HYDERABAD: The hanging clouds, the rain, the breeze. Can you think of anything else, but staying back at home? But, wait! You are already at home. Now that we are Working from home (WFH), are we really doing what we wished we had, had we been working out of office?
It’s raining; the weather is pleasant, with a cool wind blowing. Getting out of bed to work is a difficult task. ‘Heavy rain’, ‘traffic jams’, ‘having the flu,’ once apt excuses to skip work, are no longer excuses that work in the WFH scenario.
The WFH fun is over, as we hurtle towards burnout with endless hours of work. Given that many of us are made to feel grateful for even having a job, most find it unable to ask for leave to wait out the weather, adding to depression and anxiety.
“To be frank, I would like to stop working, make tea along with pakoras and enjoy them while watching the rain. The fresh smell of the rain is so appealing and inviting to relax and pass the day leisurely doing nothing, or go for a long drive,” says Afzal Anis, a techie who has been working from home since February.
Lakshmi Sharanya, a tax consultant says, “Work is the last thing that comes to my mind when it starts raining. All that I can think of is my comfortable couch, sipping on coffee, and playing good music. One may think it is better than the workplace, but the temptation of doing nothing is ten times more while at home. Power cuts are just a blessing in disguise during these times.”
“The lower temperatures slows down metabolism which makes me feel sleepy and restless, so I never feel like working when it rains,” says Murtuza Culcuttawala, IT help desk analyst, HCL. However, as work is getting hectic, it doesn’t seem possible this time, he rues.
Explaining that the “human mind doesn’t like doom and gloom,” Dr Bharat Kumar Reddy, consultant psychiatrist, Apollo Hospitals says: “We have a notion to hide when it rains and this over the years, conditions our body to withdraw from activities when it starts to rain.”
Feeling exasperated, Priya Sen, a content writer, comments, “Right now it’s raining, but I need to complete a worksheet, so cannot watch TV or relax in my balcony.” Feeling similarly, Kehkashan M adds, “While WFH, I can always cheat a bit and sit out, but work has a way of catching up. I would have ideally liked to just go back to sleep.”
Dr Bharat adds, “Surely the situation for WFH people is like being a caged parrot.” Just like, Varshini Singampalli, an HR executive, who takes “breaks every few minutes, to get something to eat,” Dr Bharat says “eating becomes a coping mechanism for many.”
Many also tend to have mood swings which could be due to them suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD). Reduced oxygen in atmosphere during rain can also make people lethargic, worsening their mental state, adds Dr Bharat.
To better cope, Nausher D, who works in IT has placed his desktop right near the window. “In ‘normal days’, I would have bunked worked to go for a drive, enjoy the outdoors and eat hot corn-on-the-cob. But, for the moment, the vista from my room, will do,” he says.
Look at the bright side, like Naravula Sirisha, vice-principal of a school, “After getting wet in the rain, I can work, it’s not compulsory to work right away when your are working from home.”
(With inputs from Ananya Mariam Rajesh)
— Tamanna S Mehdi
tamanna@newindianexpress.com
@tamannamehdi