Remote work—Is your working environment working for YOU?
We are living in a time that our ancestors could not have dreamed of. Many of us are working entirely from our computers, some of us have even been blessed with the opportunities of remote work. We can work for employers that are across the world, in different time zones, different cultures; the working individual is no longer limited to the jobs that are in their commutable areas. While remote work has been around for a while, my firsthand experience with it occurred during the pandemic. I was first pregnant in 2020 and then a brand new mom in 2021, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to spend more time at home when I needed it most.
However in my last six years of coaching, I have noticed a trend with remote and hybrid working employees. My clients have ranged across all professions from healthcare workers and hospital administrators to tech CEOs and engineers. There has been a common struggle amongst them to find a balance between their jobs and the rest of their lives. These individuals have always been high achievers, performing well in their careers and moving up the ladders accordingly. Despite their excellence at work, my clients came to me tired, overweight, stressed, and feeling spread too thin between their families and their jobs. Why would this be so typical across such a diverse population? My deduction was their working environments. Here are some common challenges I observed:
Because you can work from anywhere, the boundaries for working hours and personal hours are blurred. I found a lot of clients were allowing work to continue well past the expected working hours, dropping anything personal to meet a work request or deadline, even skipping meals because they would “just rather get it done” than take a break.
They wanted to meet expectations (both internal and external) to prove that they deserve to continue to work remotely. Some individuals experienced the pressure from supervisors or management to prove that every minute of their day was productive, even if their in person work did not have the same monitoring. Others would put this pressure on themselves, fearing letting others down or being questioned about their performance. As a result, they would work unpaid overtime or even fear leaving their computer for a water break.
Any activities related to their own personal care would feel like they were being selfish. The current atmosphere in American culture appears to be that any non-working time needs to be EARNED. I would see people prioritizing work, family and friends before taking care of themselves, no matter how dire the need for self care. Any time investing in their own health was spent riddled with guilt.
To use a trendy word, these clients were coming to me on the verge of burn out. Like put them in the hospital burn out. It’s my mission to challenge this version of the modern working environment. You might be thinking, “Shoot, this sounds like me” or “Wow, this sounds like everyone at my company”. Where do you even start to change the tide? In addition to subscribing to this blog, I have a few suggestions for you to implement now:
Lead by example.
The only way to truly enact change in your company, is to try to lead a healthier lifestyle at work yourself. Especially, if you are in a position of leadership, your employees will tend to mirror your working style to stay in your good graces. Take a real lunch break. Stop sending late night Slacks or emails. Use your PTO.
Stop ignoring your body’s cues.
Your body has physical needs that should be met daily. You are not a robot. You do not need to power through your hunger and thirst to sit in a meeting that should have been an email. Go to the bathroom. Walk outside and get some sunshine. You will be shocked how much physically better you will feel.
You are in your position because you’ve earned it. Stop working like you don’t deserve to be there.
In this unpredictable time, you working yourself to death does not guarantee your job security. You could still end up laid off, but I know I would rather be laid off in good health than laid off with poor health and no insurance to boot.
I know remote and hybrid employees work hard, the evidence is there and I have witnessed it first hand. Productivity and profitability has increased for most companies in the past few years. However, I challenge the notion that it must come at the expense of your health. Start small with the small actions, you can make a change today.
