Dealing with the Stress of Working from Home
Dealing with the Stress of Working from Home
By now, most companies have had significant aspect of their business disrupted in some way due to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus and rising cases of COVID-19.
As employees everywhere are working from home full-time, or at least much more than usual, a lot of people are experiencing high levels of anxiety and stress, with noticeable impact on their ability to focus on work.
In the study of 15 countries including India, it was discovered that 41 percent of “highly mobile” employees (those who more often worked from home) considered themselves highly stressed as well, compared to only 25 percent of those who worked only on-site.
This could be a shocking news to those who consider work from home to be less stressful considering some personal freedom. It is true that most people love the flexibility with this work culture: getting up and going to sleep at times. However, it could be more stressful being away from the structure that once felt confining.
SEE ALSO: COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Should you FEAR or PANIC?
What is stressful about working from home?
Working from home or remotely can be very challenging and isolating. Sometimes our attention wanders, or we miss people. Most people are surprised by the stress they feel once the novelty of working from home wears off.
Here are some of the common sources of stress that many people that are following work from home, face:
LACK OF STRUCTURE
For many employees, the regular working structure that once felt comfortable, can feel like a boxed environment. It becomes very difficult and challenging to self-impose the new work structure. Initially it will feel like a true liberation with a free feelings of time to start work, end the work, log off from social media, take lunch, get up and go to sleep.
But in a long run these feelings can gradually morph into a feeling of being out of control for many.
TOO MANY DISTRACTIONS
The problem is that there can be interruptions all day, and work hours need to be hours and not a succession of interrupted clusters of a few minutes at a time as few of us work as efficiently this way. Family, friends, neighbours and like all can provide distractions throughout the day, but that doesn’t end the list of potential distractions.
Few more examples like TV, news and the surrounding happenings distract you for hours.
DIFFICULTY SETTING BOUNDARIES
The most challenging for people is to deal with setting the boundaries. It becomes challenging while trying not blurring the line between productivity and leisure time, between socializing time and working time.
LACK OF FOCUS
Maintaining a focus on the future is vital if you have goals for changes you want to make, but staying motivated when you are juggling many roles can be a challenge in itself.
STRESS ASSOCIATED WITH MOBILE DEVICES
The UN study found that working from home in and of itself may not be inherently more stressful than working on-site, but the added stress from frequent use of mobile devices appeared to be a significant source of added stress.
Tips to deal with the stress of working from home
Fortunately, you are not alone who face this stress related to working from home. Now that you know about some of the common stressors, you may also feel more energized in tacking these challenges.
Dr. Parth Vaishnav, is a renowned Psychiatrist in Ahmedabad. According to him, “Managing stress is a tough job, because it’s your body reacting to your surroundings. All you need to do is recognize your stressors and learn how to deal with it.”
Here are some proven strategies for minimizing the stress of working from home.
SET A SCHEDULE
Setting up a schedule and sticking to it is very important for those who work from home. Here are some factors that can help you set up your schedule:
Work when you work best – Many people can give more productivity when they feel rested. Like some say early in the morning or late night. Choose what is best for you.
Prioritize the challenging tasks – Push yourself to do the most difficult job first. This will help you complete your less interesting job at the end of your work schedule.
Make use of technology – Use some apps that help you or warn you if you get distracted from the work for a longer period. Create a to-do lists.
CREATE A UNIT AND STAY CONNECTED
When you feel isolated, it can be difficult to have as much energy to be productive. If you work from home and feel a bit too alone, it’s important that you take responsibility for your own social life. You can create your own supportive network of colleagues, fellow work-at-home buddies, or like-minded individuals relatively simply through social media groups or even text-chat groups.
REWARD YOURSELF
You can do this by breaking down your tasks into smaller goals and then rewarding yourself for taking each step. This keeps people motivated.
GET COMFORTABLE SAYING NO
You will face too many requests of work and tasks while you work at home. It makes you stressful even more thinking of how to answer that requests. Most of us think saying “yes” is a perfectly reasonable answer to avoid any further issues. But think of your mental health at the same time.
If that’s not comfortable or not achievable, say no in a way for asking for more time to get the job done.
PROTECT YOUR SLEEP, AND DON’T USE MOBILE DEVICES LATE AT NIGHT
A big no-no for everyone, but do it anyway. Using mobile phones late night can alter your sleep patterns and make it difficult to get to sleep. It can also make you more wakeful during the night.
Because healthy sleep is vital for your productivity, do what you need to do to protect your sleep.
Ending Note from Dr. Parth Vaishnav
Working from home is seen by some as the holy grail of stress relief and work-life balance during this COVID-19 situation. But there are hidden stressors, however. Focus on things you can do to mitigate this stress and this will be a great step toward achieving an ideal work-life balance.
