Coping: Working from Home

Working from home can be convenient but challenging at the same time. The restrictive measures in preventing the spread of Covid19 has transformed the working lives of most desk-bound office-trudging individuals: the office is now at home. If we are not careful, work would bleed into the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the bed and even the bathroom; the hours in which we spend at work might slowly colonise our personal lives before we know it. More stress is generated when we work more and feel helpless about our situations. This post would discuss what we can do for coping, working from home.

1) Determine your limits.

In my clinical work supporting individuals with burnout, one of my clients stated that one of the words of 2020 was “boundaries”. I couldn’t agree more. Our minds are more attuned to physical-distancing now, shaped by the consistent health advisories presented to us. If we could also apply this awareness to our work hours and ethics, we might do ourselves a favour by ensuring a more sustainable working pace. We should determine our limits and honour them when they are challenged; certainly there will be push-back and temptations to breach those limits but we have to be mindful why we have them in the first place. For example, one of the things we need to decide is our working hours: how many hours a day will you be working at home? Will it be the same as the hours you work when you used to commute to the office? What is a reasonable amount of time to spend doing work a day?

2) Set a ritual to begin and end your work day.

Rituals are practices that can help ourselves keep to our determined boundaries. One of the recommended rituals widely promoted is get dressed for work as you would when reporting to the office. Although it may seem really comfortable to work in our pyjamas, it may not so comforting when we lose a sense of structure that differentiates work and personal life and our sense of control. Little rituals can help us focus through structure and routine and they need not take up much time. It could be a coffee before we settle ourselves at the desk, or a decluttering of the workspace before we shut down the computer for the day.

3) Take breaks.

The convenience of having everything we need in the comforts of our home could be satisfying. Compound that with the connectivity that we enjoy now where we could even work on our smartphones could lead to a disaster for our mental and physical health. I have heard how individuals would spend their meal times checking and replying emails when chewing their food or reading up about work while sitting on the bathroom throne. They complain that they have no time to rest, but I also wonder if they do allow themselves time to do so. We become less effective when we don’t rest. Rest is important for our health: consider how our body takes the time to recuperate, recover and heal when we sleep. Our brain also needs the respite to disconnect and to allow information and idea synthesis. We would be more creative and less stressed when we have enough rest so go ahead and plan some breaks in between your working hours.

4) Stay connected with colleagues.

Social support is important for coping. Working from home has reduced the casual interactions we used to enjoy in the office setting and the reduction of such activities could affect our mental health. As humans, it is in our biological make to feel connected and a sense of belonging. Working from home can be a welcomed retreat from interruptions by nosy coworkers or awkward conversations in the pantry, but it can be isolating too. A lack of discussions and poorer synergy in the team could affect productivity and creativity in solving problems. Feelings of disengagement added to a growing workload could get us on the fast track to distress and burnout, so take active steps to connect meaningfully with colleagues, even if it is via instant text messages or a short call to catch up and speak about work.

5) Seek help.

It may be easier to feel that we are alone with our work when cooped up in our home office. Loneliness affects our health and if you notice that you are not coping so well, reach out and seek help. You need not to go at it on your own. Engage the resources that are available to you.