Living at Work

#2020 has become a year of unexpected circumstances especially when it comes to working life balance. In the past few months, Thanks to the Novel #CoronaVirus, global companies that had, rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies for the past few months.. While the #workfromhome trend may be a boon to some, over the past few months it has turned into a nightmare for most.

Most people indeed love the #flexibility that comes with working from home: getting up and going to sleep at times that are dictated more by one's body clock and tastes can be wonderfully liberating. You get to wear those sweatpants from college, or the PJs your friends don’t know your own. Avoid #coworkers debating the project solutions or perhaps agony of listening to office gossip, complaints, and politics, or the pain of calling maintenance every time the air conditioning decides not to be it is optimum best. Forget the usual canteen food, you can cook/ eat your favorite meals at home without burning a hole in your pocket. And the best part is your travel to the workplace is from home to desk which is way more comfortable than the #overcrowded #metros, the stuffy lifts that stop at every floor or even the pain of getting your ride canceled at peak hours. 

But why does this heavenly abode feel like hell? I mean do you feel more stressed out despite not having a commute? Are you feeling lonely and tired even though you can clock in wherever you want? Are you turning into those unmotivated, tired sloths with an irritable mood? Well, it’s not just you, my friend., especially during the #lockdown. Gone are the days of “leave our work at the door” when an employee was able to separate their work from personal lives, Work-from-home lifestyle has proven to be more #stressful than #working at #personal #freedom. 

 While few of them enjoy this setup, #full-time at home can be pretty miserable over time. You sleep at home. You work at home. As there are no “office hours” now your whole life may be from early morning until late at night revolves around your work. #Remoteworking can also cause #anxiety. Humans being social creatures, feel cut off when working without interacting with anyone physically. Yes, the younger workers whose #social lives are more connected to the office tend to not want to work from home as much.

With many #schools closed since lockdown and daycare may no longer be an option due to fear of #COID19, #WFH has become challenging for working parents especially in presence of their families. With work and family boundaries being removed, #employees’ time has never been more fragmented. Yes, families forget that those who work at home still need to work. Being at home demands taking care of the household while attending to work as well. Maybe as simple as going to the grocery shop, or doing the dishes, or cleaning the house. Pets who were not used to you being at home now demand your attention. Finding a solitary space to focus becomes difficult between the pile of dishes and a load of #deadlines.

Even before this pandemic, employees found it difficult to focus on any task continuously for more than 2 hours. With #Email, television, #socialmedia that can easily distract you, you see that your entire day has passed with little to no productivity, adding more stress to the work front. If you work all day and don’t leave your house, you are not doing your body any favor. Some people love to work while lying on the couch or the bed all day which sooner or later will be the reason for your terrible back pain.

Though this #pandemic created an unprecedented situation, there are ways by which this can keep up our salinity. If possible set up a dedicated place in your home/room as a workspace. Not only would it help out with reducing distractions but it would also help to create #boundaries between work life and home life every day.

Learn to say ‘#No’. While working from home does make you seem available 24*7, it is important for everyone to understand you should not take a coworker for granted. Ensure that you stay away from devices during your leisure/ break time. Not only it will allow you to #re-energize and stay focused but a change of environment does prevent you from burning out. Feel free to , create a #network of colleagues, or like-minded individuals relatively simply through social media group that allows you to have your ‘’Break room’ moments at least virtually.

As COVID continues to rise over the world, it seems there is a considerable decrease in demand for office space, mainly due to layoffs or increases in work from home. But many of the #companies have been implementing safety measures to welcome back their employees #postcovidera. Perhaps automatic doors, no more open floor office space, restricted common spaces will be the ‘#NewNormal’ for #office goers …well If and when they return to the office. :P

#covid #lockdownlife #workfromhome #employeelife #newnormal  Image Courtesy: https://dribbble.com/shots/10863926-Work-from-home-multitasking https://www.pinterest.com/pin/667658713477176357/