Mental health in the home office
The home office is revolutionizing work and life, and mental health is an important aspect that employers and employees should keep in mind. Employees can no longer work together in an office and work may take place exclusively in a home office. How does this affect mental health and what factors should you consider in terms of mental stress in remote work?
How does digital working affect health?
Digital working offers many benefits for companies, such as accelerating business processes and becoming more competitive. For employees, working in a home office means, above all, a better work-life balance.
To guarantee these improvements for both entrepreneurs and teammates, you should pay attention to mental health. After all, digitalization brings some changes for employees as well as challenges in their daily work routine. As an employer of a successful remote company, it is important to be aware of these and offer support in everyday work.
The following aspects should be considered concerning mental health:
- The appropriate work location for the home office.
- The organization of the workload and multitasking.
- The constant flow of information.
- The coordination of virtual collaboration.
- The limited personal contact.
- The accelerated work processes.
- The constant availability independent of time and place.
- Performing sedentary work.
How do you stay mentally healthy in the home office?
A fundamental feel-good factor is a right workstation. An ergonomically equipped workspace, for example, can contribute to this. Sufficient light and a quiet workplace where the employee can concentrate are other important factors. To maintain mental health, the employee should have good organization and structure. This starts in their personal life. Endurance sports, fitness, or other athletic activities have been shown to support mental well-being.
In a report on physical activity and health, the RKI writes the following: “Physical activity has a beneficial effect on emotional and mental health in both mentally ill and healthy individuals”. With this in mind, workers should be encouraged to take time for themselves every day and incorporate physical activity into their daily routine.
Organization and work effort play just as important a role for employers. Make sure workers can complete their tasks in a timeframe that is convenient for them and avoid overtime. A work laptop and cellphone can help employees break from work after hours and better separate their personal and work lives. This way, you can focus the flow of information within work time and there will be no overwhelm due to constant accessibility.
Allow employees to maintain contact with each other virtually as well. To do this, you can set up virtual team meetings and internal employee chat rooms for exchanges. Promote positive interaction with each other, use smileys when chatting to express positive feelings, and make regular feedback appointments to encourage and support employees in their work.
Workplace relaxation tips
Regular physical relaxation and shutting off your mind will help you become more balanced. If you work in a home office, you should pay special attention to your own needs. To that end, here are some tips that will help you relax.
Breathing exercises
Breathing is an important part of dealing with stress. If you pause and take a few deep breaths in and out, you will notice how your body relaxes and your thoughts sort themselves out. Such breathing pauses can be deliberately scheduled several times throughout the day via smartphone reminders.
Deal openly with fears
Anxiety is also an important factor in professional life that has a significant impact on mental health. If you dare to name this fear openly, you will automatically learn to deal with it better. In anxiety-ridden situations, controlled breathing in and out can also be very helpful.
Pay attention to exercise and nutrition
A balanced lifestyle helps to be successful in professional life as well. Nothing is worse than overexerting yourself. By getting the necessary exercise and eating a healthy diet, you strengthen your body and therefore your mind.
Harnessing the power of plants
Even the most relaxed employee can get into a stressful situation where no breathing exercises or other relaxation techniques will help. Instead of turning to sleep pills or other medications, you can harness the power of plants. Valerian, Johannis herbs, hops, lemon balm, passionflower herb, lavender, and roseroot have been used for centuries to treat stress symptoms.
Outsourcing4work- An experienced home office partner at your side
Working in a home office brings various challenges for employers and employees and mental health plays a relevant role. Outsourcing4work has been successfully working Remote Guruly for many years. With our experience and a well-established digital infra- and communication structure, we support our customers as a partner for IT and BPO services, as a mediator of IT professionals and consultant in matters of remote teams.
Would you like to learn more? Then book an appointment for a free initial consultation with our experts.
