MUMBAI: Let’s rewind back to the time when we used to travel using the public transport or our own vehicle to our respective workplaces. If you are travelling by local trains, then chances are that the travelling time from home to office and back is almost two hours. Those two hours (or rather four hours if we take into account the two hours of the evening travel time) we would gossip with our train friends, read a book, listen to music or just catch up on the much needed sleep. 

How Employers Perceive Work from Home 

Now come to the present scenario where we are in a lockdown for six months now. Is it wrong to still have those two hours to ourselves where we are helping our family members with the household chores plus having our own leisurely time? Unfortunately the employers fail to understand this. We are working from home but we can still have those two hours to ourselves, both in the morning and in the evening. We, the employees, have to draw a line somewhere. We will work only during office hours and not before or beyond that. Employers have misunderstood the whole point of working from home. WFH doesn’t mean working 24×7 with little or no time for our family and ourselves.

Impact of COVID 19 on mental and Physical Health

WFH might be the new normal with coronavirus refusing to die down. Many working professionals across the county have been asked to work from home till December 2020. Sitting at home doesn’t give that office environment feeling which causes many people to feel lethargic with lack of motivation & confidence. The last five months have affected not only our physical health but also mental health. Employees too sometimes feel guilty of not being available on time for work from home. They are in the constant pressure to deliver whatever is required by the client on time. There are moments when weekends too are spent working to finish off the work before the deadline. Make sure you stop your boss at the right time by politely informing him that you won’t take any work calls / messages on a holidays  

Work On Your Mental and Physical Well Being While at Home 

To get away from these hectic schedules and break free from the deadlines, there are some simple things that one can do to feel relaxed emotionally and mentally. Here are some tips that one can adopt while working from home. 

Stretching Exercise

If you are getting up early in the morning, try to do some basic stretching exercise. Many of these videos are available on YouTube so that one can watch and learn the exercises from it. Even a 15 minute exercise is enough to make you feel refreshed after which you can do household work if any. Exercise again in the evening after work if you feel like it.  

Take Lunch Breaks

Work from Home does not mean you will work while having lunch. Keep that laptop & mobile aside and have half an hour to one hour lunch break. Avoid watching TV at this time because you are already straining your eyes by looking deep into the laptop. Speak to your parents if they are at home, read a book or simply just stare outside the window. Yes, avoid listening to music because then you will look into the mobile which will again cause distress to your eyes. 

Freshen Up

In the evening after work wash your face with your favourite face wash. Basically have a little skin care routine. Again avoid mobile and music for some time. You can start staring at your mobile and listen to music after an hour has elapsed since work got over. While sleeping you can apply Gulab Jal via a cotton to your eyes to have a cooling effect on your eyes. This sometimes helps in having a good sleep. 

Doing these basic things probably won’t reduce your work but will definitely help you to organize better and declutter your mind. At least give it a try and make sure to note down any changes that you may feel. Have a happy WFH!