Protecting Mental Health While Working Remotely

Introduction

In March of 2020 the United States was struck with a pandemic that caused many states to impose strict quarantines. Because of the imminent threat, many companies transitioned their employees to a safer option: working from home.

While some find working from home to be welcomed break from the stresses of the office- many others are struggling.

There seems to be two common culprits for these increased leaves of stress: blurred lines between a work-life balance and an increase distraction of our technological devices.

Many are not only finding that they are working more hours than they were before the pandemic, they are feeling more stressed and becoming more distracted by their smartphones and social media accounts while working from home.

Whether it be because they are under less supervision or because they are finding themselves bored from being at home so often, people are on their phones more and engaging less with their work. Because of this, employees are finding it harder to perform deep cognitive work and being less productive during their workday.

Independent Research

In order to gauge people’s perceptions of how working at home has effected their stress levels and levels of distraction, I conducted a survey of 40 participants ranging across many fields, employment levels and businesses sizes.

The results found that more people reported working less hours during the pandemic, but stress levels for those working more hours during the pandemic are increasing.

In terms of distraction levels, when asked if participants felt more distracted when working from home, 63% of participants who answered reported feeling more distracted when working from home as opposed to working in the office. 30 of the 40 participants answered this question. A breakdown of the information can be found in the below and a more in-depth can be found in my full report.

Effective Work During A Pandemic

With this pandemic continuing- it seems more and more likely that many of us may not return to the office anytime soon.

Luckily, through extensive research I have found that we have an ability to become less stressed by providing structured routines and even provide more productive, meaningful work while at home.

For a deep analysis and tips to work from home successfully, my white paper can be downloaded below.