Working from home can give many benefits to employees, including flexibility and time for their personal life. However, it also brings some drawbacks that you should seek to avoid. You need to think of remote work as a skill.
One thing to avoid is the “always on” culture. In this culture, the staff can’t separate work from their personal lives, which can cause stress and, eventually, burnout.
That’s why we devised the best ways to improve your work-life balance for an “always-on” workplace. Read on to discover the challenges of working remotely and how to combat them.
What Challenges Can Working Remotely Present? 💻
In this blog, we will mainly focus on how remote working makes it hard to “switch off”. However, you should be aware of the multiple challenges you may face working from home.
In a survey by Gartner, only 30% of companies said that maintaining their culture was their biggest concern regarding remote workers. Instead, they have other concerns.
For example, when working from home, it’s easy to fall into the trap of reduced productivity. This can result from a number of factors.
Source: Gartner
Here are some other challenges you may face if you work from home:
- Feeling lonelier because you’re in a more isolated environment.
- Misunderstandings with colleagues due to communicating digitally rather than in-person.
- Higher cybersecurity risk at home.
- Lack of access to the same equipment you use in the office.
- If you work in a different time zone to the company, it can be challenging to schedule meetings and meet deadlines.
- Your manager may over communicate with you or micro-manage while you work from home. This may make you feel like you aren’t trusted.
How to Create a Work-Life Balance While Working from Home
Although there are many problems you can face while working from home, switching off is one of the hardest. When your home becomes your work environment, every part of your house can remind you of work if you let it.
To help you combat this, here are some of the best ways to establish a work-life balance when you work from home.
Managing Work Stress By Setting Up A Schedule 🥵
You should establish a regular schedule, just like you would if working from an office.
A defined timetable can help you maintain a consistent pattern of work and designate non-work hours. It can also help you manage your workload. An alternative to a timetable is a task list with completion times given to each task.
If you discover that you frequently work past your scheduled hours, change your schedule to suit your working day better. You won’t have to put in a lot of overtime this way.
Keep in Touch with Your Team 📳
Regularly inform your team members of your working hours now that you have a daily routine. Remember to set your status during working hours if you converse using a messaging app.
You may also make an online calendar to keep track of the team’s working hours. Doing this is extremely useful when your team members are across many time zones.
Another option is to create a balance by having a hybrid working schedule; you work from home some days and at work on others. You can communicate with your team this way if you all work in the same area.
According to a study by Statista, over 68% of employees prefer a hybrid setup. This statistic applies to every age demographic, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers.
Establish a Work-Only Area at Home 💺
Working from anywhere you like is tempting when you have free reign of the house. You might work from the couch on some days and the kitchen counter on others. Although it could seem like the ideal situation, it can lead to distractions and a poor work-life balance.
Adjust the workspace to your needs instead. Set limitations and only allow yourself to work there. Setting boundaries on where and when you conduct business can prevent work from encroaching on your free time.
You must also make many considerations when establishing a work-only area at home.
Discover Hobbies to Do After Work 🚴
Working remotely occasionally can make it difficult to leave the home office. Therefore, find interests you love to make it simpler.
Your days can become monotonous if you don’t have personal time to break up the work week.
Consider painting, joining a gym, or simply going outside for fresh air. You could even arrange a weekly game night with family and friends for some social time.
A pastime not only helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance, but can also teach you new things about yourself.
Also, making time for your hobbies by adding them to your schedule is essential. Don’t just hope that you’ll have enough time for them.
Time Your Breaks
In an Airtasker survey, the highest percentage of remote employees (37%) said that taking breaks often is the best way to stay productive while working at home.
When things at work become difficult, it’s simple to become overburdened and worn out. With this in mind, take breaks throughout the day to safeguard your physical and mental health and work-life balance.
Source: Airtasker
Although they need not be long, breaks should involve getting up from your desk and moving about. Take a break from your job to grab a new cup of coffee from the kitchen, or stand up and stretch. In either case, taking breaks should help you maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Practice Mindfulness Techniques at Home 🧘
Sometimes, taking breaks might not be enough to destress you completely, so trying mindfulness techniques is an excellent alternative.
The most popular choice is to meditate, which, in its simplest form, is sitting quietly and clearing your thoughts.
There is no guide to excellent meditation; you just need to clear your mind and avoid distractions.
Meditation and mindfulness aren’t for everyone, but they are worth trying because they can help with stress management.
Even if you don’t have the time for meditation, try some deep-breathing exercises a few times daily to steady yourself.
Final Thoughts on Why Creating a Work-Life Balance is Essential at Home
Disengaging from the “always-on” culture could help to balance our personal and professional cycles. Hence, setting boundaries and proper time management are vital to preventing burnout.
There are multiple other ways to create a good work-life balance. To find out more about how to make this balance in your working life, head to our blog on Tommy.
USA 
USA 
AU 
UK 
ES 
FR 
BR 
TH 
IN 
USA 
USA 
AU 
UK 
ES 
FR 
BR 
TH 
IN