8:22 am, April 8, 2020
- Working from home can be difficult and lonely. Here’s how to help yourself and staff that are struggling.
On the face of it, working from home seems like the dream, with no commute and no one looking over your shoulder.
However, for many, it can be a difficult and lonely time as you realise just how important social interaction can be. That’s especially true now, with the UK being told to stay at home and avoid seeing friends and family.
This can be a tough adaptation to make, but the Mental Health Foundation has a guide to looking after your mental health while working at home, particularly for those who’ve unexpectedly been forced to do so during the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s some of their advice.
Get in a routine
Humans are creatures of habit, and breaking up the daily routine can really throw people out of kilter.
To implement a routine at work, suggest having set hours of work as you would do in the office. Try to encourage people not to check emails or messaging services too often outside of these hours, because it’s important to have a clear break between home time and work time. Their commute usually does this, so don’t let home and work life merge.
It’s also important to have a distinct work space, so that they can ‘go to work’ and ‘leave work’, something that’s possible even if they live in a studio flat with a small desk in the corner. Sitting on the sofa in front of the telly all day, then continuing to do so into the evening after work, will drive them stir crazy.
Other tips include ensuring lunch breaks are taken, getting dressed in the morning rather than wearing pyjamas all day, and creating to-do lists to create a sense of achievement.
Keep in touch
Many people bemoan technology for encouraging us to keep in touch over text rather than meeting face-to-face, but in situations such as these technology can be a lifeline.
Keep in regular contact with staff – though not too often so they feel trusted to carry on with their work – and use video calls where possible. Skype and Zoom are the two most popular programs for doing this, because there’s no substitute for talking to someone and seeing their face.
This can also help people feel included socially, particularly if they tend not to have to consult colleagues often in their jobs. By doing daily group video calls you reduce the feeling of isolation, and can even inject some fun, such as showing off pets or doing quizzes.
Encourage one-to-one contact
Regularly remind your employees that they can come to you – or a designated HR staff member – with any issues they might have. The worst situation here is that a staff member is having problems but they’re too embarrassed to speak to colleagues or simply don’t know who to turn to.
This can be something as simple as an IT issue, where someone’s productivity is being knocked by a simple fix, or something more serious, such as struggling to cope with the stress of becoming sick or the loneliness of isolation. Sometimes, a sympathetic ear is all that’s needed.
