Workplace stress and burnouts are global issues, especially when working remotely. 79% of remote workers experience stress and burnout. The increased buildup of stress might lead to mental health issues like stress, depression, and anxiety. Stress and burnout are collective challenges that we should tackle and deal with. Read more in this article from Motherhoodcommunity.com to learn more about our stress response.
Here are helpful tips you can implement to help manage stress and burnout while working remotely.
Prioritize Taking Care of Your Mental Health
We rarely have time to work on our mental health, especially in a calendar full of tasks, deadlines, meetings, children, physical hygiene, and family. You need to invest in mental health-boosting initiatives and activities. Protect yourself from mental health by taking regular timed breaks within work.
You can also try to accomplish your work using the popular Pomodoro Technique for time management. This helps break time when you can check in on your kids, pop some clothes in the laundry or take a moment to build a gratitude habit.
Mindset matters if you want to thrive in a new working environment — like home. Practice these habits to strengthen your mental health and gain more energy to be productive while working remotely.
Control Your Information Intake
You need to stay updated on the current updates. But it’s also essential to protect yourself from misinformation. Protect your mental health while working remotely by reading relevant news from a few authorized sources and ignoring the rest. Absorbing negative news from all over the world can have detrimental effects on your mental health.
It can elevate stress and anxiety levels and affect your work performance. It would help if you instead replaced checking updates with positive habits. Whenever you find reading the news worrying, you can breathe deeply, meditate, or drink a glass of water.
Connect With Your Buddies
Sometimes, the best cure for stress is talking it out with a friend. Remote working helps prevent the spread of COVID-19, but not ideal for mental health. Pick your phone and call or video chat with them. Texting isn’t enough and can barely reduce stress. Social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are great tools to connect with your buddies.
Avoid Artificial Boosters or Crutches
For sure, coffee is delicious! So is ice cream or soda. However, if you overdo it with teas, sugar, lattes, or energy drinks, you might face negative consequences. This boost is excellent, but it might cause a significant energy slump. High sugar intake might also lead to weight gain, and too much caffeine might cause anxiety, insomnia, and palpitations.
If you experience home burnout symptoms, don’t hide them by using such artificial boosters. Wine is delicious, and its sedative properties might help with relaxation.
But if you find that you can’t do away without it, seek professional assistance immediately. Consider meditation or therapy to relieve anxiety and stress. Practicing gratitude, yoga, tai chi, or journaling are good ways to relieve stress and burnout.
Be Open and Realize You Don’t Have to be Perfect
It might be overwhelming to prove your value to your employer, especially when working remotely. This might make you hide your struggles while transiting to new work arrangements and discourage you from seeking assistance from your employer and colleagues. You can also take several tasks that you can handle to prove that you’re productive even while working remotely.
This moment calls for leadership in everyone, not just for your managerial team. Lead the way by encouraging good mental health activities during your staff meetings. This will ultimately create a better culture of empathy, productivity, and support within your organization.
Create a Routine and Stick To It
Good work from home habits should include creating a routine and sticking to it. Routines boost your mental health by reducing the decisions you’ve to make daily.
Create a more mental space to get things done when you’re organized and prepared for the tasks you’ve planned for the day. You might not accomplish everything, but you’ll have more control and peace as you go about your day.
Note that organizing your routine should not only stop at “what” you do within the workday but also “where” you do it. Create a dedicated workspace with an ergonomic chair that supports your back, neck, and spine.
Ask For Help If You Need It
Realistically, stress and burnout have affected everyone’s level of productivity while working remotely. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, consult your mental health professional. You can even talk to your employer regarding any projects or deadlines that might be too tight for you.
Prioritizing your health will help you professionally and personally. With current stressors, global events are foisting upon society, and it’s vital to protect your mental health.
Share Your Views: