News
How to handle working from home
Prof. Thilini Rajapakse
Sashi was relieved when she was asked to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Life would be better, she thought, as there would be no travelling in the rush hour traffic, getting home late and hurriedly preparing dinner. She would have more time with her family too.
Two months later, however, she was feeling harassed. “I’m working all the time,” she told her husband. “Earlier, work finished when I left office at 5p.m. Now people phone me about work even at 8p.m……and so many endless Zoom meetings! The children and all the work at home! I now wish I could go back to office to have some time to myself and to meet people again.”
This seems to be the experience of many who are “working from home”.
In the past 14 months, there have been significant changes in the way we work. For some, like Sashi, work has “moved” from office to home, while others have to leave home for work with concerns over the risk of catching COVID-19. Many also face the challenges of job loss, a drastic reduction in income or not being able to go out to earn a livelihood.
Working from home
When we think of working from home, there are many advantages including less time and energy on commuting and more time with the family. But as Sashi realized, the downside seems to be that we are working all the time, with the boundaries between ‘work-time’ and ‘off-time’ being blurred.
What strategies can we adopt to avoid this situation?
Keep regular times to start and finish work. Maintain a routine. During work-hours, try to arrange household things (as far as possible) to minimize distractions.
If you have young children at home – think of the arrangements you would make for their care, if you had to go out to work? Can you arrange something similar? Don’t feel guilty about doing this!
Stop work at the end of your allocated work-hours. Try to avoid getting sucked into ‘another call’ or ‘doing a bit more’ just because you are at home. Act as if you have left office!
If possible, have a separate place in the house (a table and a chair) that you use for work only.
Working from home can also feel different psychologically. Going to office involves interacting with many people – a colleague asking how you are doing or a short chat during the lunch break can help you feel better if you are stressed
There are social interactions we do not experience when working from home. Be aware of this – it is understandable if you feel isolated sometimes when working from home
Take time for a lunch break as you would at office, talk to a colleague or friend on the phone if it helps
Try to include different activities during your ‘non-work’ time, choosing those that interest you (like watching a movie or learning a new skill) that can be done at home.
Regular exercise is a good stress-buster. You could explore innovative ways to motivate yourself at home – such as YouTube exercise videos.
Allow at least 6-7 hours for sleep at night.
If anxious and worried about the pandemic, limit checking news and online updates. Restrict your news updates to a short time each day, and then ‘switch off’ from pandemic news.
Live in the moment. Actively focus on what you are doing, your environment and people around you right now. Worrying excessively about what will happen in the future increases anxiety but does not change the future!
These are unusual times for all of us and we should strive to achieve a balance while juggling different requirements and being restricted at home.
(Prof.Rajapakse is attached to the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. She is also the Head of the Expert Committee on Suicide Prevention of the Sri Lanka Medical Association – SLMA)
| Some advice to employers To keep employees productive and help them work better, limit work calls and Zoom meetings to the allocated work hours as far as possible. Consider whether every meeting is necessary.
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| Helpline– 1926If you feel you need to talk to somebody for support or if you are finding it difficult to cope with stress or anxiety – don’t hesitate to call this number. It is a free of charge, mental health helpline. |