Working from home (WFH) is a convenient and cost-effective method that was majorly brought into force post the COVID-19 Pandemic wherein globally, remote work was the only option to keep economies afloat. While it has its benefits, often work from home can cause stress, burnout as well as adversely impact physical health of an individual.
41% of employees who work from home more often considered themselves highly stressed, compared to those who worked offline or on-site workers, according to research.
What causes stress while working from home?
- Difficulty in establishing a consistent routine or schedule
- Blurred lines between work and personal life
- Challenges in closing work or overworking
- Household chores, deliveries or other similar non-work interruptions
- Personal or non-work distractions or duties
- Lack of human interaction
- Social isolation and loneliness
- Struggling with technical issues
- Increased screen time causing strain and headaches
- Reduced opportunities for physical activity
- Irregular sleep or issues in sleep
- Lack of separation between work and relaxation spaces
- Difficulties in setting work-life boundaries
In this day and age, it is extremely easy to bring stress home from work, with the ability to be constantly reachable, we are vulnerable to stress and burnout from work stress and it multiplies when we are working from home as the boundaries between our work life and personal life increasingly blur. Hence, it is very important to establish work-life boundaries, balance and manage the stressors to deal with remote work stress.
Dealing with stress while working from home
Below are some tips and strategies to help you maintain that work-life balance and reduce stress working from home:
- Create a Routine: Plan and set a regular routine with clear, beginning of work day time, with regular interval breaks and meal time breaks, and an end of work day time, set with alarms at each stage to help you stick to the timings.
- Create a Dedicated Workspace: Very often people working from home, will work out of their bedroom and it is extremely important to not work in the space you associate with rest, so as to not blur your personal space. Create a space where you work every day, for instance a table and chair or living room, so as to establish an efficient working environment.
- Reduce or Manage Distractions: Work in a quiet space, turn your phone to silent and listening to relaxing music or using noise cancelling headphones to minimize distractions.
- Reward Yourself: Break down goals to smaller tasks and reward yourself when you finish a goal with perhaps taking a break, giving yourself some time to connect with friends, listen to a song you enjoy, etc.
- Connect with friends or social connections: Its important to make an effort to establish human contact while working from home to avoid feelings of isolation, a simple chat, video or audio call can go a long way, as well as even creating a group chat that you can utilize to stay in touch throughout the week.
- Protect Your Sleeping and Eating Habits: It can be easy to change your sleeping and eating habits to accommodate work but it can often lead to overworking or burnout, so to avoid that, its important to ensure you get 7-8 hours of sleep daily and stick to a regular eating schedule.
- Incorporating Physical Activity or Exercise into Daily Routine: It’s important to incorporate physical activity or exercise on a daily basis in your routine as WFH reduces opportunities for any physical activity, hence, try to do some light activity so it doesn’t affect your biological functioning and mental health, overall well-being.
- Self-care activities: Incorporating self-care activities including any activity or hobby you enjoy is extremely crucial to remain connected with yourself, keep a balanced work-life balance and prevent stress or feeling overwhelmed as this helps you maintain a portion of the day for yourself.
Your organization and colleagues can also be helpful in reducing stress caused from work, do not hesitate to reach out to your manager, supervisor or company regarding expectation or responsibilities and work-time load so you can reach a middle point that works best for the team and for you.
Chronic stress, burnout, or feeling overwhelmed or stressed to an extent where it starts to affect your physical health, sleep, eating habits or causes an inability to focus and complete work duties are causes for concern. At this time, it is important to reach out and seek professional help, seek support from managers, support groups or mental health professionals. A psychologist nearby can be of great help in reducing stress, equipping you with coping skills and managing stress and emotions when working remotely.
Lastly, the relationship between stress and working from home is complex, with both positive and negative aspects. It is important for us to understand our stressors and keep a check on our health and wellbeing while working from home. Further, engaging in preventive strategies and tips to reduce WFH stress is a good way to ensure you are committed to your mental peace and health. Reducing WFH stress is not only going to enhance your productivity but also lead to an enhanced state of mind, mental health and overall physical and mental well-being.
