Happy & Healthy Working From Home

Are you or your people working from home? Aside from the coordination, and accountability issues, working from home can also have an impact on your physical and mental health. So what can you do to ensure that you are just as happy and healthy at home as at the office?

Are You Happy?

Isolation

Being at the office provides us with interactions with our colleagues that can be difficult to replicate online. Going out for lunch together, hanging out at the water cooler, or simply noticing someone is down and asking them how they are.

What to Do

While you may feel lonely at home, rest assured that you are not alone. It may take more of an effort, but it's worthwhile to make the effort to foster deeper relationships with your teammates and others in your industry.

Scheduling regular video calls can make the connection more tangible. Being able to see and hear each other can make a big difference in restoring the feel of in-person communication.

Regularly checking in with each team member on how he or she is. Of course, most already do this to keep track of work, but it is just as important to relate personally, just as we do in the office.

Work-Life Balance

You would think the last thing you need to worry about working from home is work-life balance. On some level, that is true. You save time on a daily commute, and you are able to juggle personal needs during the work day.

However, for many people, the blurring of the boundary between work and home causes that balance to be more easily tipped. You might find yourself working long hours, even on weekends, neglecting self care. Or you might find yourself constantly interrupted by household chores or caregiving requests and unable to focus on work. The State of Remote Work 2020 report by Buffer lists both 'not being able to unplug' and 'distractions from home' as two of the top challenges of remote workers.

What to Do

Carve out some boundaries for yourself. Whether it is a physical space, a time, or even a routine, find a way to tell your mind that you have 'gone to work'.

Many have found that setting up a home office is effective. Having a fixed location, especially if it's set up to look like an office, can act as a visual cue. When setting up your home office, don't get the cheapest set you can find. Bear in mind that you'll be sitting in it for hours so bear the ergonomics in mind. More on this later under 'Poor Posture'.

You can also set yourself a schedule, and make sure you're fully 'at work' during those hours, while keeping the rest of your personal time protected. By doing so, you'll prevent work from eating into the rest of your life.

On the other hand, if being with your child or other dependents is taking you away from work, manage your time wisely. Allocate blocks of time to attend to their needs, such as homeschooling, and other blocks of time for your own work.

Communicate to both your family and your team clearly about your schedule so that they will know when to reach you, and when to leave you alone. Avoid multi-tasking as much as possible as that will only contribute to your stress level. The next section on 'Stress' covers more tips on managing your stress.

Lastly, a routine or ritual that you do each time before starting work can be helpful to cue your brain to get down to work. Just like the morning commute signals you're going to work, these cues work to get your engine start, and your brain ready to focus.

Stress

A study by the United Nations found that 41% of those working remotely were highly stressed compared to 25% for those working in the office. Several reasons contribute to this. Besides the social isolation mentioned earlier, you may feel anxious about proving that you are indeed "at work". This need to be seen as productive and contributing may even be coupled with guilt about working from home. The company culture is a big factor in this. What does your manager use to measure accountability? Is it simply availability or responsiveness? Or is it the quality of work outcomes?

Another big source of stress is relationships. If your child is also at home from school due to COVID-19, the stress can be doubled as you try to ensure their schoolwork is done while completing your work at the same time. Spending large amounts of time in close quarters can also strain the relationships between spouses or family members. Bloomberg reported that after the lockdown in China, divorce rates surged in many part of the country.

What to Do

Work out in advance how you are going to assure your team lead and teammates that you are indeed working. How will you measure your performance during this period? Also, work out a reasonable expectation for availability and responsiveness. If your work required blocks of uninterrupted time, make sure your team knows when that is and what you are working on during that period.

Practice good self care during this period. Besides the required personal hygiene and social distancing, make sure that you are also giving yourself time to eat well, exercise regularly, and relax.

Make peace with yourself about how you are working from home. If you know you are indeed doing good work, and can prove it if challenged, then acknowledge that to yourself, and let go of the anxiety.

