Mental Health and Remote Work: How to Prevent WFH Burnout

The Covid-19 pandemic kickstarted the biggest work experiment of our lifetimes, which is now embraced by 82% of company leaders. While it is going well for many, remote work has thinned the line between our professional and personal lives, so much so that 77% of employees believe setting boundaries between work and personal life is the most important remote work skill. Most workers can be found logging extra hours, juggling parenting and virtual schooling responsibilities and dealing with stress during these unprecedented times – all of which could place them in peril.

According to Lauren Whitt, Google’s well-being and resilience lead, “Working from an office often helps create built-in boundaries around the day, designating work time and non-work time such as morning commutes and lunch breaks.” “Unexpected disruptions at home can also contribute to depleting our mental energy,” she adds.

Encouraging Employees to Take Time Off

A common perception that employers have is, increasing the work hours will increase the output. Productivity, however, is most often a paradox. Long hours backfire not only for people but also for companies. Doing a little less work could mean we are ultimately doing more.

An overworked employee can take the entire day to get work done while a refreshed, motivated employee can do it in just a few hours. And during the Covid-19 pandemic, an overworked employee is more the rule than the exception. For employees to perform their level best, they need to take time off.

Vacation requests have plummeted to nearly half in comparison to the same time last year. Employees who normally take time off to travel and visit relatives during the holidays have opted to stay dome during the second wave of coronavirus. But for people who want to unwind and relax for a few days, it is best to help them recuperate without making them feel guilty. You’ll see how it significantly boosts their productivity and motivation.

In fact, according to a work and well-being survey by American Psychological Association, around 70% of workers experience a surge in positive energy and mood after vacation, and 60% feel more productive.

Establishing Healthy Boundaries in Remote-Work Setup

Not everyone has the luxury of owning an at-home office. And makeshift desk or our kitchen table could serve the purpose of a cubicle or office. But for many of us, maintaining boundaries between time and space is a difficult task.

If you try to squeeze work into random pockets of the day (for instance, check emails while having breakfast or work on a project while watching a football match), you may have a high risk for burnout.

Rather than viewing the whole day as workday, it’s recommended to pick a designated area and time to scrunch up on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, when you scatter your work throughout your day, you lose focus and end up stifling your creativity. Worst of all, it slowly leads to burn out.

Associating your entire home with your job will make it tough for you to truly relax when you need it most. On the other hand, setting boundaries around your work mode will benefit both your job and your mental health.

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Paul Keijzer is the CEO and Founder of Engage Consulting and the co-Founder of The Talent Games, which aims to transform HR by digitising talent processes and creating more engaging and productive workplaces through gamification and mobile technology. As a global HR and Leadership Management expert, Paul knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.