Remote work and mental health are closely connected, as working from home can impact both positively and negatively depending on how it’s managed.
During the epidemic, many companies have switched to remote working. Even in the current slowdown, some work is still done remotely.
I myself am currently working remotely. At first, it was full of freedom and saved commuting.
I am very excited about the time-based work style, but as full-scale remote work is about to enter a year, I also find that my mental state needs to be adjusted.
If remote workers live alone, the most common thing they face is loneliness and isolation from the outside world.
If they live with relatives and friends, they will also face mutual interference because they do not understand their work style.
How Do You Know If Your Job Is Affecting Your Mental Health?
Despite suffering from severe nervous tension and stress, many people find it extremely difficult to decide to resign from work, which affects their psychological and mental health in the long term, according to the British newspaper, Daily Mail.
Psychologists confirm that there are indicators that must be paid attention to and that the decision to resign must be made immediately upon their appearance in any person to preserve his safety and mental health.
- Not sleeping
Work-related stress is often reflected in sleep problems, and people who lack sleep do not relax or recover as they should after a day of work.
- If you make mistakes a lot
Frequently making silly mistakes is evidence of stress and the brain’s inability to absorb the amount of work.
- If you become quick to anger
Stress increases your tension level, reducing your patience and making you quickly angry and irritable.
- Excessive emotional sensitivity
Stress and tension make you very sensitive and easily affected, even in the simplest situations that do not allow crying.
- Loss of sense of humor
Your job may put you under psychological and nervous pressure, making you lose the sense of pleasure in life.
- Feeling indifferent
If you lose interest in your clients, patients, or work in general, this is due to extreme burnout.
- Difficulty waking up for work
If you find it very difficult to wake up in the morning just thinking about going to work, this is evidence that your work is affecting your mental health.
The psychological benefits of remote work
Although remote work is now much more common, the transition process has somewhat left aside the importance of good mental health in work teams.
Today I want to share my reflections on the psychological benefits and challenges of remote work, and how we can maintain a healthy balance.
- One of the biggest benefits of remote work is the flexibility it offers.
The ability to organize our own schedule is a huge advantage, allowing us to better balance our professional and personal responsibilities.
This control over our time significantly reduces stress levels and improves overall well-being.
- Additionally, working from home eliminates the stress associated with daily commutes.
Time-wasting and traffic frustration are things of the past, allowing us to start the day with a more relaxed, focused, and productive mindset.
This removal of external stressors contributes to a more stable mental state.
- Another positive aspect is the increase in productivity.
In a remote work environment, many find it easier to concentrate without the typical distractions of an office.
The ability to customize our workspace to our personal needs helps us maintain high levels of efficiency and motivation.
The simple fact of working from a space adapted to our tastes and needs is much more motivating than being in a tiny cubicle surrounded by noise and movement that eventually distracts.
Also read: Best Collaboration Tools for Remote Jobs
The psychological challenges of remote work
Even with its benefits, remote work also brings with it a series of psychological challenges that we cannot ignore.
- One of the main problems is the feeling of isolation.
Lack of face-to-face interaction with colleagues can lead to feelings of loneliness and disconnection.
Remote workers often experience moments when the absence of direct human contact affects their mood and motivation.
- The line between work and personal life can become blurred.
Working in the same space as your living space can make it difficult to “switch off” at the end of the day.
This lack of clear separation can lead to work overload and eventually burnout. You have to be very disciplined to set boundaries and make sure you take adequate breaks.
I recommend the blog post: Mindfulness and its real impact on our mental health
- Another significant challenge is self-discipline.
Without the structure of a traditional office, it can be tempting to distract yourself with household chores or entertainment.
Self-discipline and time management become critical skills to maintain productivity and avoid the stress built up by procrastination.
Some managers will think that remote working is an excuse for employees to be lazy, but many studies have pointed out that remote working can reduce the interference of working in the office, and can focus more on work.
Reducing commuting time can also increase life and work sense of balance. So what factors can help us maintain a stronger mental state while working remotely?
