COVID -19 gave birth to several differences in our livelihood situations. Not just the extravagances but the basic needs have been really difficult to manage. One of the changes that we all have faced at some point during the lockdown is the common “work from home” situation. Of course, it has made it less risky as far as the virus is concerned, but the chances of poor mental health have been on the top due to less or no socialization.
Pros and cons of working from home according to Paul Haarman
Working from home offers a lot of luxuries like you can always work in your comfiest outfit, there is a lot of extra time saved which otherwise would have gone in traveling to the office, getting ready, etc. You can choose to work from any part of your apartment, and there are no disturbances from the office environment.
Having discussed the advantages, now let us focus on the disadvantages it brings, especially to our mental health. Paul Haarmanstudied employees’ behavior during their shifts and their after-effects and found out that workers working from home find it difficult to manage the working hours from the home environment. They are either found to invest too much time in work that they can not manage to take out time for their mental health, or they are giving too little time that they’re not satisfied with their performances and hence impacting their mental health.
Tips for balancing work from home and mental health
- Stick to a schedule: Albeit working from home is flexible, but if you follow a proper schedule and do not procrastinateon starting your working hours, then you can have a proper time to end your working hours and, therefore, no extra stress.
- A proper workspace: Make sure that you have a proper workspace while working from home. Our mind automatically tends to enter into the relax mode while in the home environment. Therefore, design a proper workspace for yourself and avoid working from anywhere other than your work table.
- To-do list: Make a to-do list of all the tasks you plan on achieving the next day. Make sure that all the tasks mentioned in the list have a possibility of completion on the set time, or else it can even have negative impacts on mental health.Completing all the tasks planned on the to-do list gives a feeling of contentment and motivation at the end of the day.
- Take breaks: Make it a compulsion to take breaks during your working hours. Tea breaks, lunch breaks, and everything that you would do during the normal working hours. Breaks help in recharging the mind and hence greater productivity.
COVID-19 has impacted normal living in so many ways, says Paul Haarman. Work from home provides an opportunity to be productive yet safe during the pandemic. It can be a little difficult to manage, but once you learn to adapt it, it can prove to be healthy during the pandemic.