Working from home can present a number of challenges, particularly to professionals who haven’t had experience of this before.
According to Yvonne Smyth, Director of Hays Human Resources, working from home can be an isolating and lonely experience. Looking after your wellbeing is key to staying mentally and physically healthy whilst still being a productive and effective worker. Drawing on both her HR and recruitment expertise, Yvonne sets out seven ways employees can look after their wellbeing while working remotely.
1. Maintain your routine
“We’re creatures of habit, so maintaining a day-to-day routine is important”, says Yvonne. “If working at home is new to you, try to stick to your normal routine as much as possible. Get up, get dressed and sit down at your desk in good time so you can go through emails and set your tasks up for the day.”
Yvonne reminds professionals that “when the working day is done, log off and move your attention to something unrelated to work to avoid feeling burnt out.”
2. Create a dedicated workspace
“If you don’t have a separate room to work in, try your best to still create a dedicated space to work in from home”, advises Yvonne. “Keep it clutter-free and away from any distractions. If you discipline yourself to only work in this space, you’ll find it easier to keep your focus and still enjoy your time in other parts of your home.”
3. Be a home worker, not a lone worker
According to Yvonne, communication is key when working from home. “Work out what you need to put in place to enable you to communicate with colleagues, keep it frequent, and try not to use too many different platforms. You’ll mainly be communicating about work, but don’t miss out personal conversations too which do happen more naturally in the office.”
4. Talk face-to-face where possible
“Wherever possible, communicate with your colleagues via video”, Yvonne recommends. “Face-to-face conversations are more engaging than conference calls and will help you feel more connected to your colleagues. Just remember to dress appropriately and keep your background neutral and not distracting to those seeing your screen.”
5. It’s okay to take a break
“The nature of an office environment can mean you’re more likely to take a break to chat to a colleague or go out and buy lunch. Therefore working at home means you need to be more proactive about taking a few moments off work to give yourself a break”, says Yvonne.
“Go for a walk outside, make a nice meal or take some time out to chat to a friend on the phone. Short breaks will help you refocus on your work which ultimately supports your productivity and mental health.”
6. Maintain your physical health
“You’ve probably heard it before, but eat well, sleep well and exercise well”, says Yvonne. “These are the cornerstones of good physical health and shouldn’t be ignored just because you’re working from home. If you find yourself with more time in the day as a result of not commuting, it’s a good opportunity to do something for your physical health which has a knock-on effect on your productivity and wellbeing.”
7. Take a moment to reflect
“It’s very rewarding to end your day by reflecting on what you’ve achieved. Recalling these success and highlights on a daily basis will help you maintain a positive outlook on your work.”
Yvonne ends by reassuring professionals: “It can be difficult to adjust to working from home. However, if you can take some proactive steps to look after your wellbeing, you can keep your morale high and continue being productive at work.”
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About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2019 the Group employed 11,600 staff operating from 266 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2019:
–the Group reported net fees of £1,129.7 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £248.8 million;
–the Group placed around 81,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 254,000 people into temporary assignments;
–18% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 32% in Rest of World (RoW);
–the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
–Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA