Working from home is hardly a new phenomenon. In the past year, it became a requirement for many companies to provide their employees with the flexibility of working from home. This sudden change completely transformed the labor policy for millions of organizations.
Although, generally speaking, productivity among workers has increased, people are starting to experience mental health disorders. These disorders are partially due to the inability of people to separate work and their personal life when they’re working from home.
A recent study has suggested two types of people when it comes to remote work – segmentors and integrators.
- Segmentors are individuals that prefer to set boundaries between their personal and professional life when they work from home. They easily draw the line between their careers and non-work roles and focus on the job only during working hours.
- Integrators are people who prefer to blend their personal and work life, switching back and forth between them during the whole day. For them answering a call after dinner is a habit that they developed when they switched to remote work.
In any case, we can all agree on something – home office affects our mental health one way or another. Regardless if you’re a segmentor or an integrator it’s important to acknowledge the consequences of remote work. And more often than not, the reaction that our minds have to working and living in the same place is due to the lack of separation between the two.
But why is it important to separate work and personal life when working from home? Here are the most common mental health issues that employees experience when they fail to establish boundaries.
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Productivity anxiety
Our sense of productivity has changed along with the sudden shift from working in an office to working from home. Some people feel like they are never actually working enough since the environment that they work in has blended with their free-time space. On the other hand, others feel like all they do is work and they don’t have time for anything else.
As much as we try to reject the idea, the truth is that working from home leads to a massive change in behavior, thoughts, and feelings, and we’re not sure how to manage this change. This creates the feeling of having no control over your time and brings a whole other form of anxiety to the table.
If you ever had the feeling that you lack control over your life, you should start asking yourself what the right balance between work and personal life is? How can I start working towards eliminating my anxiety or at least start maintaining a work-life balance?
Overworking and burnouts
Home used to be our exclusive oasis and a place for relaxation and rejuvenation. But now that things have changed, home/work-life balance has become a challenge. What’s more, remote work has opened Pandora’s box of workaholic tendencies.
Overworking and burnout lead to potential long-term mental health disorders, and it seems like we’re not taking this seriously enough. Companies and employers should realize the importance of restricting their staff to work overtime. They’re responsible for reacting in the most appropriate way when they notice that an employee is expressing early signs of burnout.
In both of these cases, separating work and personal life when working from home is key to maintaining a healthy state of mind. But how do you actually manage work/home life balance when you’re working from home? It’s easier said than done, so are there any ways to balance work and personal life?
We have scavenged the internet for the most useful tips on separating work from home when working from home. So take a look at our list of ideas and consider integrating some (if not all) of them into your daily life to avoid the dark side of remote work.
Getting ready for work
Creating a morning routine and sticking to it is essential for separating work and personal life. Some people wake up right before starting working, making it hard for the body and mind to differentiate them. That’s why it’s important to ‘get ready for work’ even when you’re not going anywhere.
Give yourself some time before you sit in front of the laptop. Take a shower and get dressed as if you’re about to leave the house. This way, you’ll prepare mentally for the working day, and you’ll have the time to set your intentions.
Stick to a schedule
Before you start your day, it’s a good idea to plan out your activities. You don’t have to spend much time doing it but structuring the hours ahead could help you harmonize and balance your work and personal life. Make sure to plan your breaks and activities outside of your working hours so you’ll have something to look forward to.
Another benefit of scheduling your day is that you’ll avoid falling into the claws of procrastination. It’s great to have the freedom to organize your own time, but this is tricky since it could lead to inconsistent working habits. Planning your day could also eliminate unneeded stress, and it will help you handle your work obligations.
Have a designated working area
If you’re working from home, then you know how tempting it is to stay in your bed with your laptop. But we all know that’s not a good idea. If you don’t have a designated working space, it’s harder to focus, and you’re easily distracted.
Still, many of us live in tiny apartments or simply don’t have the space for setting up a home office. But you don’t need a large desk and stationary shelf for your designated working area. You can just have a corner in your apartment that you know where you do your job. It’s important only to do work there and nothing else. This way, your can stay focused easier while you work, and you will have a more productive working day.
Track your time
It’s easy to lose track of time when you work from home. That’s why in order to have a clear overview of your working hours, you might want to consider actually tracking the time you spend in front of the laptop. Thanks to the enormous amount of tracking apps, programs, and even chrome extensions, it has never been easier to do so.
When tracking your time, your efficiency at work increases, and it’s proven to affect your performance positively. Tracking your time is also beneficial from the employer’s perspective, as your manager wants to know what you’re working on throughout the day. Therefore, it also optimizes the overall communication.
Managing your breaks
Sometimes when you’re working from home, you lose track of time and forget that you need a break to refresh your mind. Some people only take a lunch break, but it’s also important to have short breaks in between.
Separating the time between working and breaks is balances the work and personal life. If you have the option to go outside and take a short walk during your lunch break, then you should create a habit out of it. It’s also the perfect time to walk your dog (if you have one), as it will refresh your mind and recharge your brain.
But even if you prefer to stay home, make sure to eat or have a coffee outside of your working area. This will help you to separate your personal time and your work mentally.
Work out after working hours
What better way to mark the end of the day than moving your body a little bit? When you spend the whole day sitting down, your body becomes stiff, and you can get out of shape easily. However, taking the time to train it after work isn’t only good for your physique but also for your mind.
You don’t need to have a full-on workout every day, but it’s essential to have at least a yoga session or even just a short stretch in the late afternoon. Here are some good ideas on staying active when working from home.
BONUS TIP: How to manage loneliness and isolation when working from home
In terms of mental health and working from home, it’s sometimes not enough to separate the time between your personal life and your work. Adapting to the new normal comes with more challenges than we have imagined.
More than half of the employees that work remotely have expressed signs of loneliness. Some state that although they still have to make calls and maintain some type of communication with their colleagues, isolation has left them feeling lost and alone.
Lonely employees are less satisfied with their jobs and are more likely to quit their current position. But that’s not even half of the problem. Mental issues like anxiety and even depression derive from spending the whole day by yourself.
However, there are some ways that you can connect with people with a similar state of mind. For example, the app Spill provides all-in-one mental health support through Slack. With Spill, every employee gets the emotional support they need – or want. It’s a great way to deal with loneliness while working from home.
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Finding Work-Life Balance When Working From Home
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