Mental Health In Workspace – Home

By Author: Nina
Total Articles: 10
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Mental health is the most ignored and underrated factor that is addressed by surprisingly very few companies in today’s time. The pandemic made a massive impact on people’s lives and mentality creating an atmosphere of fear in which we are forced to live with our doors and windows shut and minimal to no offline socialisation. No matter how essential keeping distance from others have become, it will keep causing anxiety, fear and stress within us. The fear over here is just a broader term and can be further fragmented in fear of losing someone precious, unemployment, fear of increasing inflation and expenses, fear of death, etc.

While it is a privilege for many of us to work from home, this type of workspace is increasingly becoming the main cause of depression and stress in all age groups. Ever since the pandemic and working from home has started the pressure and workload has drastically increased along with challenges that are hard to overcome.

As an employee, working from home has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is true that we are saving them time and money that were spent on commute & ...
... other kinds of stuff, however, due to increased workload and working in isolation the mental pressure has increased. To monitor employees, many companies have introduced different versions of employee monitoring software that can be harsh and inhumane. In this employee monitoring software, employees are forced to keep their web cameras on and every time they leave the screen unattended, snapshots are taken by the software and sent to the supervisor automatically.

Moreover, since the employees are working from home, their break time duration has been reduced. Now imagine working with this pressure in a company, being the sole bread earner, with kids, and a global pandemic! Chilling right? Topping this off are other challenges like electricity issues, Wi-Fi/internet issues, and the list is never-ending.

It is sad to know that cost-cutting from salaries have become common even in unicorn companies. The employees are forced to work overtime without any extra salary or incentives with salary deductions. We can just imagine the state of mind of these employees who are helpless with the sense of abandonment. With all this going on, the things that can keep us sane like exercising, vacationing, meeting friends and colleagues, going for a picnic or restaurant with family, etc., are prohibited due to COVID-19 making the employees feel like a pressure cooker on a lit stove. All these activities play a vital role in a person’s mental health as it helps to break the monotony and give you a kick-start to work more effectively.

This is also true that the challenges and stress from working from home are not limited to the employees, even the employers are struggling with it on a larger scale, for example, fear of shutting down business due to decreased conversions, or employees not cooperating to work, and so much more. While some employees come up with genuine problems, there are many who just pretend to be in trouble and procrastinate or try to get rid of their work and as an employer, it is the most difficult task to identify who is faking as they are only in touch with them virtually. If we look into the mind of an employer, his/her only target is to get the work done from the employees seamlessly in a disciplined manner and achieve the goals set for the business. However, the work culture in many offices do not consider mental health a relevant factor to manage their employees which is wrong especially when thousands of people are dying on a daily basis every day due to the pandemic and millions are battling with it. People are living in horror and fear already even in a comfortable working environment such as home and putting work pressure has noticeably made things worse.

In order to cope with the stress and anxiety of the new working system, a person should have a work-life balance and this implies on both, the employee and the employer. Hence, below we have mentioned few things that are good for your mental health and will also help you to break the monotony of working every day along with the same household work like making lunch, doing dishes, looking after the children, etc.

Physical Exercise-

Physical exercises play an essential role in one’s mental wellbeing and should not be neglected in any scenario. It is pivotal to move your body each and every day even for a short period of time so that the body does not become a harbour to physical and lifestyle diseases. Even a ten minutes' walk, stretching, aerobics can bring a lot of improvement if done on a regular basis or you can even start playing any fun sport. Sports are capable to bring so many things in your life, without you even being aware, like discipline, competitiveness, refreshed mind, leadership quality, etc.

Prepping Meal Beforehand-
We all know how tough it can be to create a work-life balance at home, no matter whether you live with your family or even alone. Hence, before jumping into a busy week, make sure you prep your meals. The benefits of doing this activity are that, you will save a lot of time while cooking food, you will not switch to junk or outside food when you have very little time to cook, you can focus on other things in the saved time and not worry thinking what to cook. This is not just to save time or eat healthily but also to the diet significantly and directly affects your mental health.

Time Tracking-
While talking about employee monitoring above in this article, it has been noticed that it was completely vicious and unethical, however, not all employee monitoring software is created in this manner, some even improve your productivity and can be easily found on the internet free of cost as well. Time tracking can help you to break your day into chunks and get the work done efficiently with a focused mind. You can even figure out your accomplishments very easily.

Make a Working Zone-
It is extremely important for your brain to differentiate between the place you relax from the place you work and need full concentration. This is so that while working you are not distracted and your mind doesn’t lack the ideas and innovation that is required. The brain will automatically relax when your shift to the relaxing zone leaving you stress-free.

Don’t Burn Out Yourself

In addition to creating a working zone in your home, it is really important to unplug yourself when you are not working so that your body does not feel burnt out, hence, taking breaks are important indeed. You might think that it will slow your speed, however, it is quite the opposite as this will keep your mind fresh leading to improved productivity. Although, taking a break does not mean using your phone while sitting at your work desk, instead, take a walk, stretch your body, go outside for some fresh air, or, drink tea.