For the nth time, the COVID19 pandemic’s wave hit the world. Many employees have no choice but to stay at home and start working remotely until the condition is stable. While working from home may bring several benefits for employees, it also comes with challenges creating burnout.
As a result of this shift, HR practices have had a dramatic change, too. Now that many positions are fully remote, employers have to be extra cautious when hiring a new candidate. It is advisable to perform a proper DBS check as employers may never actually meet the new team member in person
The shifting working environment has caused a lot of burnout among employees during this harsh situation. Since they have to deal with the changing activity while keeping alert 24/7 to work, workers often experience an overwhelming condition that they can’t easily overcome.
Most of you may suggest that going back to the office is the best solution for burnout workers caused by remote working when it’s not the primary case. The sudden shift of the working environment as well as the inability to balance the private and professional life often cause confusion for those who work from home.
Work from Home Burnout Statistics
Is work from home burnout a thing in the first place? Before the COVID19 pandemic and the trend of digital nomads and freelancers, burnout from work was often connected to the regular, nine-to-five office job that forces employees to work vigorously.
However, a study from Eagle Hill Consulting finds out that 58% of workers said they were burned out while working from home, with only one in three individuals indicating that the cause was directly related to the pandemic. According to the August 2020 survey, some reasons below have severely caused burnout without employees realizing it.
- 47% of employees agree that they catch burnout from a heavy workload
- 39% of workers say that the failure to maintain personal and professional lives has caused the burnout
- 37% of workers claim that the burnout is due to lack of communication and feedback issues
- 30% of employees agree that deadline has also contributed to burnout
- 28% of workers believe they feel pressure because of performance expectations
These numbers have shown how working from home can seriously affect employees’ performance as they quickly catch burnout. However, if working from home terms is unavoidable due to the global pandemic, there are a few tips to prevent burnout at work. You can include these tips in your employee onboarding session as they help them figure out what to do when burnout strikes.
Seven Tips to Prevent Burnout When Working from Home
1. Use your time wisely and effectively
It is important to set a schedule on how you’ll spend your time for each day. This will help you stay productive and avoid drifting off thinking about random stuff like what’s for lunch or doing simple chores like cooking or mowing the lawn.
It would also be wise to organize your tasks in such a way that it will help you meet important deadlines. Always make sure that there is enough time allocated on breaks, family events, exercise, and entertainment to not become stressed out.
2. Engage in physical activities
Avoid sitting down all day and work with your laptop on your lap or, worse, your bed. This will make you feel tired and lazier to get things done. Instead, you can work on a standing desk to help you maintain posture and avoid getting bored easily.
Make sure to have time to exercise daily. Getting in physical activity will release your stress hormone and change it into a happy mood that you can use later on to work on your assignments.
You can also have a stroll in the nearest park while maintaining a physical distance. When you’re sightseeing, you can take a bit of rest and find a new thing in your break which will improve your mood.
3. Set time limits
Don’t allow yourself to be immersed with work all day long, thinking that it’s going to be more productive if you do it for longer hours. Remember that even the most productive people rest and relax after spending 8-9 hours working hard on their craft.
Some would say that they sleep better at night knowing that everything is finished, and some take up hobbies like writing books which helps them relax their mind while enjoying the process itself.
4. Learn new skills or sharpen old ones
Instead of wasting time on social media and the like, why not invest that time into learning new skills that will help boost your income? You can always work with a mentor who will guide you through or take up courses offered by reputable institutions.
Learning new skills can lighten your mood because you may have caught up with daily work without giving you a chance to find something new that excites you. When you’re too immersed in your work, you can catch burnout easily because you don’t have time for yourself.
Finding new hobbies or learning new skills allows you to have some time with yourself while also understanding what you really want in life.
5. Do yoga to relieve your stress
This tip is especially for all of you getting stressed out due to work. Yoga has become very popular lately because it’s effective in helping you relax and increase your immunity, which will help your performance when doing excessive work.
Keep in mind that yoga is another physical activity, but unlike regular exercise, yoga allows you to practice mindfulness that helps you get relaxed when working under pressure. You can also practice meditation as it enables you to lower the anxiety that is often caused by overthinking about your works.
7. Take regular vacations
Working from home can be very taxing on the body, so on top of yoga, taking vacations on a regular basis is another good idea to keep yourself fresh and recharged. You might have to take up some savings on this one, but it will be worth your time.
Although the COVID19 pandemic has come up with multiple restrictions, especially when you plan to go abroad, you can have a little vacation at the nearby places you want. The key to vacation isn’t the place, but the main reason as it’s named like that: to have a day off or a holiday without thinking about work or house chores.
You should make sure to follow the regulation where you reside now and don’t forget to apply safety and health measures during this time. Your health is the top priority; no matter how much burnout you feel at the moment, don’t go beyond the safe area only to deal with another problem.
Takeaway
If you enjoy the trip and feel better, then that’s what matters most. You shouldn’t forget to spend your days like an ordinary human: spend time with family and friends, take walks and smell the flowers. They say it’s better than prescription pills.
When you come back from vacation, make sure to find a normal job if working from home makes you go crazy or start looking for another one now. Working as a freelancer is not bad, but having no friends around makes us feel lonely sometimes. That’s why we need balance in our life because too much of anything will become dangerous to us.
Author
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: andre@breadnbeyond.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreoentoro/
