Mental Health While Working Remote

During these unprecedented times, your priorities around self-care, exercise, work and family have likely shifted. Whether you need to refocus on your self-care or receive support while caring for others, we have assembled resource to help you navigate life's challenges:

Set Boundaries

Setting boundaries is the key to balancing remote work and life, and you'll need a good work-life integration even more now with the ever-changing work environment. Divide your day into rough chunks with each dedicated to life and work, respectively, to ensure you put a boundary between anything that's related to your duties for your job and the other part of your life, including family, friends and hobbies. One of the biggest problems employees working remotely may be having is finding it difficult to distance themselves from work once they’re done because they've literally spent their entire day working from their own home.

Take Breaks

Get up to stretch and walk around for 10 minutes every hour, or sit and relax if your work requires more physical effort. Take time to eat lunch away from your work area – and your email. Taking frequent breaks allows you to refresh and can increase your productivity. You really want to do 100% work and 100% rest. Even if you feel like you’re too busy, working non-stop will lead you to get distracted and can cause burnout.

Keep Up Your Good Practices (and maybe add new ones)

While some joke about binge-eating or drinking to manage the stress, it’s more important than ever to keep up your healthy habits. Stay hydrated, get some exercise and fresh air if you can, eat healthfully, and avoid too much alcohol or sugar. If your commute time has shifted, this may be a great opportunity to add some new practices as well. Taking care of yourself in these ways is also going to have a positive impact on your mental health.

Check In Often

Working while social distancing can be isolating. Virtual connections will never replace the importance of face-to-face interaction, but it can help make you feel like you’re more than just out there in the void.

Additional Resources