Hybrid Working: Three top tips to make it work for you
Hybrid working seems to be part of this ‘new norm’ we are all in now. Spending part of the working week at home and going into the office a couple of days a week definitely has its advantages but if we’re not careful it’s easy to find yourself feeling like you’re living at work rather than working from home! So how can we strike the right balance…
Tip 1
A reduction in time and money spent on the daily commute is one of the top benefits of hybrid working that people value. However, believe it or not aside from costing you time and money that daily commute does offer up a part of your day to prepare and unwind mentally from your working day. It’s also a chance to engage with others, stretch your legs and be a little more active. So, with these things in mind maybe it’s worth trying to bring a bit of that daily commute into your working from home days. Try a walk around the block before logging on to your laptop in the morning, or a stroll around the local park at the end of the day. Marking a start and end to your working day when at home is critical in ensuring you keep your work life balance in check.
Tip 2
Screen fatigue is something most of us will be very familiar with now, and online video meetings, training and working are no doubt a steadfast part of the hybrid world. So how can we make the most of this flexible and convenient way of working? Ensuring you take breaks from your screen is vital, if you are on a shared calendar make sure you block out break times between meetings. Get up and stretch in between video calls, make sure you take your lunch away from your desk, pop to the local coffee shop on your break and have a conversation with someone in person. All this sounds pretty simple right, but it’s actually unknowingly easy to slip into the habit of doing nothing more than moving between the computer screen and the kitchen kettle all day if you’re not careful!
Tip 3
Hybrid working gives many people more autonomy over their work, but it may also feel a little lonely at times too. If you’re new to your role or workplace and hybrid working, it may take longer than usual to build up relationships with work colleagues as the opportunity for interaction is less. So, find out from others in your team if there are shared workspaces online or organised times or events that give everyone the chance to meet virtually for a social get together and if not, you might be just the person to set something up. Also make asking for feedback a priority, when we are in an office environment, we naturally get the chance to discuss progress and check in with others about how things are going and although when working from home these occurrences don’t happen naturally it’s just as important to get this feedback, it might just need scheduling in.
Hybrid working can undoubtably offer more flexibility and help to strike a better work life balance but for many it can take some adjusting to. A Mindwork single session of therapy can be a great opportunity to focus on how hybrid working fits into your life at present and how you might like it to look going forward.