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Working from home? Here's how to have job-life boundaries during the pandemic

Korin Miller
·Writer
·6 min read

COVID-19 has forced many people to work remotely, some for the first time ever. And despite all of the fantasies that working from home is a breeze compared to going into an office, many have found it can be the opposite.

Research from Microsoft has found that people are logged on to work longer than they have in the past. The company specifically looked at the March usage of its Microsoft Teams software, which is a workplace communication platform, and found that the average time between a person’s first use of Teams and the last use of Teams each day increased by more than an hour between March 1 and March 31. Microsoft points out that it doesn’t necessarily mean people are working more hours in a day, but that their workday may be stretched longer than before.

“There’s just so much uncertainly and volatility right now,” Mary Fristad, professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. “People are coping with so much change, and extended workdays just sap that much more energy from people.”

It’s important to remember that working longer hours doesn’t necessarily mean you’re accomplishing more, says licensed marriage and family therapist David Klow, author of You Are Not Crazy: Letters From Your Therapist. “There is a law of diminishing returns at play here. Often the more we work, the less effective we become,” he tells Yahoo Life. Still, it can be tough from a mental standpoint to get your work done during the day or disconnect at the day’s close. “There can be real fatigue if your workday stretches out for much longer than you are accustomed to,” he says.

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That raises a big question: How can you disconnect and have more of a work-life balance when you’re working from home? While it may be difficult to adjust your actual workload, experts say there are a few things you can do to make this mentally easier on yourself.

Create a set workspace

Working in the same space that you relax can be tough on your mental health and can bring work-induced tension into your off-time, John Mayer, author of Family Fit: Find Your Balance in Life, tells Yahoo Life. “Somehow, someway, create a separate workspace for yourself—even in a cramped apartment,” he says.

Recognize that you have limits

“Some people are juggling their career and kids or doing elderly care, and they have a limit on what they can do,” Fristad says. Figuring out in advance what you can – and can’t – realistically do can go a long way toward helping set your daily expectations and manage your mindset, she says. Klow agrees. “Adjusting your expectations so that they are realistic might add to a sense of feeling accomplished each day,” he says.

Schedule in breaks

In pre-COVID life, you probably followed some kind of schedule – and that schedule also likely no longer works for you. So, Mayer recommends figuring out your new schedule. Suss out the best time for you to take food and mental health breaks during your workday, and try to stick to those scheduled breaks.

This includes going outside.

“Vitamin D and sunshine is good for mood,” Fristad says. “Getting outside—if you can do it in a socially distanced way—is going to help.”

Create boundaries, and stick to them

If you allow your work hours to be any time, you’re technically always on the clock. “I’ve been encouraging people to have strong boundaries between work and home life, because we don’t have it the same way with working from home as we do when we leave the house to work,” Thea Gallagher, clinic director at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perlman School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. “You want to be more aware of your work schedule so that you’re not mindless checking your email all the time. That can cause anxiety.” You can even set your phone alarm to go off at the end of your scheduled workday, Mayer says. And, if you have leftover work to tackle at that point, set aside time to get it done the next day, so you at least know it’s not going to build up.

Make time for non-work activities

This is crucial, Dr. Gail Saltz, an associate professor of psychiatry at the NY Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine and host of “Personology” podcast from iHeartRadio, tells Yahoo Life. “When work is done, it’s time for doing something completely non-work-related—exercise, relaxing via a social hour or a warm bath, having a nice dinner, watching a movie, reading a fun book, getting caught up on some housework. The point is...no work,” she says.

Try not to overdo it

The high unemployment rate is scary and real, and many people who are employed are aware that many others aren’t so lucky. Add working from home to the mix, and it’s easy to log more hours than normal. “There is a sense of guilt that is pervading our new work ethic,” Mayer says. “Many of us feel we ‘owe’ our employers an extra effort.” But Mayer says this is often unnecessary. “Most employers are actually very forgiving about how you are using your time at home,” he says. If you’re unsure what’s expected from you these days and you have a good relationship with your superior, Fristad says it’s perfectly OK to check in with your boss to ask about when they want you to be available.

Overall, experts say it’s important to remind yourself that you’re doing your best. “Be kind to yourself and others,” Fristad says. “Just be patient with yourself.”

For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.

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