Working From Home
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A survey of 10,000 Americans in May, July, and August 2020 found that working from home lowered the commuting time by more than 60 million hours per workday (Barrero et al., 2020). Over seven months, Americans saved 9 billion hours of commuting time. The survey went further to find out what they did with this extra time. The researchers found that Americans used this time savings in the following ways:
35% Primary jobs
16% Home improvement and chores
11% Childcare
8% Second jobs
30% Leisure activities
At first glance, this extra time may seem like a welcome relief from commuting. But working or taking classes from home has a whole new set of challenges. For example, we need a designated home office or somewhere to work. We use dining tables, couches, basements, and bedrooms as our workspace. We often share these spaces with other family members trying to work from home or with children. Plus, we must figure out a new process for routine activities such as meal-time preparation and household chores.
When we started working or schooling from home, we were excited about having extra time in our day. After all, we didn’t have to commute to work or put on our “work clothes.” However, many of us quickly realized that working from home is much harder than we thought. That’s because we began to experience new distractions that don’t occur at our workplaces – distractions such as barking dogs, delivery people, and our family members interrupting us.
There needs to be a clear separation between home and work activities. If not, we find that the workday always continues. We start earlier and work later. Yet, it is hard to unplug even during times we designate to be with our families. The inability to unplug is concerning because numerous research studies point out that the lack of mental disconnecting from our job has many negative impacts. It can lower productivity, reduce motivation, increase stress, and negatively impact mental health (Giurge and Bohns, 2020).
Based on current trends, it is likely that many of us will be working from home for some time to come. For example, many companies have announced that their employees will work from home at least a few days a week (Kelly, 2020). Because of this, we must develop techniques that help us be productive and protect our overall well-being.
Mindfulness is a great antidote to heightened stress, distraction, and the inability to unplug (Giurge & Bohns, 2020). The following describes how mindfulness can support some of the challenges of working from home.
Disconnecting from work. Work rumination keeps us from detaching or unplugging from work (Querstret & Cropley, 2012). Work-related rumination is the inability to stop thinking about work-related issues and events when not working (Querstret & Cropley, 2012). Our mindfulness practice helps us notice when our attention is focused elsewhere and allows us to refocus our attention on the present. When we focus on the present, we are not locked inside our heads, replaying concerns and worries.
Distraction. Because our home environment introduces many distractions, it can be a suboptimum environment for work. Our mindfulness practice helps us gain the skills to manage our wandering attention and to be able to refocus our attention when we are distracted quickly.
Zoom Fatigue. Today, people experience a new emotional and physical drain called Zoom fatigue (Fosslien & Duffy, 2020). Managing the fatigue from screen time requires us to develop practices that relieve the symptoms that come with ample screen time. Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our physical body and emotional responses.
Here are simple things you can do to manage the unique challenges working or studying from home provokes:
Every hour, scan your body to find tension in your neck and shoulders. Once you identify that tension, take a few slow and even breaths as you visualize your breath, releasing tension in that area.
When you notice your mind is wandering, say to yourself, “Not now,” and then take a few breaths to bring your attention back to the present. You may have to repeat this several times.
Take one to two minutes between meetings or tasks to practice breathing.
Your options for practices that can help you be more productive and less stressed are not limited to the ones listed here. That’s because mindfulness practice is a well-documented remedy to stress. Check out our app, Levelhead for Real Life for even more ideas.
References
Barrero, J. M., Bloom, N., & Davis, S. J. (2020). 60 million fewer commuting hours per day: How Americans use time saved by working from home. University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper, (2020-132).
Fosslien, L., & Duffy, M. W. (2020, April 29). How to combat Zoom fatigue. Harvard Business Review. Available at https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-to-combat-zoom-fatigue
Giurge, L. M., & Bohns, V. K. (2020, April 3). 3 tips to avoid WFH burnout. Harvard Business Review.
Available at https://hbr.org/2020/04/3-tips-to-avoid-wfh-burnout
Kelly, J. (2020, May 24). Here are the companies leading the work-from-home revolution. Forbes. Available at https:// www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/05/24/the-workfrom- home-revolution-is-quickly-gaining-momentum/#760106331848
Querstret, D., & Cropley, M. (2012). Exploring the relationship between work-related rumination, sleep quality, and work-related fatigue. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,17(3), 341e353.