Maintaining Employee Wellness When Working Remotely

“In the last year, employees worldwide have had to adapt to the reality of working remotely and home working due to the coronavirus pandemic. This has helped to save lives and reduce the infection rate but it has also completely changed the way we live and had an effect on mental wellbeing. Many people have been left feeling isolated and struggling with wellness while working remotely, especially if they don’t have the space to work properly. But there is more that both businesses and employees can be doing to improve wellness while working remotely. Take a look at our guide for some top tips on how to maintain wellness while working from home.

Keep to a Schedule
One thing that employees can do themselves at home is to maintain a clear working schedule where your home life doesn’t interrupt. It can be really easy to get distracted at home and take care of some chores or take a longer break, but this can disrupt your working schedule. Flexible working has been great for loads of people, and if you want to change your hours because you work better in the evening or early mornings this should be fine to discuss with your boss. However, make sure that you are still keeping track of the hours you are doing as it can become difficult to track. Working longer hours can also lead to burnout and fatigue too so make sure you have a clear schedule.

Take Regular Breaks
Something else that can be tempting while working from home is to work through your hours in one solid session without taking proper breaks. This might seem like a good idea as you will finish early and have more personal time at home. But it is still really important to take a lunch break and coffee breaks from work as this can lead to burnout, stress and mistakes in your work. It can actually leave you feeling more tired than taking regular breaks despite the fact that you are finishing earlier. If you struggle to step away from the computer and remove yourself from your work then it could be a good idea to give your colleagues a video call or schedule coffee breaks with your team. You can even use your lunch break to boost your creativity.

Schedule Regular 1-1s
This is something that management can do for all employees and is something that can really help to improve wellness. It is important that your employees have someone to talk to and discuss any problems they might be having. Working from home can feel really isolating and if they feel that they can’t reach out, this can really have a negative impact on wellness in the organisation. It can be a good idea to make sure you set up regular team calls as well as individual 1-1s with all your staff to create plenty of opportunities and platforms for people to raise concerns.

Track Achievable Goals
Another reason that people can end up feeling isolated and lacking motivation is if they don’t have any trackable goals. Unlike when you are in the office and scheduling regular performance meetings, it can be difficult to remain motivated. Setting achievable goals for your employees to work on remotely can give them something to work towards and keep motivated. You could even take this a step further and select an employee of the month to recognise someone who has achieved the most goals. It can also be great to have a team meeting to shout about the hard work that everyone has done in the last month.

These are just some of the top tips about how you can help to encourage wellness and mental health for your employees while they continue working from home. Flexible and remote working are likely to remain a fixture in our lives for the foreseeable future as companies look to save money on rent. Make sure that your staff also have the right office furniture when working from home.

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