Has your return to the office been what you imagined? Now we’ve had plenty of time to settle back into the office routine, some of us may be reflecting on the changes and what we expected the transition to be like.
The pandemic accelerated the existing trends of remote working. Unfortunately, not all employees can afford a remote working life post lockdown and some businesses may still be hesitant to continue the practice. Business and labour sectors have to reimagine and redo their office setup in order to create a comfortable environment for all styles of work. Above all, companies have now become more aware of some of the other needs of their employees and many are actively participating in their physical and mental wellbeing.
There’s also still a lot we can do as individuals in order to achieve a healthy work-life balance, even if you miss the time saved by removing your commute. To establish a healthy work and office life post lockdown, let’s understand the challenges employees may face and ways to cope.
Grief and bereavement
Many of us have lost friends and family members recently. This could have far-reaching impacts on our lives and our abilities to perform well in daily life. Moreover, the pressure to feel “okay and positive” when we have faced significant losses can be daunting.
The expectation to constantly be improving or at least be the same person you were a year ago can be intimidating or even stressful. We may feel like we cannot grieve, that we need to be thankful we have more freedom now, or the thought that others have it worse can prevent us from feeling things our own way. It may further lead to repressed anger, depression and force an individual to engage in wrong coping mechanisms.
How to cope:
Riding the wave of grief is a complex process and is unique for everyone. Allow yourself to go through the stages of grief – find a trusted person to discuss your thoughts and feelings around the loss.
How to help them cope:
Employers can organise training sessions and webinars with accredited therapists to create a company culture where colleagues can offer effective help and compassion to each other.
Change in work routines
Change naturally causes anxiety. Going back to old routines and create new ones again can be overwhelming.
Our work set-up could have changed in many ways, therefore anxiety and burnout are possible in such situations.
How to cope:
Be gentle and give yourself time as you find your way back into all your routines. You may need to take your social life a little slower if your finding changes at work particularly thought consuming. You do not need to be perfect; allow as much flexibility as possible. All you have to do is to take the first step without looking at the whole staircase!
How to help them cope:
Employers should practice flexibility not just in working hours but also in the distribution of roles and responsibilities.
Toxic positivity and productivity
There is a fine line between healthy and toxic positivity/productivity, and the line is easily blurred. No matter how productive and optimistic we try to remain, there is always a feeling of guilt for not having done more than we did. Toxic positivity and productivity can be detrimental to your mental and emotional wellbeing.
How to cope:
Factor in positive self-talk. Practice and respect healthy boundaries for yourself and others without negotiation.
How to help them cope:
Managers and leaders need to be mindful of their team’s workload and set achievable goals. They should get trained on the new norms to help their team better without getting burned out themselves.
The bottom line
Anxiety is simply the fear of fear. It’s being afraid of an imagined future experience and thinking you can’t deal with it emotionally. The irony, of course, is that as you imagine the future scenario, you already feel what you think you can’t deal with.
Acknowledgement and acceptance are the keys to a healthy office life and work-life balance. Understand what is different, accept what you cannot change and work towards improving the things you can. Take it easy on yourself if you can’t keep up with everything you want to be doing.
One other key part of balancing your life is preparation. Wherever you can, set yourself up for success. Pack your lunch for work the night before, lay out some clothes, book slots in your diary for specific tasks and keep your to-do lists up to date.
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