The COVID-19 pandemic pushed millions of people to work from home in the past year and a half. Besides the danger of catching the virus, we are also facing several other perils to our health. Beyond the usual domestic accidents, working from home usually means isolation and a sedentary lifestyle. In time, these are taking a toll on everyone’s physical and mental health. So how can you stay healthy in such challenging times?
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.
Do you have a coworker who always seems to have their headphones in, tapping along with the beat or mouthing the lyrics? Maybe you are that coworker who can’t get through the day without your favorite playlists. Have you ever thought about why music is so important to your workday, whether you’re only listening to a few songs or a whole opera?
It’s time to get out of the productivity box once again in a search for surprising new elements that can make our days at work better. In the past months, we discovered how coffee influences work efficiency, exercised our way into the flow, and learned to break the mental health paradigm at the workplace. Now, let’s take a deep dive into what nature has to offer.
The current workplace environment looks caught between a rock and a hard place. With 77 percent of full-time US employees working from home, we still have record-high levels of remote workers. Yet, in-spite of distributed locations, leaders want their teams to be highly productive. And all of this on top of a sanitary crisis. So, are you ready to dive headfirst into the mental health paradigm at work? Let’s do it!
