you for overtime, working long hours from home isn’t good for your mental health. Here’s why:
· Isolation: When you’re cooped up in the house all day, and don’t communicate with people face to face, you’ll start feeling isolated. Humans were not designed to connect solely through a screen, and if this is how remote workers are spending the majority of their time, it’s going to affect their mental health.
· Excessive Screen Time: When people take breaks in the office, they’ll go to the water fountain, or have a chat with a co-worker. During lunch employees will eat together. But you don’t have this privilege working from home, and so most people reach for their phones during break time. Whether they’re scrolling or talking on the phone, a lack of human interaction encourages more screen time.
· No Disconnect: When you worked in an office, your home was a safe haven. It was the place you came to relax after a stressful day. But now, that luxury is gone. Even if you have an office set-up at home, it’s still difficult to disconnect from the office when it’s next door.
4. Get Your Priorities in Order
One of the many challenges for remote workers working from home is having their priorities in order as it pertains to their work life balance. Since you’re at home, you’ll do the laundry, hoover the house, run errands and whatever else needs doing, but at the same time you’ve got deadlines to meet. Working like this causes unnecessary stress. You can avoid this by working as if you’re in the office, which means you won’t be able to do these things. Even when you’re on a lunch break, don’t do anything house related, finish your working day before doing work and running errands.
5. Take Regular Breaks
It’s easy to forget to take regular breaks when working remotely. An effective way to ensure you get away from your screen is to have your alarm clock go off every hour. During this time don’t reach for your phone, walk around, stretch or make a cup of tea. A five minute recess every hour will help break your day up and keep you moving.
To avoid becoming a victim of the escalating mental health crisis associated with remote work, apply the above strategies. But if you start feeling like things are getting out of control, speak to your manager about seeking professional help.
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