Do you also have experience working remotely? Feel free to share your remote working tips with me!
How do remote workers relax and unwind?
As a remote worker, you need to have strong self-planning capabilities: such as arranging suitable working time, working location, timely communication, etc. according to your own situation.
But for inexperienced remote workers, this self-planning ability will be very challenged.
Usually, people who do not understand the nature of remote work will usually feel these negative emotions when they first enter this field
- Loneliness
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Unable to adapt to online communication
Faced with these negative psychological effects, what can remote workers themselves and our remote employers do to alleviate them?
How to promote mental health while working remotely
1. First, as a remote worker, take it easy.
The negative emotions you may experience above are only temporary.
When we gradually adapt to being remote workers and need to face working in a separate space, we will slowly learn to better arrange our working time.
2. Establish a routine and stick to a schedule
Due to the lack of boundaries between home and office, remote work often makes people forget to leave work when they are busy, or turn on the computer to complete tasks assigned temporarily.
Whether we are working physically or remotely, we should have clear commuting time. When we get off work and close the computer, we should draw a line to mark our rest time.
In our free time after work, we should exercise appropriately, stretch our bodies, and improve our physical fitness.
After all, when we exercise, the dopamine secreted by our cerebellum can make us feel happy and excited.
Upgrade your home office equipment
Working on the bed or sofa is definitely not suitable for sitting and using the computer for a long time, and a comfortable and soft place can easily lead to falling asleep.
Having suitable desks and chairs, such as ergonomic chairs and height-adjustable tables, can help us work better. Work in a comfortable position.
Create a comfortable home office environment
Add green plants or bouquets to make the environment look more fresh, natural and comfortable; improve the use or flexibility of office supplies and increase our convenience;
if your home office feels too cluttered, you can find a comfortable cafe or library Working in a library or shared office space allows you to work in a quieter environment and reduce surrounding distractions, making it easier to immerse yourself in the office situation.
Get up, move
When we are in the office, we will get up and go to the tea room, other floors, or go to other colleagues’ seats to chat, but if we are at home, we can only walk a few steps.
Sitting for a long time is not only harmful to our health, but also Walking around can also help us think when we encounter a difficult problem.
Get Out Of Your House And Enjoy The Wonders Of Nature
When the weather is nice, go outside and bask in the sun while working! Not being restricted by the office is our greatest freedom.
Nature has different scenery in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Although there is no free air conditioning, the healing of nature can definitely bring us better performance at work.
Don’t forget to wear sunscreen Breasts go out again!
Work Around Other People
If working from home makes us feel lonely, we might as well arrange time to work in a shared office space or coffee shop at a fixed time every week, surround ourselves with other people, and see everyone working seriously, and feel that we can’t be lazy.
Start Saying “No”
Clients may think that we are always available to assist when working remotely. However, drawing the line is an important rule of thumb for remote working.
If the request is made in the evening or on holidays, please be brave and say no.
Hybrid Office
When there are mental health concerns about remote working, or bosses feel that they need to see their employees to feel at ease, then hybrid working between fully physical and fully remote working emerges, that is, you can enter the office a few days a week.
The rest of the time is spent working at home. In this way, the feeling of loneliness at a distance can be improved, and if a project requires high concentration without interference from others, you can also choose to complete it in a quiet environment at a distance.
Improve Our Sleep Quality
You must have personally experienced that when you don’t get enough sleep or the quality of your sleep is poor, you wake up the next day and feel in a particularly bad state of mind.
So, don’t underestimate the importance of good sleep! Previous research has found that poor sleep quality will increase our risk of depression (Yuan Zhang, Anya Peters, etc., 2018).
Good sleep can make us energetic, relieve mental stress, and even improve our memory (Hamilton, Catley and etc., 2007; Brittany, Brooke and etc., 2016).
The powerful influence of sleep goes beyond this. Improving sleep quality can even help patients with PTSD (traumatic stress disorder) relieve their anxiety (Janna, Steven, and etc., 2018).
