WFH got you all stressed? tackle it smartly

If left unmonitored and unaddressed, these problems may be long lasting and irreversible, leading to attrition and lowering meaningful employee contribution.

HYDERABAD :  With Covid cases rising across the country, companies are soon due to announce WFH guidelines again. While it is amazing to WFH on a rotational basis, long term WFH, like the one in 2020, can have detrimental effects on employees’ health. If left unmonitored and unaddressed, these problems may be long lasting and irreversible, leading to attrition and lowering meaningful employee contribution.

Why WFH is affecting our wellness? 
Working from home, regardless of gender, is a shuffle between family time, ‘ME’ time and work time. Thus, constant pressure to fulfil an equal amount of time to each of these while ensuring work is not hampered is the new battle. But beyond maintaining balance, a lot of employees also feel a lack of physical connection. Human beings are social, but the need for maintaining social distancing has left us all in a world of constant screens around us. The always-connected digital world, ironically, has left most feeling isolated and lonely.

With the long work hours, it is difficult to disconnect between home and office life and employees do not know where to draw the line. Often this leaves them drained by the end of the day and even leads to depression and anger issues. 

The number of virtual meetings conducted currently, not only drain their time but trigger fatigue and anxiety leading to burnout and reduction in productivity. A recent survey called ‘Visual Ergonomics’ stated that employees spend at least six hours per day looking at a computer screen, and 65 per cent report eyestrain and vision problems, while 47 per cent suffer from headaches and fatigue. So how do we tackle the problem? (see box)

While positivity in the current environment is a fleeting moment, employers need to take stock and help employees to address their mental and physical health. There are many programmes that organisations are adopting to proactively tackle these problems to ensure business continuity and healthy work environments. 

Tips to lead a  healthy lifestyle
While quitting your job is not a long-term option, we can certainly look at the following to better our lifestyle: 

• Switch off mentally and take a break from work every few hours
• Set up a dedicated time for responding to emails, virtual meetings and media consumption
• Regularly engage in exercise, cooking, singing, meditation, reading, playing with your pet -- anything that makes you feel good 
• Track your eating and sleeping habits
• Before going to bed think of 5 things you are grateful for. This helps in focusing on the positive

— Sandeep Gautam, co-founder, head at Positive Psychology Lab, PeakMind.in