Pandemic Fatigue ft Parth

The pandemic has altered the way we work and the way we think about work. While the office setting on a casual day may be exhausting for some, work from home has always been seen as an escape from the constraints in the workspace, a place where employees can navigate tedious tasks from the comfort of their personal setting.

On an ideal day ‘work from home’ seems like every employee's dream- to work from the convenience of your own apartment, in your sweats with no one around- it has an appeal to it like no other but this version seems more like a fever dream today. In the midst of a global pandemic, working from home inevitably became a necessity one couldn’t avoid and with it came its consequences in the form of ‘Pandemic Fatigue’.

What is pandemic fatigue?

The collective sense of restlessness, anxiety and grief caused due to the pandemic often interjects with many parts of our daily life- lower tolerance to visual media (due to longer exposure to the screen), acute pain throughout the body, mental exhaustion (at the end of a hyper-focused day) and an increased sense of tiredness are all examples of the pandemic fatigue that has set in.

The monotony of a routine and our willingness to follow it is the drive that keeps our minds and bodies in check, abrupt deviation from the routine however alerts the body, demanding a reconfiguration of our mental space to accommodate these changes. In the physical workspace, our mind distinguishes ‘what is work’ from ‘what is personal’, something that most people struggle with today. The concept of work from home during a pandemic blurs the line between work and personal, often using those terms synonymously.

This results in an all-in approach, where availability to work is, all day- every day. While this does bring in better results (in some cases) and a desired level of productivity, it also promotes the habit to work all day leading to an early onset of employee burnout.

Stressors that lead to pandemic fatigue-

A stressor is an event or a behaviour that elicits a stressful response from you, it can range from nervousness that you feel before joining a meeting with your boss to the visible exhaustion of your body when you look at the impending deadlines and projects. In the case of pandemic fatigue and working from home, these stressors may look familiar and often go unnoticed as singular entities, but in the long run, they coexist.

Working longer hours: Time management

In an office setting, working late is seen as a feat of dedication by the employee, compensated by the incentives they receive; however, in the home-office setting, this is no longer seen as diligent but is expected from the employees since they are at the liberty of working from a space they reside in. In a few instances spread across the week, this approach wouldn’t seem like a stressor but in the long run, this leads to the employee having little to no autonomy in planning their day.

Information overload: Work environment

We often retain new information from a method of ‘paired association’ where we link two things together if we feel that they belong to similar categories, for instance in the workplace, if you think of a workstation, you think of your desk and your chair; in many ways, it promotes us to associate our past experiences with new information we receive. With the onset of work from home and the overwhelming amounts of information, there is an inability for the mind to form meaningful associations with the new work setting and this inability to disconnect leads to lower concentration and exhaustion.

Isolated workspace: Team interaction

If we look at The hierarchy of needs, a sense of belonging is an essential part of our nature. Due to the isolation caused by social distancing and lockdowns many who live by themselves are deprived of human interaction. They work from home virtually and this leads to a sense of social detachment where they feel alone without a social support system.

Individually these might not seem to have a major impact, but when they coexist and overlap the fatigue gradually sets in.

Ways to combat pandemic fatigue

After every exhaustive physical workout, there is always a window of rest recommended. This stands true for mental exhaustion and pandemic fatigue as well. The methods through which you can combat existing fatigue and in extension avoid possible stressors is by allowing yourself time to rest.

Do not disturb: Time management

To avoid longer time spent in front of the screen and longer working hours in general, communication with your immediate peers and supervisors is crucial. Working to create a schedule with your team that gives you and them a window to rest will promote a healthier environment and give you the space to detach from work. If and when longer hours are inevitable, scheduling rest periods will allow you a sense of autonomy over your day. Use the ‘ do not disturb’ feature on your phone during these rest periods to truly recoup from the work stress.

Active Collaborations: Work environment

Creating a separate space for work within your home/room and only accessing it for work will create a division in your mind between the ‘work you’ and the ‘home you’. Actively collaborating with team members and managers will also help in unburdening yourself from the overpowering information that is presented to you. The lack of casual talk with colleagues during work hours is a stressor that makes employees feel more isolated and less motivated. It’s important to note that our behaviour in the workplace is often shaped by the impact of meaningful interactions we have. Collaborative efforts in the workspace help release work-related stress and increase a level of trust within the team.

Virtual hangout: Team interaction

Creating a space of free-spirited virtual interaction with your team members and peers away from work hours will bring back the rapport that was lost due to the isolation. An active effort to have watch parties, game nights and conference calls with colleagues will reinforce the social support system and encourage you to speak up about the troubles you are facing. Joining virtual working sessions with your peers acts as a good icebreaker for the day and brings in much-required mobility to combat the acute pain the body feels from sitting all day.

Navigating through a global pandemic in itself is a task that brings forth a series of undesirable and overwhelming choices, to do so while working and being the primary caregiver for another adds more to the existing pressure. Working from home brings with it pandemic fatigue and while normalcy seems to be a distant dream we have no option but to constantly readjust our lives around this idea. In the process of speeding through work and life, we forget to take a step back and allow ourselves the time to introspect and rest, a task that now seems to be the only way out. Many companies are actively seeking the help of clinical psychologists to ideate better EAPs( employee assistance programs), in order to create a healthy work environment and encourage employees to seek help if and when they feel the need. Though the process is slow and gradual it is a welcomed step. It is yet another reminder that we are in this together and that there is always a helping hand.

The article is written in collaboration with Parth.

Parth is currently pursuing a MSc in Clinical Psychology and spends his time writing on current topics. You can access more of his written and published work, here.