Mental health in remote work

With all the changes happening this year, we might forget that we still need to take a break and check on ourselves. Work and life have come together more than ever and it brings a challenge of its own: burnout.

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Burnout is a term used for several years now that describes the way that employees are saturated with work and few chances to breathe and live outside the workspace. But during this year, burnout has also come from within our own homes. More and more people are having longer “business hours” due to handling children, cooking, cleaning, and various other home-activities that delay work.

Even for the people that live alone and don’t have children, this has also become a burden of sorts and the struggle to keep up the balance has been rough on some.

But why are we feeling like this in our own homes? Shouldn’t it be a blessing? Well, yes. This is not an opportunity that everybody has to be able to stay at home and still have a job. There are different factors that shape this situation.

We find some level of comfort in routine, it helps us predict results and to expect familiar situations. But, when everyday feels the same, often without even leaving our homes, it can be quite stressful and a real life Groundhog day. On the other hand, we are able to avoid lots of people-related problems in the workplace such as toxic coworkers, gossip, egos, and so on. But we suddenly find ourselves with a case of isolation which on a small dose can help us focus better and have me-time, but on the long run, we start to starve for some sort of interaction that can make us feel social beings again. Furthermore, we might encounter too many distractions, lack of structure or boundaries, among other situations.

So what can we do to have a better home office experience and reduce anxiety?

• Define a schedule
• Reward yourself when completing chores
• Protect your sleep
• Avoid distractions
• Keep in touch with your loved ones

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All of these actions will give your days structure, boundaries, time to get in touch with your emotions, and allow you to get in touch with people that care about you and that you care for.