It’s summer! All you can think of is vacation, waves, beach, and cold drinks. Instead, you are stuck at home and still need to work. I can’t honestly find an encouraging bright side to that, but maybe it would make you feel better if you knew that you are not alone! No less than 25 percent of US workers feel less productive during the summer months and 68 percent admit that they are daydreaming during office hours. And that’s what summer slump is all about.
Having a well-balanced remote work schedule can be quite challenging. At home, you are not just fulfilling the role of a worker, you are also a family member, a housekeeper, and others, depending on individual circumstances. All of these roles come with a series of attributions that you are expected to fulfill. That is the reason why many remote workers have a hard time managing their time and sticking to a schedule.
Time management is one of the skills that everyone is constantly trying to improve. Most people have a difficult time getting ahold of it, but even those who seem to have it all under control could still do better.
In the past year, more people have started working from home than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic closed down businesses and many of those still standing strong are now working remotely. While most people are happy to work from the comfort of their own home, it also makes it difficult to separate work from personal life. In US, no less than 7 in 10 remote employees are struggling to achieve a healthy remote work life balance during this pandemic.
If you have a hard time keeping your employees engaged and motivated, you’re not alone. Morale and motivation are hard to get these days. More than 100,000 workers quit their jobs every day, resulting in billions in lost productivity and hiring costs.
For almost a year we are going through what psychologists call collective trauma, which makes us live in fear and uncertainty. Hundreds of thousands of people lost someone they loved, millions got sick, and even more lost their job. The majority of those who are lucky enough to still be here and have a job are most probably working from home, doing the same thing every day, locked between four walls, with the same people. All of these are taking a significant toll on their psychical stability and are generating many mental health issues.
We’ve all heard the phrase positive vibes only. To be honest, it drives me nuts. It’s something meant to reinforce the idea that you should focus on all the good things that are happening instead of dwelling on the bad. Which is good in theory, if you don’t amplify it out of control. However, from a certain point on, it will turn into an ugly monster, also known as toxic positivity.
You’re sitting at your desk. The phone rings and breaks your concentration. When you pick it up, you notice it’s nearly lunchtime, and you’ve been working for a few hours, without distractions. While getting up from the chair, your legs feel completely numb. You take stock of the project on your screen and realize you’re almost done. At a quick glance, you also realize that it’s done well 😀 Congratulations, you’ve just experienced the flow state!
If you ask 10 different people to define the year that’s coming to an end tomorrow, you’ll get 10 different answers. Same if you ask 1000. Because 2020 was tough, bumpy, and full of unpredictability in all possible areas. And we can all agree that it has forever changed the way we work and interact, both in doing business and in our private lives.
The Coronavirus pandemic has in a very short period of time profoundly impacted our lives, changing the very way we live, work, and socialize. These days, many employees are trying to adjust to working from home – sometimes without a proper workspace available – and being productive in the midst of it all can be a real challenge. However, of all the challenges that come with this transition, setting up an accommodating home office is one of the easiest to fix.
