With the pandemic and the social restrictions that have led as a global community to reduce our chances of contracting the Corona Virus, many primary health challenges regarding a workplace setting are brought to the forefront of concern. Most companies, firms, and parastatals have requested their employees to work full-time from home. Working from home has disrupted our daily routines causing added anxiety, stress, and strain in all aspects of lives, physically, mentally, financially, emotionally, and socially. With the financial uncertainty the pandemic brings, most workers, on top of their office work, are engaged in other online jobs and seizing the opportunity to take up the many free online courses. All these workloads, lack of proper exercise, poor eating habits, and deprived social life leads to anxiety and stress.
For individuals in such a situation to take care of their health and wellbeing, they need to have a routine and maintain a schedule. According to Dr. Steve Orma, a CBT clinical psychologist, “in order for one to manage anxiety, you need to consistently check in with yourself about what you’re worrying about, and address it. Just as we create routines with exercise for our physical bodies, we should do the same for our mental health. This can be done by scheduling ‘thinking time’ to think through any problems or worries weighing on you instead of letting them build up.”[1] A study whereby three hundred and seventeen Amazon Mechanical Turk workers were examined to determine whether keeping a routine impacted their health and wellbeing was conducted. The participants filled a questionnaire where they stated their preferences between doing things randomly to having a routine and describing their states in each opposing spectrum. As expected, the choice for routine was positively related to the composite mental health and wellbeing.[2]This finding validates the importance of a routine and schedule to enhance health and wellbeing.
For those working from home and are affected by the current pressures the pandemic has brought, I advocate that they keep a regular schedule by creating and maintaining a routine and schedule. Set up a designated space for yourself and each family member to work and learn, not forgetting to include periodic breaks for recharging in your program. Although everyone can develop a different schedule, they should not neglect to incorporate family time, eating time, exercise, work, and self-care time.
Get creative to stay connected: Share tips with co-workers and friends on what’s working well for you and encourage them to do the same. Come up with new ideas like planning a Google Hangout to exercise together – try one-minute planks, ten jumping jacks, or whatever you decide, keep it simple. Share photos of pets enjoying the new routine. Watch movies at the same time while texting or on Skype. The sky’s the limit on creative ways to stay connected.[3]
[2] Samantha J. Heintzelman, and Laura A. King. “Routines and Meaning in Life.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. First Published, September 18, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0146167218795133
[3] “Working Remotely During COVID-19: Your Mental Health & Well-Being”. American Psychiatric Association Foundation. Retrieved from: http://workplacementalhealth.org/Employer-Resources/Working-Remotely-During-COVID-19