Yes, yes, I know. I’m a bit late to the party. Over the last few months every tech blogger and their internet-savvy gran has written a post on working from home. The Covid-19 situation has resulted in an unprecedented number of people working from home for the first time (and writing about it!). Software professionals, who after all, just need a computer and a working internet connection to do their job, were often the first to leave the office and may well be the last to return. In fact I hear some companies are questioning whether to bother bringing their software teams back into the office at all. Does this mean that home working will become the ‘new normal’ for software professionals? It’s hard to predict at this point, but my suspicion is that at the very least, we’ll see more flexibility with companies offering ‘work from home’ days to their otherwise office based staff and a few more ‘100% remote’ roles appearing. Either way, remote working isn’t going to go away and now, having experienced it for a number of months, it seems like a good time to take stock and consider how working from home impacts our mental health and what we can do to deal with it.
What’s good?
In many ways, working from home can be great for mental health. For many, myself included, the commute can be the most stressful part of the day – dealing with heavy traffic, blaring horns, unexpected roadworks and the struggle to find a parking spot close to the office can really take their toll on our stress levels so wiping this out entirely already puts us ahead. Additionally, once we remove the commute we also gain back the time it takes to spend however we like and an extra 30 minutes in bed can certainly make me feel a lot more well rested and ready to deal with the day.
Furthermore, studies in workplace well-being often encourage employees to customise their workspace, bringing in plants or photos to make their desk feel more individual and create a feeling of ownership. Working from home takes this to its extreme, you can literally change anything you like to improve your physical or mental comfort levels while working. While many companies are supportive of employees bringing in a photo or two for their desks, few would look kindly on employees repainting or changing the carpet, yet nothing’s off the table for home-based working!
Additionally there’s a lot to be said for just being at home – all your favourite things are probably there, you know (and like) the surrounding area. It may well be quieter than the neighbourhood your office is in, making a mid-day walk far more relaxing, or perhaps you have exercise equipment you can use in your lunch break. If there are any co-workers you dread dealing with, it can be much easier to handle them over email (and much easier to avoid an unexpected video call request than having them show up unannounced at your desk!
What’s bad?
A lot of what I’ve said so far is on the assumption that you feel comfortable and safe at home. That isn’t the case for everyone. Perhaps you have difficult neighbours, or even problems with members of your own household. You may even be experiencing domestic abuse but as this really isn’t my area of expertise I’ll just slip in a link to the government’s advice on this matter and move on. Either way, domestic problems will naturally be worsened when you’re at home all day every day, without the opportunity to get out of the house. Even if outwardly nothing has changed, not having a break from the situation can make a bad or uncomfortable situation feel a lot worse
Working from home can be a mixed blessing if you have children. While you’re probably happy to be spending more time with them, it can be difficult to explain in terms that a child will understand that even though mummy or daddy are in the house, they can’t play right now. Let’s not pretend it’s just the children either though – partners or other adult house mates can be just as difficult and distracting if they’re not working and you are, even if they’re not actively bothering you, hearing them go potter around the house, listening to music, watching TV or playing games can be very distracting and quite frustrating if you’re trying to work.
At the other end of the scale, especially if you live alone, feelings of isolation can be a problem. Whether, you feel cut off from people in general, or just cut off from your team mates it can be easy to miss the social interaction that comes from being in an office and if that’s the only social interaction you were getting on a regular basis it can be easy for your mental health to suffer.
The final point I’d like to cover is the risk of merging of home and work life. It can be very easy to just keep working beyond your regular hours. Whether it’s just ‘forgetting to stop’ and continuing to work beyond your regular finish time, or you can’t resist going back and checking on your work emails in the evening, or on weekends. It can be particularly difficult for people who are concerned that they aren’t as productive working from home (or are worried that they will be perceived as less productive) who then feel obliged to work longer hours to make up for their imagined loss of productivity. This can and will lead to burnout if it isn’t recognised and managed. Everyone needs downtime and if it’s not clear when it’s ok to stop working this can lead to stress and overwork.
