Looking after your Mental Health when Working from Home Full-Time

Working from home isn’t that easy and certainly not the dream scenario that many people make it out to be. The last few months of the pandemic and lockdown has taught many people this, as they have been forced to work from home full-time due to offices being closed down completely. This new way of working is alien to many people, and although there is the dream of waking up and starting work whenever you want to, it can be hard to stay motivated. Looking after your mental health when working from home full-time is very important. If you are in the market for a new job, looking for recruitment agencies with remote working posts is a good start, but you have to make sure it is done so in a way that maintains good mental health and a work-life balance.

There are a few things that you should list when working from home, things you definitely need to do, and things you definitely shouldn’t do. It’s all about finding that motivation to work, having that balance in life, and still performing to the same standards you would if you were in the workplace.

Always make sure that you can work from a dedicated workspace. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have an office and a desk (as this isn’t always a practical option), but you do need to choose a spot that is comfortable enough for you to zone out of everything else and commit to work.

Take your breaks, go out for a walk, stretch your legs whenever you get the chance. The last thing you should do when working from home is to work on the sofa. It might be tempting to have the TV on in the background and to zone out for twenty minutes, but it’s really difficult to get back into the work zone once you do so!

Working from home does allow you some flexibility to your working schedule but always be sure that you do not become too flexible and relaxed. It is important to have some form of schedule in place. Even if it’s that you start work at 10am instead of 9am or take a longer lunch, make sure that you still work the same amount of hours that you would in the office, or set yourself a set amount of work for the day and finish whenever that is completed.

Set-up regular meetings with your colleagues, and chat to them as often as you can through chat apps or video software. That way it will seem like you are genuinely connected with work, even though you are sat at home on the laptop.

Look for those recruitment agencies that offer jobs within industries that you are interested in working in, but also be mindful that you’ll want to work for employers that genuinely look after your best interests, even if you’ll be working remotely and at home for the foreseeable future (or forever).  Finding that work-life balance is harder when you work from home all the time, and that is where it pays off to go through a recruiter with the experience to match you with the right employer for your needs, one that will look after your mental health and not place too much pressure on you to work outside of regular work hours, or to stick to the conformity of 9-5 if other hours suit you better at home. As long as the work is completed to a high standard, there are new ways to work for all of us.