Have we got the way we work all wrong? With rising stress levels, deep dissatisfaction, and quiet quitting, how do we start enjoying our work again? As we dedicate on average nearly 90,000 hours of our lives to it, psychologist Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald, author of Reworked, argues it is crucial we get this right. She talks to us about how we start to be healthier, happier, safe and engaged in our work – wherever that may be. Here, we look at four key things we can rework to improve remote work wellbeing.
If you want to read the full interview along with these tips, take a look at Volume 5, The Homeworker print edition.
To improve remote work wellbeing, we need to rework…
OUR HEALTH
The best way to rework our health is to allow our behaviours to fluctuate with our mood and mindset.
For example, if you think you need to meditate for 60 minutes a day because you know this is good for you, but you are a busy parent with a chaotic morning and stressful commute, you may find trying to fit this is more stressful and damaging. You need to find some flexibility and adapt your behaviours.
Look at regulating your inputs. If I’m in back-to-back meetings with a busy day at work, it is not the day for me to scroll social media, read the news, or watch much TV. It is too much input. On overwhelming days, it doesn’t serve me to add lots more information for my brain to process.
What serves me well is walking the dogs, reading for pleasure, having conversations with people, and clearing my headspace through journaling. I need to have the information come out of me, not absorb more. On days when I have lots of headspace, I am researching for a new book or article. Then, all I want to do is absorb information.
Allow your behaviours to fluctuate with what is happening in your life and how you feel. There might be things you think you should be doing but we need to let go of rigidity, not fixate on an idea that ‘this is good for me’ and nothing else will do. This will help you achieve more balance.
OUR MINDSET
One of the mindset myths about work is: “I’m not good at…”
This is what we need to rework.
We need to let go of the idea that I’m just not good at something because it flies in the face of everything we know about neuroplasticity, and our brain’s ability to learn and grow and develop. We can do hard things, we can do amazing things, and we can change.
Reworking our mindset is about not limiting or restricting ourselves to what we think we’re good at because somebody told us years ago at school.
The reworking comes with being curious and playful – asking what can you do and how you can learn to do it, while recognising it will be hard at first.
Let go of the notion you’re not good, and believe that you can learn and move forwards.
OUR SPACE
Stage setting is key to reworking your space. It is even more important if you don’t have you own dedicated workspace.
Our brains need cues to re-engage us and signal that we are about to start work – or finish work.
I can set up and work anywhere if I have my laptop, my notepad and pen, tissues, and a drink. At the end of my working day, I can put all those away, close the laptop and those simple rituals signal that work is over.
Think about what you need around you that tunes your brain into the idea of doing work, that means you are setup for the day, and you won’t be disrupted or distracted.
OUR MEETINGS
The problem with hybrid and remote working is that some people feel they are missing out on the informal chats. What needs reworking is very deliberate communication that is not a meeting.
It’s planning those conversations and having explicit conversations around wellbeing so people aren’t just performing for an hour on screen but leaving feeling wretched.
We need to be asking: How are you really? Is there anything you need help with right now?
We also need to build in time for these conversations. People feel the need to connect but don’t feel able to do it without a meeting.
We need to schedule the meeting time slot but use it informally. It is absolutely necessary to have time with your team that is not work related – where you can talk, where you can throw ideas around, be creative together, and where you can network. That is not wasted time.
If we bumped into a colleague and caught up for fifteen minutes while making a cup of tea, that would be fine, but we struggle to add that time in remotely. If we scheduled time for a virtual cuppa, we might feel we were slacking. We need to rework that idea and realise how valuable that time is and that we’re not built to be productive machines.
Reworked is available on Amazon. Nicholas Brealey Publishing
RRP £16.99
About the author
Louise is an award-winning journalist and speaker who focuses on working from home, remote work and wellbeing. She is the founder of The Homeworker, which is dedicated to helping you thrive when you work from home. The Homeworker publishes articles that are designed to keep you healthy, happy, fulfilled, and more productive in work and life.