What can be done?
As usual, my first piece of advice, if you’re feeling stressed, anxious, run down or in any way struggling to cope, is to talk to someone. Whether it’s a friend, family member, team member, manager, doctor or psychologist – whoever you’re most comfortable opening up to. If you’re worried about your productivity working from home, why not ask your manager if they’re worried about your productivity too? They probably aren’t, but if they are see if they have any ideas how to improve it, ultimately if there is any loss of productivity it’s a joint problem for you and your manager and may well require a joint solution.
Keeping to a routine is very important. Resist the urge for ‘just a few more minutes’ in bed and try to start around the same time every day. If you start at the same time every day you should be able to finish around the same time too. This doesn’t have to be massively rigid and I realise there will be inconveniently scheduled meetings, unexpected emergencies and other things that can impact individual days, but generally you should be able to start and end at around the same time every day – just the same as if you were working from the office.
When you stop, stop. Don’t check on emails, ignore any work-related notifications coming on your phone (if you have a work phone, switch it off). Everything will be there waiting for you tomorrow You wouldn’t drive back into the office in the evening to check on things so don’t do the same just because you’re working from home. Conversely, when it’s work time, try to keep it as work time. Ask housemates and children old enough to understand to keep out of your way as much as possible. I’ve heard it suggested that parents could use a traffic light system on the study door to indicate whether their children can come in for any reason (green) if they need help with anything (yellow) or only in emergencies (red) although obviously that will only work for certain age groups. Try not to get distracted with jobs around the house either, while doing odd tasks around the house as part of a short break is fine, don’t let them snowball. Taking a few dirty mugs back to the kitchen is ok, doing the washing-up while you’re there might not be, and going on to wash the kitchen floor next is almost certainly a step too far!
For that matter, make sure you are taking regular breaks. Set an alarm or timer if you have to. Screen users are generally advised to take a 5-10 minute break every hour. Remember that while working in the office, meetings would usually have counted as a break from the screen but now we’re running meetings over video chat they don’t! So get out of your chair, make a cup of tea, walk around the house, water the plants, feed the cat. Whatever you like, so long as it doesn’t involve sitting down and staring at a computer screen. Don’t forget to take a lunch break either! At least 30 minutes every day, no exceptions!
Use video chat. Remember that video chat isn’t just for meetings, it can also work for one-to-one discussions. I’ve found video chat great for pair programming, as both participants have access to their own computer it makes the activity more flexible as the non-coding participant can be doing research, testing or performing experiments as well as making suggestions about the code being written. Even just getting someone face-to-face to discuss a problem or get a second opinion on a design can be helpful though, moving the project onwards as well as helping you feel more connected with other members of your team. Although some people advise not to, when on video calls, I often try to keep my microphone unmuted as much as possible so long as my room isn’t too noisy. That makes the experience much more natural for the other participants who can hear that someone else is listening to them (and the benefit of getting in quickly when I have something to say can’t be denied either!)
If you need to get out of the house, get out of the house – whether it’s for a walk around the block or for a longer period of time. Lunch time can be a great opportunity to go for a walk and the exercise and break from working are also great for your physical and mental health. An alternative idea if you’re struggling to switch off after work is to make a walk your virtual commute – at the end of each day go for a walk around the block, and when you get back you’re home and finished for the day.
Finally, don’t forget to take time off! I’m hearing a lot of people are avoiding booking leave at the moment on the basis that their preferred holiday options aren’t available right now, but everyone needs downtime and do you really want to end up using your entire holiday allowance in December? (or losing it depending on your company’s rules on booking time off). A long weekend, or even a week off can be a great way to relax even if you can’t go on that trip to Majorca you were dreaming of yet. Why not have a virtual beach trip? Mix up a cocktail, stick your feet in a bucket of sand and ask Alexa for ‘ocean noises’. Seriously, it’s more fun than it sounds! Or if that’s not your thing I’m sure that with a little creativity and perhaps a bit of planning you can find something fun to do on your day off no matter what your current level of lock-down.
