Why it's important to take a break over Christmas
During the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, research collated by Coworking Specialists Instant Offices shows 60 per cent of UK employees worked from home. According to a Finder report, 26 per cent of workers say they plan to continue working remotely after lockdown. The danger is that the line between the ability to “switch off” between home and office can start to blur.
For many workers, this can be a challenge to keep a healthy work-life balance – so, with the holidays coming up, Instant Offices provides an insight into the importance of shutting down work during the festive season.
A Remote.co survey of full-time remote workers revealed that switching off is the biggest challenge for these employees. In fact, 40 per cent of remote employees said they struggle to unplug after work hours. Other major challenges included non-work distractions (32 per cent), loneliness (23 per cent) and resolving technical issues (21 per cent).
Working parents have reported a similar trend, and more than half of them say overworking has caused a strain in their relationships. The latest Modern Families Index reveals the following stats:
48 per cent say working from home has increased the hours they work 47 per cent say the boundaries between work and home have become blurred thanks to technology 44 per cent check their emails or do other work in the evenings 57 per cent say that staying in ‘work mode’ has caused arguments with their partner 54 per cent say that being unable to switch off has caused arguments with their childrenVirtual Presenteeism on the Rise
Presenteeism in the workplace is bad news for productivity and wellbeing, and the rise in people working from home has seen an increase in virtual presenteeism. 46 per cent of Brits said they are feeling more pressure to be available to their bosses and colleagues, and 35 per cent admitted to putting in a day’s work while feeling ill.
Remote workers who have been working while ill cited the following reasons:
40 per cent felt they ‘weren’t sick enough’ to take a day off 26 per cent say their workload is too large to take time off 16 per cent say they are afraid of being made redundant during these uncertain times
Set clear boundaries and communicate them
This includes booking leave well in advance and notifying the people you work closely with, who are most likely to be affected. It’s also best to set an automated out-of-office response on your email, which clearly states when you will be available again.
Don’t make assumptions
Achieving a great work-life balance for remote employees requires flawless communication. Instead of assuming that your boss and colleagues expect you to be available while on leave, talk to them beforehand about their expectations around your availability and response times.
Physically unplug
It helps to literally unplug and disengage from the technology that keeps us so busy. Switch off your laptop and disable email notifications on your phone. Online work from home setups should be packed away or moved out of your living area during this time to distinguish between ‘home’ and ‘holiday’.
Plan ahead
Working from home stress is often the same as if you were in the office. If you’re worried about returning to a mountain of emails after your holiday, put a plan in place that will help you prioritise your responses once you’re back at work.
Physically switching off when you work from home will make it much easier for you to relax and recharge while you’re on leave. You’ll be able to return to work feeling refreshed, which means you’re also likely to be more productive and hit the ground running in 2021.
https://www.instantoffices.com/en/gb
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