WFH Burnout? Try a Separation
While many workers enjoy the independence of remote work and cannot imagine ever returning to an office, others are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and overworked. Remote work is not for everyone. If you find yourself becoming increasingly irritable, feeling more exhausted than normal after the workday, or experiencing difficulty concentrating you may be suffering from work from home (WFH) burnout.
What is Burnout?
The Mayo Clinic describes burnout as a specific type of work related stress. While it is not a medical diagnosis, burnout sufferers can and do experience physical symptoms. A few of the symptoms identified by the Mayo Clinic include:
Impatience with co-workers or clients
Trouble getting started, or a feeling of dread about work tasks
Lack of productivity and energy
Difficulty concentrating
If you can check off more of these symptoms since moving to remote work, it may be your new work environment rather than the work itself creating the experience of burnout. Working from home can add another level of stress and anxiety to the work day. Managing child care and household chores with competing work tasks can be a challenge for even the most organized employee.
Creating Work-Life Boundaries
Is it possible to remain both happy and productive while working from home? A quick web search will yield countless articles offering advice on managing your WFH time. One simple solution that may help you better manage your day when working from home is creating separation between home and work.
Separation = Boundaries
Separation involves the ability to manage or eliminate outside factors that prevent you from completing work tasks. There are a few specific steps you can take to physically and psychologically separate yourself when working and avoid experiencing the stress that comes from unwanted interruptions.
Close the door. Close the door to your workspace if you have a dedicated home office. More importantly, let others in your household know that when the door is closed there should be no interruptions unless absolutely necessary. When the door is closed, you can give yourself uninterrupted time to accomplish important tasks, take phone calls, or respond to emails.
If you do not have a dedicated office space, use headphones or another barrier as an outward indication that you are not to be disturbed.
Silence your phone. Family members and friends may mistakenly assume that because you are working from home you can easily pause for personal conversations. But, these seemingly short interruptions add up to a greater loss of productivity than you might think. It takes time to refocus and return to your original task. Ignore calls and messages that are not work related. Returning these calls after the work day can provide an opportunity to decompress, and signal to others that you should not be disturbed even when working from home.
Block personal time on your calendar. Keeping an electronic calendar that is shared with others, including family members, will allow you to dedicate time for challenging tasks and protect times requiring your focused attention. You don’t always need to let others know exactly what you’re doing during these times - they just need to know you aren’t available.
Taking the time to do a load of laundry or make a quick trip to the grocery store in the middle of the work day may work for you; but others may find this level of flexibility increases stress and anxiety. Some individuals have a high tolerance for flexibility, while others operate best in a more structured format. Figure out what works best for you.
If you find yourself feeling a constant struggle between work and home, here are some additional time management tips to help you feel more in control of your work day.
Resist the urge to be “always on”. Remote work does not translate to constant availability. Leave your home office, and don’t return to it until the start of the next work day. Resist the temptation to access work email or documents on a mobile device outside of work hours to further protect your personal time.
Give yourself a lunch break. Avoid eating in front of the computer while you continue working. Even a short time away from the computer can be both physically and psychologically rewarding.
When working from a laptop, leave it in a designated location after you’re done with the work day. This will prevent work from bleeding into the time you already enjoy spending with family and friends or engaging in leisure activities.
Find an activity or task that psychologically triggers your transition from work to home. This might be starting dinner, watching the local news, or something more active like taking a walk or working out. This signals your brain to let go of the work day and gives you the time needed to decompress.
Many employees have found they enjoy working from home, and employers are beginning to respond to their needs by extending WFH policies. Higher degrees of work flexibility remain even after most have returned to the office, making the home office yet another aspect of our new normal.