How does WFH (Work from Home) impact our mental health?
When the COVID19 pandemic was announced, the ‘Work from home’ (WFH) model was quickly introduced, and many of us were pleased. The whole idea of being able to work in PJ and waking up five minutes before work starts seemed great. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t love getting extra sleep, and not worrying about the morning commute?
Now, it’s been three months, and we realize that it is a little different from what we initially thought. Recently my client said at a session, “I should be thankful for having a job at this kind of time… but I am seriously considering leaving my job, which is not a smart idea. Every little thing bothers me, and my supervisor drives me crazy even more than before.” In contrast to popular belief, many people state that work stress has increased since WFH started.
Why is this happening?
First of all, WFH was foreign to many of us when it was first introduced, and most did not know how WFH would work. I doubt if any companies prepared the WFH system before the COVID19 pandemic. Probably most management teams were also unfamiliar with the WFH concept or unclear whether it would actually work or not. However, the system had to be implemented anyway without proper transition plan ( I am certainly not finger-pointing anyone since we were that urgent at that time.) enough time to prepare the transition. Now the lack of preparation and raised anxiety seems to backfire on us.
Secondly, because of WFH, the boundary from ‘work’ and ‘life’ diminished. ‘No need to commute to work’ can also mean that you are ‘always at work.’ Imagine yourself taking a break and wind down your day, but don’t get to leave the physical office. Resting while sitting in front of your office desk, that doesn’t sound very restful, right? Physical location impacts our mental health more than we may think. The ambiguity between work and life confuses our brain, and it struggles to pinpoint when to shift from one to the other.
Third, we are in the middle of the transition from WFO (Work from the Office) to WFH. I believe everyone now finds own unique ways to adapt to this new way of working, yet this sudden change made a significant impact on us, and we are still trying to make sense of what’s happening.
What are some strategies to help us improve our mental health with this new way of working?
1. Set a physical boundary between the workspace and living space — There is an expression, “Don’t shit where you eat.” Since we start work from home, we lost the psychological sense of ‘leaving work’ when we are done for the day. The concept of work and home blends in together and our brain struggles to decide whether to stay in ‘work mode’ or ‘rest mode.’ Therefore creating visual distinction can help our brain notice the shift from work to home. For example, setting a separate workspace in the corner of the room or a different room can give a visual distinction between the workspace and living space. When we don’t have enough space to create a separate workspace, cleaning up the desk from ‘work mode’ to ‘living mode’; covering the work area with a blanket are alternative strategies to set a boundary.
2. Change your outfit — This does not necessarily mean that you need to dress up or put makeup on. Like how we try to distinguish between workspace and living space, having a different outfit during work hours can also help us have a psychological sense of distinguishing between work and life. If someone asks, “Does having two different sets of PJs, one for work and one for after work helpful?”, my answer would be “why not?” Also, if you wear a watch during work, continue maintaining that habit, as well as usual routines such as turning on the TV once you come back home from work. These are additional ways to give ourselves a sign that we are shifting our environment from work to home.
3. Set alarms — Think about when you usually take breaks, have lunch at work, and continues to set time aside for those. When we work from home, we are less prone to give ourselves set time for lunch or breaks because of this widespread belief; “I can eat lunch or take a break any time I want!” Remember — our mind gets easily confused, and we need to set a more specific schedule for ourselves, especially when working from home. Set alarms to give yourself an auditory reminder when to take lunch or break. If possible, try not to have lunch while working.
COVID19 pandemic brought us many changes that we never imagined, and we are learning to adapt to ‘new normal’ daily. It’s completely normal to be stressed and anxious about the changes. It’s a time for us to be more accepting and kinder to ourselves rather than resisting this new paradigm.
