Everyone at some stage in their work life has experienced burning out, whether it be from stress, lack of motivation or reduced interest in their career. However, the effects that people are experiencing while living, working and sleeping in one place is creating a negative relationship with what we call home.
According to marketing research firm Gallup, before remote-working was made compulsory, workers onsite experienced burnout the most, however as remote-working transitioned into common place, the results reversed.
Employees who experience significant levels of burnout are 63 percent more likely to take a sick day and are 13 percent less confident in their performance. This statistic highlights that burnout not only impacts employees but also employers.
Juggling the interactions of work and home are a difficult task but are almost unnatural to handle at the same time, so here are a few tips to get you back on track.
Create your own office space
Say no to your couch and bed.
It may seem comfortable and unharmful but our brain associates a bed or couch as a place of comfort or leisure. This comes through our repetitive behaviour of relaxing when sitting or lying down, which takes us out of our productive zone.
A comfortable chair, desk and a functional computer setup are essential to mirror the fit out of an office. Aiming to only use that space during work hours will help separate yourself from the homely environment and enable you to switch on and off when the time comes.
If you are still dealing with burnout regardless of an ergonomic office set up at home, then consider Coworking spaces. These are membership-based workspaces where independent professionals can work together in a shared setting.
Servcorp has 150 global locations which provide Coworking spaces in many financial districts. It provides cost-effective and well-designed work environments, along with a professional team to delegate to which includes a receptionist and an in-house IT support team.
Recreate commuting
When we work in an office, commuting creates time to prepare ourselves mentally for the day and then also serves as time to decompress.
Set yourself a short walking schedule before and after work to create the semblance of commuting to an office. Spending time outdoors will stimulate your brain, reduce burn out and minimise indoor hours.
Plan your days off
There comes a time when mental exhaustion from burnout reaches a peak. At this stage, taking a day off to unwind is essential for your wellbeing and to improve your productivity over the coming days.
Plan some mindfulness activities to destress and switch off any work-related notifications from your phone.
Make work-life balance a priority
Burnout often occurs when we place too much emphasis on work and this can easily occur when you are in a remote setting.
When people work from home it is easy to disassociate ourselves from working normality, such as starting early and finishing late because of zero commute times.
During this phase you may feel as though there is a never-ending amount of work and to compensate people end up overworking. The key to establishing a balance is to mimic your lifestyle as though you were still working in an office.
If you work from 9am to 5pm, stick true to those hours and don’t continue work related activities past your time, including emails or any notifications.
