*** Note: This blog was written by our former Director of Marketing Preston Simmons.

While some employees have found the work from home environment convenient during the COVID-19 pandemic, others have experienced stress. Physical pain from sitting all day, emotional distress from trying to balance work and family life in the same space, and the loss of in-person social interaction are all common side effects that the work from home environment causes. However, it cannot be understated that telework has helped combat the spread of COVID-19 and has saved countless lives.

This work format has also offered benefits including reducing pollution from reduced commuting and eliminating the need to spend time commuting to an in-person office. This newfound free time allows individuals to spend more time with family or leisure. In this blog we will talk about what may cause stress, physical and emotional side effects of these stressors, how to properly deal with stress, and how to be productive while working from home.

Stress Triggers

There are certain factors that cause people to feel stressed. Working from home may exacerbate these physical symptoms because of loud family members, sitting for long periods of time without occasionally standing up to walk around, and looking at a computer screen for longer periods of time. Everyone is stressed by different occurrences and reacts differently to these stressors. According to WebMD, common physical effects of stress include:

• Headache. 
• Muscle pain or tension. 
• Trouble sleeping, or sleeping too much. 
• High blood pressure. 

The first two points on this list may be caused by working longer hours from home. According to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management Society of Human Resource Management:

“Nearly 70 percent of professionals who transitioned to remote work because of the pandemic say they now work on the weekends, and 45 percent say they regularly work more hours during the week than they did before”.

Additionally, this article reports that the emotional effects of stress include: 

• Feeling like you can’t get things done. 
• Moodiness. 
• Anxiety. 

Physical and emotional health are deeply interconnected. If we are struggling physically, it may lead us to face emotional challenges after a period of time and the same can be said for struggling emotionally by being physically affected. Feeling hopeless, experiencing moods that we may not experience in other situations, and experiencing feelings of anxiety will affect mental health in a negative way, so caring for yourself mentally and doing your best to minimize the stress in your life is very important.

How to Properly Manage Stress

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends:

1. Talk to others. 

Share your problems and how you are feeling and coping with a parent, friend, counselor, doctor or pastor. Being able to talk through those feelings will allow you to recognize what is causing you have stress, how much that aspect of your home or work life is stressing you out, and possibly how long it has been affecting you. Sharing your feelings with a friend, family member or other trusted individual will also strengthen your bond with them.

There are other ways to combat stress. Another technique includes:

2. Taking a break.

Taking a break from work (when you are allowed to) will allow your mind to relax if you are resolving a difficult situation or if there are unavoidable distractions, such as other people being in your work area that you need to temporarily tune out in order to focus. Being able to do something relaxing that you enjoy for a few minutes such as playing a short game or browsing social media will also benefit your mental health.

HelpGuide suggests: 

3. Looking at the Positive Side of a Situation

“When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes”. Being able to overcome challenges in healthy ways relating to your position will prove to your supervisor that you are able to focus on the goals of the company, while also caring for yourself. Positively viewing a situation will help you personally and professionally by cultivating an attitude that you can adapt to any situation and benefit from it.

How to be Productive While Working From Home

PsychologyToday suggests implementing the following 2 tips: 

1. Create a Routine.

“Set aside time to eat breakfast, shower, and change your clothes before starting the day. Set alarms on your phone to signal break and lunchtimes. Set an alarm to signal the end of the workday, allowing about 30 minutes to wrap things up and to prepare for the next day”. Although these types of schedules are regimented and some people may think that a more lax schedule should be followed while working from home because of this personal freedom, it is best to follow a daily schedule so that you will not need to make up for lost time or scramble at the last minute to finish a project or assignment.

2. Stay Connected 

To avoid feeling lonely and isolated from coworkers, friends, and family, PsychologyToday says to “plan some virtual lunch dates with colleagues or friends. If you have family members at home, plan to have lunch together on some days. Doing this will give you time to destress during your daily lunch break, establish or strengthen relationships with those around you and will give you a sense of normalcy during these unprecedented times.

3. Create a Personal Workspace

My recommendation is to create a space where you can focus on only work since you are fulfilling work responsibilities and must remain productive for however long your shift is. Refrain from doing other activities at that workspace so that your brain will associate that place in your home with the productivity of working. Being in a quiet place will help you focus and will allow you to remain concentrated on the tasks at hand. Eliminating distractions such as television or your personal phone (if your phone distracts you from work) will allow you to complete your work faster, more efficiently and will ensure that you are not stressed about completing work for a deadline at the last minute.

We at Peace360 encourage everyone who has the opportunity to work from home to do so to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus and to implement healthy coping mechanisms for whatever may cause you to stress out while working from home. If you are working from home, we hope that you will take time to reflect on how this situation affects your physical, mental, social health as well as your personal relationship. Identify areas of improvement so that you can have a positive experience and continue to enjoy your job each day in order to reach your full professional potential.

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