I Am So Tired, Even My Tiredness Is Tired: How To Relieve Your “Work From Home” Fatigue

In the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic, the realities of indefinite remote work were not yet clear to many workers. At first, the set-up may have sounded ideal: no commute, loose clothing all day and a break from heading into the office. Remote working can be great. There is no long commute to worry about. You have a lot more flexibility in how you structure your time, and you get to spend more time at home. However, working from home can also have some unpleasant side effects that can increase the risk of burnout and the onset of fatigue.

It is hard to mix work with your personal life, as when you work from home, your attention is split. Your dog may be barking, your partner might be working next to you, or your children are running around. Your concentration demands more emotional energy. By the end of the day, you are drained. Instead of face-to-face interaction, remote workers rely on their computers and phones to stay connected. There is technology fatigue too, as nowadays you are using it in every aspect of your life, socially and for your job.

Changes that ordinarily would have taken months to implement happened within weeks. Most people didn’t have time to prepare for this massive change to their work and home life. Suddenly, you had to organise and motivate yourself. You had to find somewhere quiet to work, which involved negotiating with your family or others who shared your living space. Remote working can be more stressful for leaders and managers, who have to adapt quickly to leading and managing a remote-working team. It is hard to adapt to novel ways of working, think strategically and motivate people with virtual communication (Zoom) as the only form of contact.

Burnout And Remote Working

People who are struggling to cope with “work from home” fatigue place themselves at a higher risk of burnout. Burnout can leave people feeling exhausted, empty, and unable to cope with the demands of life. Burnout may be accompanied by a variety of mental and physical health symptoms. If left unaddressed, burnout can make it difficult for an individual to function well in their daily life.

Burnout is the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially if your devotion to a cause (work) fails to produce the desired result. It is usually associated with tiredness and fatigue from your job. If you feel exhausted, start to hate your job, and begin to feel less capable at work, you are showing signs of burnout. Most people spend the majority of their waking hours working. And if you hate your job, dread going to work, and don’t gain any satisfaction out of what you’re doing, it can take a serious toll on your life.

Most “work from home” employees work harder than they would in the office. Research has found higher levels of job satisfaction, commitment to work and productivity in those working from home. A remote worker sees home working as a benefit, and repays this benefit by working harder. However, some employers mirror this mindset by viewing flexible working as a reason to justify working demands. This can involve setting unrealistic deadlines or expecting staff to work past “closing time”.

Unfortunately, the improved productivity of home working comes at a cost. Loneliness and social isolation are the biggest problems for people who work remotely. Social isolation and loneliness significantly increase the risk of premature death by 50%. The magnitude of this effect is comparable with smoking and it exceeds risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity. The best approach to incorporate the benefits of both improved productivity and social interaction is a hybrid model. This would involve people working from home part of the time with a day or two in the office.

Burnout is nothing to hide or be ashamed about. It is a topic to be aware of and talk openly about so you know the signs and can prevent them. You are not alone. Burnout and severe fatigue are more serious than job stress. There is no simple cure or fix. Once burnout takes hold, as a result of extended fatigue, it affects your state in all walks of life. The solution is prevention: good self-care and work-life balance to stop burnout and fatigue in their tracks before they hit home.

Consider Your Personality

Depending on your personality, working from home can be fantastic or a living hell. Some people are extroverted; open to novel ideas and ways of working, and are agreeable in dealings with others. Others are introverted; they don’t like change and are disagreeable when asked to do something they don’t want to do. These factors have an influence on your behaviour and can contribute to the development of burnout and fatigue when working remotely.

To adapt, you can learn to change your behaviour. Disagreeable people learn how to compromise, or at least to be more diplomatic in their conversations. More agreeable colleagues learn to be more assertive, even if being assertive makes them feel uncomfortable. An extrovert loves giving a presentation because it gives them energy. They get a buzz from it and feel excited afterwards. An introvert can give a good presentation, but will feel anxious during the event and drained afterwards.

During life, you may build up strategies to manage those situations that you find difficult. You may have developed your own psychological “scaffolding” to support the weak aspects of your personality. A good example is in the military. This is why some veterans struggle with civilian life when the military “scaffolding” is absent. In a time of crisis, your psychological “scaffolding” may be wholly or partly dismantled. An extroverted person is likely to feel deprived of the social energy that keeps their spirits up. As their work-based social life has become 20 seconds of, “how are you?”, at the start of each Zoom call. Similarly, an introverted person may be deprived of the “me time” they need to recharge emotionally. Especially when they have to attend back-to-back Zoom calls, with no commute to work for them to be alone with their thoughts.

