During unnerving and unprecedented times, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic that we are currently facing. It is obvious that the way in which we work will need to change and adapt to suit the new economic environment. Workers all around the world are having to work from home, which can be both overwhelming and stressful, especially in this case where the transition was both sudden and unexpected. However, there are certain actions that employees can undertake and put into place to lessen the stress of working from home. As we all know, working in highly stressful conditions can negatively impact workers’ mental and physical health.
Here are some tips to help you improve your work from home life:
1. Maintain A Routine:
Traditional working hours are not what they used to be. That’s why it’s important to stick to a routine and to maintain boundaries between their ‘work’ time and ‘home’ time. For instance, you could replace the time that in normal circumstances you would spend commuting to work with daily exercise e.g. a walk in the park. However, sticking to a 9-to-5 routine may not be realistic for everyone. Many people may have the added task of home schooling, parenting and other household responsibilities. It is crucial that workers build they're day around their own needs. Be it starting earlier and finishing earlier or vice versa.
Finding a routine that suits both you and others can be a key to factor in creating a happy work from home life.
2. Invest In Tech:
The right technology can make a huge impact on your working from home experience. Communication tools such as instant messaging, video and voice calling platforms can help to keep teams connected. Not only should workers look to invest in technology that makes their tasks easier, both employers and employees need to realise that their home networks may not be as secure as the ones used in office. Investing in various forms of cybersecurity should be a priority for companies who plan to continue encouraging employees to work from home.
Investing in technology sooner rather than later, or in other words before a significant problem occurs will end up saving large amounts of time and resources in the future.
3. Create A Healthy Workspace:
Employees may be experiencing far from ideal working conditions as not everyone has access to a dedicated office or workspace at home. Employees should be encouraged to create an area, where possible, which is clearly separate from other lounge areas used for relaxing and unwinding. Once you start to blur the lines of working areas that’s when you run the risk of putting work life balance in jeopardy. It also avoids the possibility of working on sofas and other areas, which are not ideal for your posture and can lead to long-term health issues. Workers should aim to work ergonomically from home as best they can and review their work from home setup.
By undertaking these three pieces of advice and incorporating them in to your work from home life. You will begin to see a significant change in all aspects, from increased productivity to being able to live a happier more balanced home life.
This weekend take onboard these tips and be set up for Monday morning.