Regarding why we humans sleep, interested readers can refer to this book – “Why Sleep?” The new science of sleeping to bring about health and learning ability, and dreaming to be creative.”
Good sleep quality and a balanced diet will keep you energetic!
So How Can We Improve Our Sleep Quality?
You can refer to the following solutions:
- Take a hot bath or hot foot bath before going to bed to soothe the body and mind;
- Do a full-body stretch/stretch before going to bed, which is helpful for entering a deep sleep;
- Put away electronic devices before going to bed. Mute the sound and keep it far away from yourself;
- Maintain a good sleep hygiene habit and wear something comfortable to sleep
One That Is Easily Overlooked, Is A Reasonable Diet.
It is very important to eat more vegetables and supplement vitamins.
Bad eating habits, such as not eating on time, or poor dietary structure, such as picky eaters or a single diet, will increase the risk of metabolic diseases and are not good for our mental health (Joanna, 2022).
Simply put, if you don’t eat well, your body’s functions will decline, leading to various endocrine disorders and even health problems such as increased mental stress and insomnia.
Therefore, as a remote worker, it can be simple to prepare your own diet, but you must not rush into it. Eat more soybeans, nuts, chicken, etc.,
which are rich in protein, which can help increase the body’s immunity and improve your ability to withstand stress.
In addition, vegetables the vitamins A, B1, and B6 in it can maintain mental stability, relieve mental tension, and help relieve stress.
Limit The Use Of Social Networks
Social media can be fun, but it can also be stressful. If we want to reduce distractions and be productive, we should limit social media use during work hours.
Practice Mindfulness
Incorporating mindfulness and meditation practices into your daily routine helps reduce anxiety and improve focus. Apps like Headspace or Calm can be helpful for getting started with these practices.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help!
If the challenges of remote work are significantly affecting your mental health, consider seeking help from a mental health professional.
Just as you would go to a doctor when your physical body needs attention, you should go to a mental health professional when your mental health needs attention.
Practice Gratitude
Take a moment each day to reflect on the things you are grateful for. I guarantee that this step can improve your emotional well-being and provide you with a positive outlook.
Disconnect from technology
At the end of the workday, it’s important to disconnect from screens and spend time on activities that don’t involve technology, such as reading a book, practicing a hobby, exercising, cooking, or spending quality time with your children.
10 Factors That Make Your Work Environment Harmful to Your Mental Health
The World Health Organization said that work is good for mental health, but a negative work environment can lead to physical and mental problems, presenting a set of factors that make the work environment negatively affect mental health.
The World Health Organization added that depression and anxiety have a major economic impact, and their global losses due to reduced productivity are estimated at one billion dollars annually.
She also said that workplace harassment and bullying are commonly reported problems that can have negative effects on mental health.
She explained that the risk factors that the work environment may pose to mental health may include:
How does work environment affect mental health?
- Lack of adequate health and safety policies.
- Poor communication with management.
- Little employee involvement in decision making.
- Little control by the employee over his work environment.
- Lack of adequate staff support.
- Inflexible working hours.
- Lack of clear duties and tasks for employees.
- Job assignments not matching employee skills.
- Having too many tasks weighs the employee down.
- Bullying of an employee by his colleagues or manager.
Based on recommendations from the World Economic Forum, the organization presented the following recommendations to provide a healthy work environment:
Reducing work-related (previous) risk factors.
Developing the positive aspects of work and the strengths of employees.
Treating mental health problems regardless of their cause.
Raising awareness of the workplace environment and how to adapt it to promote better mental health for employees.
Understanding employee needs.
Provide them with support resources and let them know that they can get help.
Involve them in decision making.
Notify them of their participation.
Providing career development programs.
Recognize and reward employee contribution
Conclusion
Remote work has changed the way many of us work and live.
The flexibility and autonomy that remote work offers can be incredibly beneficial, as long as we are attentive to our psychological needs and set clear boundaries.
As an entrepreneur and wellness advocate, I firmly believe that with the right strategies, it is possible to reap the benefits of remote work while minimizing its drawbacks.
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