The work-life balance while working from home

Living in the office

The new coronavirus has catapulted half of Switzerland into working from home, which has never been so popular here as it is today. But for many, this type of working is new and unfamiliar. Both management and staff have had to change the way they work. Besides, many of us are still busy improving and optimising the new, remote working day. The nice thing, though, is that we are all learning together!

For a few, working from home was normal before the corona pandemic. For some, working from home will in future be part of what is becoming known as the “new normal”. That is why it is important that we get to grips with this “new normal” discriminatingly, so we can stay healthy and motivated in our new workplace within our own four walls.

Working from home: how it works

Living and working within your own four walls is not child’s play, but requires personal responsibility, astute organisation, and planning. Everybody needs to gauge for themselves how they feel when working from home and how well it suits them.

Here are a few tips and tricks to make working from home easier and contribute to a good work-life balance:

The place
Travelling to work every day creates physical boundaries between work and leisure time. In addition, your employer is responsible for ensuring that the workplace is ergonomically equipped and conducive to health. If, when you work from home, the kitchen table suddenly becomes your desk, the ironing board a standing desk and your dressing table an office chair, this frequently results in tense neck, shoulder and back muscles, as well as headaches and, in the long term, to disinclination to work and unhappiness. Although working on the sofa can seem very attractive, it is important for your physical and mental health to create a workspace at home in which you can work in peace. You can find out how to set up your workspace at home, and what you should pay attention to here:

• SECO: Working from home – Homeoffice (Pdf)
• Suva: Ergonomics at the workstation
   

The time
One of the biggest differences between working in the office and working from home is the structures. We are creatures of habit and need structure, such as fixed working hours. This helps us to focus and conveys security. Just imagine having to completely restructure and reorganise your day every morning after you get up. Wouldn’t that be rather demanding?
When you work in the office, the structures are usually a given. You start in the morning at a specific time – within a specific time span for flexitime – take breaks at the same times and usually go home at the same time too. When working from home, however, you need to organise these things yourself. On the one hand, this means more flexibility; on the other, more personal responsibility. Suddenly no longer having any externally set boundaries often creates a steep learning curve for home-working rookies. Here are a few tips for how to create structure in your office at home:

• Set boundaries between work and your private life: even when working from home, go to work “mentally”. Get dressed properly and don’t work, for example, in sports shoes or pyjamas. Keep to your morning routine and start your working day consciously – the same time every day is best. Make a point of knocking off every day and introduce a ritual to mark “knocking off time”. Some people find it helpful to get changed and thus symbolically remove their working clothes. Others write to-do lists for the next day, which helps to create distance from work.
• Daily structure: clarify any expectations about contactability and working hours in your team. If you are in a management position, tell your colleagues which basic conditions apply when working from home. Define clear working times for yourself, including breaks.
• Breaks: make sure that you take regular breaks, both when working from home and in your usual workplace. They will define your rhythm and will be demonstrably positive for your working efficiency. Change your location for breaks by drinking your coffee somewhere else. For example, go into the garden for your coffee break, or onto the balcony, or into the living room. Use your breaks for informal chats with you colleagues. Agree to a telephone conversation at 10 o’clock and drink your coffee together as you chat – casual chats like this will help bond your team and promote team spirit.

Movement
Standing up regularly and regular physical activity have a directly positive effect on your physical and mental health. That is why it is important to keep standing up and moving while you work. Here are some suggestions for brief but active breaks in your daily routine, and ideas for workouts at home. Take a look, try them out and keep moving.

• BAG: Standing up: “small effort, big effect”
• ASVZ: Workouts at home
• University of Basel: Online sports courses at home
• Sport aktiv: Sport tips for the home
• Heading “Exercise and sport”

Food
The path to the fridge is shorter when you work at home than in the office. The temptation to snack from time to time increases. You eat irregularly and maybe tend to skip a meal, unlike in the office, where your colleagues remind you of your communal lunch. Consequently, a balanced diet doesn’t do so well when you work from home. However, it is essential for your health. You can learn a lot about this subject under our heading “Diet”. Moreover, we have also gathered a few additional documents specifically on the subject of “a balanced diet when working from home”.

• SGE-SSN: “A balanced diet when working from home too”
• SGE-SSN: “A collection of ideas: a balanced diet when working from home too”

The team
Working from home will also change how your team members work together. The geographical distance makes it impossible to have a quick chat in the corridor, at the coffee machine or by the printer. Initially, this may not seem so bad, as it isn’t really necessary for working together. However, if you work alone at home for a long time, you learn that such spontaneous conversations can be very important for team spirit. Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz has created a service called “Team Time” that brings teams closer together despite the geographical distance. The “Team-Time Tools” provide a virtual room in which you can meet your team to exchange views and ideas. You can use the “Home office test” to check how well you are getting on with your new way of working. What’s more, you will get helpful tips for improving your general working day or how you work at home.

Further information and links:

• Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz: Tips for working from home
• ZHAW: Healthy home working
• FHNW: “Going virtual: good online meeting practice is more important than ever before”
• EKAS: “Mobile working and working on the road – flexible but not always healthy”
• EKAS study modules on prevention in the office
• SRF advice programme “WFH: tips for your office at home”
• Article “Job and family – how can I juggle everything?”