Remote Work Exhaustion: 10 Tips To Reduce Fatigue

1. Make some of your meetings “audio-only”

Turning off your camera will reduce the constant gazing into your webcam and possibly improve your audio quality. A bonus of “audio-only” is that you can move around the room (if you have a wireless headset) without distracting other attendees.

2. Turn off gallery view

Turns out a virtual room full of people staring at you can be daunting, so lose the gallery view. This layout can also be incredibly distracting. It will increase your concern at people judging you or reacting to every word you say live on camera.

3. Avoid constantly checking yourself on camera

Your focus inevitably shifts when you fidget to figure out what is your best side. Instead, hide your own self-view. This reduces the number of attendees visible and will prevent you from over-judging yourself on how you look or what you are wearing. You wouldn’t be able to check how you look every few seconds in a meeting at the office.

4. Schedule meetings only when they are necessary

If a meeting can be replaced with an email, an email can often be replaced with a Slack message or text. This is especially true for quick status updates or questions. When you do need to schedule a meeting, be bold enough to reduce the total meeting time. Shorten one-hour meetings to 45 minutes. Keep attendee discussions concise and crisp. Reducing meetings to less than an hour allows attendees to have quick breaks between meetings. Attendees will appreciate more time in their daily schedule.

5. Get up and get out

Another drawback of non-stop video meetings is that you are constantly sitting in front of your computer. Without co-workers stopping by to interrupt, it is easy to get lost in Slack messages, emails, and social media posts. Get up and move. If the weather is nice, take a walk during your lunch break or eat lunch outside.

6. Schedule frequent breaks

Scheduling breaks in your calendar will make you more likely to take them. Studies suggest you should take five-minute screen breaks every hour, so try to get up from your screen and stretch every hour. It is important for your eyes, posture, and wellbeing. Do not use the break as a reason to check your mobile phone. Think of this time away from your screen as a small mental health maintenance exercise. At lunchtime, take a break and enjoy your food. Your work will still be there when you return.

7. Consider taking calls outside

If you are not an active participant on a call, consider going on mute, connecting with your phone, and taking a walk. “Work from home” is evolving to “work from anywhere.” Also try taking a call in your back garden or at a public park.

8. Take time off to disconnect

While remote working has eliminated countless wasted hours of commuting, many are seeing longer workdays. This may be an attempt for managers and companies to have control over something, but working non-stop will ultimately lead to burnout. Take time to disconnect from work, stay active, reconnect with others, and rest.

9. Stay healthy

Continue to follow the government advice. Wear a mask, and socially distance, until the lockdown restrictions have been formally eased. Eat a healthy and balanced diet to keep your body and immune system strong, and stay active.

10. Maintain social connections

While you physically distance yourself from others, remember to connect in other ways. Set up a Zoom game night to catch up with friends, send a care package to loved ones, or drop off a home-cooked dinner for an elderly neighbour. As restrictions are eased, follow the law and remain legal, meet up with people where and when you are allowed to. Remote work will not disappear after the pandemic subsides, it is here to stay.

Burnout and Fatigue Prevention For Remote Workers

• Develop boundaries

As a remote worker, you are never really away from your work physically. You need to develop actual barriers between your work and personal life. One boundary is to have a dedicated workspace that you can join and leave. Or, put your laptop in a drawer when you are finished for the working day. Start and end your workday with some kind of ritual that signals to your brain that it is time to change from work to personal mode.

• Turn off email and work notifications after work hours

Turning off email notifications when you are not at work is important. You should not be available all the time. Let your colleagues and manager know when they can expect you. Tell people your schedule and when you are “off the clock”, so they are not left wondering and will reach out to you during your working hours.

• Encourage more personal activities by scheduling them

Most people struggle with the “work” part of a work-life balance. Schedule personal activities and have several hobbies that you can enjoy. This will give you something specific to do with your personal time. If you do not have anything planned, you may find it easier to slip back into work mode unnecessarily.

• Focus on work during your shift/working day

Rather than letting life creep into your work hours, put your head down and work hard. If you are productive and efficient throughout the day, at the end of the day it will be easier to walk away feeling accomplished. You will not be tempted to work into the night to finish what you should have completed during the day.

• Take a mental health screening

If you feel stressed, tired, lonely, or you have other mental health concerns, take a free, confidential and anonymous mental health screen. Online screening is one of the quickest ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition.

Written by Lewis Bridges

WellBe is spearheading the way to a brighter future for corporate wellness. Our innovative portal is scientifically designed and tailored to each individual employee to improve their wellbeing. We specialise in a range of services from coaching and therapists, to meditation and reading materials. Our aim is to reduce workplace stress that costs UK businesses £42 billion per year. Get in touch with us by visiting our site wellbe.global for more information.