National Stress Awareness Day 2024: Managing Stress While Working Remotely

In today's fast-paced world, where the line between work and personal life often blurs, managing stress is crucial. As we mark National Stress Awareness Day 2024, it's an important moment to reflect on how stress affects us, particularly in the context of remote working. While remote work offers flexibility and convenience, it can also bring unique challenges that contribute to stress.

Here, we explore the impact of remote work on stress levels, practical ways to manage it, and how employers and employees can create a healthier work-life balance.

The New Normal: Remote Working and Stress

Remote work offers many benefits, such as the flexibility to work from anywhere and reduced commuting time. However, it can also intensify feelings of isolation, lead to blurred work-life boundaries, and create pressure to always be "on." If left unchecked, these challenges can increase stress and negatively affect both mental and physical health.

A recent survey found that 67% of remote workers experience higher levels of stress than they did when working in-office. Some common causes of stress in remote working include:

• Isolation and loneliness: Lack of face-to-face interaction can make people feel disconnected.
• Unclear boundaries: It can be difficult to separate work from personal time, leading to overwork.
• Technology overload: Constant digital communication and video calls can lead to "Zoom fatigue."
• Home distractions: Balancing work and household responsibilities can create tension.

Recognising the Signs of Stress

To effectively manage stress, it's essential to first recognise when you're feeling overwhelmed. Here are some common signs of stress to look out for when working remotely:

• Physical symptoms: Headaches, fatigue, and muscle tension.
• Emotional changes: Feeling irritable, anxious, or overwhelmed.
• Behavioural shifts: Procrastination, lack of focus, or changes in eating/sleeping habits.

If these signs persist, it's crucial to speak to your employer and take proactive steps to manage stress and prevent burnout!

Tips for Managing Stress While Working Remotely

1. Establish Boundaries: Setting clear boundaries between work and personal life is key to reducing stress. Create a dedicated workspace (if you have the space), and set specific work hours to help you "switch off" at the end of the day.
2. Take Regular Breaks: When working from home, it's easy to forget to take breaks. Schedule short, regular breaks throughout the day to stretch, walk, or simply breathe. The Pomodoro Technique, where you work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break, can help maintain focus while keeping stress at bay. It's also important to take your lunch break, and take the whole allocated time.
3. Stay Connected: Combat feelings of isolation by staying connected with your team. Schedule regular check-ins or virtual coffee breaks to build relationships and maintain a sense of community.
4. Practice Mindfulness: Mindfulness techniques such as meditation or deep breathing exercises can significantly reduce stress. Taking just five minutes to focus on your breathing can calm your mind and improve your concentration.
5. Set Realistic Goals: Remote work can create pressure to overperform as there are less distractions than in an office setting. Set realistic, achievable goals and communicate openly with your manager about workload and expectations.
6. Exercise and Move: Physical activity is a natural stress reliever! Incorporate movement into your daily routine, whether it's a quick walk or stretching exercises during breaks.
7. Disconnect from Technology: While staying connected is important, too much screen time can lead to burnout. Make time to unplug from your devices during lunch and after work hours, and ensure you're getting enough rest and downtime away from screens.

The Role of Employers in Supporting Remote Workers

Employers play a crucial role in managing remote work stress. Here are some ways organisations can support their employees:

• Promote mental health resources: Provide access to counselling services, workshops, or stress management tools to help employees cope with challenges.
• Encourage work-life balance: Lead by example by promoting a healthy balance between work and personal life. Discourage after-hours emails and promote flexible schedules where possible.
• Encourage regular breaks: Ensure your team are taking regular breaks and taking a daily lunch break.
• Foster a supportive culture: Create an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing their stress and asking for help when needed.

Additional ways Jadu are supporting employees

At Jadu, our employees' physical and mental wellbeing is incredibly important to us. Here are some of the resources you can access as an employee:

• AXA - Employee Assistance Programme: AXA offers 24/7 confidential support for mental, practical, and medical issues, providing unlimited access to phone support and email counselling for psychological and wellbeing matters. The EAP also includes practical, impartial information for home and family issues, as well as financial and legal matters such as dealing with debt, buying a house or your consumer rights.
• MyStrength: This is a mental wellbeing app designed to support employees with life’s challenges. It offers personalised guidance, evidence-based activities, and resources like meditation, mood improvement, stress management, and sleep enhancement. Employees can access hundreds of activities, articles, and videos on various wellbeing topics, and chat directly with a myStrength guide for support.
• Wellbeing Therapy Solutions: Wellbeing Therapy Solutions Ltd are a team of Occupational Therapists who offer a range of mental health and wellbeing services. They provide 1:1 therapy sessions for Jadu employees, led by experienced occupational therapists.

As we observe National Stress Awareness Day 2024, it's vital to acknowledge the unique stressors remote workers face. By implementing small, mindful changes to daily routines and encouraging open conversations about stress, both individuals and employers can create a healthier, more balanced work environment.

Let’s use this day as a reminder to check in with ourselves and others, ensuring that we are prioritising mental health and well-being in the remote working era.