When it comes to relationships, decide how you want to deal with them in advance. Acknowledge that it will be a trying time for everyone, especially if your relationship is not ideal even in the best of times. So make a plan for dealing with the inevitable fallout. Learn problem solving techniques you can implement in this period like family meetings, timeouts, or active listening. Discuss them with other family members and come to an agreement on which proactive steps you will all take to manage the relationship before problems arise.

Allocate some personal time and space for yourself, and also allow that for your spouse and other family members. Even some time reading by yourself in a closed bedroom can be a welcome respite from constant contact. Make a schedule if necessary so that each person if given some time of his or her own.

Focus on the positive aspect of the situation. It is easy to be tunnel-visioned into the trivial annoyances if you are already under stress. But taking time each day to be grateful for what you have can remind you of the bigger picture. After all, there is no better time than now to be grateful for the littlest things, like our health.

Are You Healthy?

Inactivity

Being stuck at home can mean that we are much more inactive than we normally would be. After all, the commute to work has been reduced to going from one room to another. We might also have set ourselves up comfortably in our couches or beds, with food and beverages handy, and so feel less inclination or need to stand up and move around.

Inactivity, however, is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, and premature death. In fact, it ranks as highly as smoking for that. So the need is great to start moving.

What to Do

First, make a decision to keep active. If you're already stuck at home, the last thing you might want to do is also have an exercise routine. So it'll take some resolve and effort to get started.

Secondly, decide what kind of activity is still possible to do in your situation. Are you able to run around the block? Do you own a treadmill or hand weights (now is the best time to take it out of storage)? Do you have space to follow an exercise or yoga class on video?

Then, pick the activity that you like the best, and put it into your schedule. It might be better schedule short periods of 10-30 minutes, perhaps as breaks between your work, as you are more likely to do them.

Lastly, set an alarm for every 30-60 minutes, and when it goes up, get up and stretch. Walk around your room for a few minutes, and then continue your work. Just the act of getting up will double the amount of calories you burn.

Poor Diet

Being at home would mean cooking your own meals, and then washing up afterwards. If you're someone used to eating out, that can seem like a laborious and endless chore. Especially if you live alone, or do not have domestic help, you might feel tempted to simply eat junk food.

While the occasional junk food is harmless, if it starts to be a major part of your diet while working from home, then obesity, and health problems would start to loom.

What to Do

If there still is delivery services where you are, see if you can get nutritious meals delivered to you. You might even want to consider getting several meals delivered at the same time and freezing the rest to eat later.

Pick up healthier choice frozen foods or prepackaged meals from the supermarket. They are easy to reheat and can provide a quick meal when you are too lazy to cook.

Learn to cook simple, healthy meals for yourself. This can be the best time to pick up this essential life skill. You have more time, and the internet is full of information on how to do this. Cooking doesn't have to be an elaborate affair. A couple of ingredients boiled in soup or a steamed dish can be all your need for a delicious and nutritious meal.

Poor Posture

At home, we are much more likely to work slumped on our couches or lying on our beds. Also, we might not have ergonomic desks or chairs, or even work-appropriate lighting (no, mood lighting isn't counted).

But sitting in a bad position for hours on end will cost you in terms of muscle aches, migraines, and even poor performance. And this is the worst time to go for a massage or physical therapy.

What to Do

Set up a comfortable, ergonomic work environment for yourself. Experiment with different settings, try out all the combinations of chairs and tables in your house, and find an arrangement that promotes good posture rather than bad. This might mean that you can't work all day in bed as you'd dream, but it will also mean that you're more productive and in less pain at the end of the day.

If you truly do not have appropriate furniture at home, consider investing in some. We are likely to be working from home for the next few months, and a set of table, chair, and lamp will not set you back by much. See if you can get it delivered from online shopping.

Finally, no matter how great your posture, lengthy periods in the same position will still cause muscle stiffness, and physical stress. So make sure you get up and stretch once in a while. Set an alarm to remind you if you need.

Conclusion

It IS possible to be happy and healthy working at home, it does take being aware and being mindful. We are right now reminded more than ever about the importance of our health. You now have more time and more freedom to choose your workday than before. So choose to make this period your healthiest worklife ever.

Learn from during this period of time from my blog on Workplace Wellness From Home.