As we get used to the practicalities of working from home, we are beginning to focus on how we can nurture our mental well-being during the current pandemic.
Fortunately, our colleagues at HKX have launched their Equalise programme virtually, with dedicated weekly webinars to teach us how to keep healthy and productive during this challenging time.
We attended a ‘Mental Wealth for Remote Working’ webinar led by psychologist Ruth Cooper-Dickson. Here is what we learned…
Mental health is a continuum of well-being and is not as black and white as wellness vs. illness. Given the current challenges, we all need to be aware of our place on this continuum. People will handle and respond to change differently, and we will all deal with our personal mental health in different ways. The most important things to do are acknowledging that it is OK to not feel OK and to voice how we are feeling.
We learned about the ‘performance graph’ and that we thrive the most when we are ‘stretched’. However, increased pressure and worries about the outside world may cause us or our colleagues to move into the ‘strained’ part of the graph. Although changes in someone who has become ‘strained’ may be difficult to interpret whilst we work remotely, we should look out for uncharacteristic mistakes, poor decision making or lack of engagement as potential signs that we, or someone we work with, may need extra support.
Here are some of the practical takeaways from the session that may help to prevent our mental health from deteriorating whilst we work from home:
- Be supportive of those who have diagnosable mental health conditions such as health anxiety or OCD, who could be experiencing heightened triggers at this time
- Ensure you are receiving your information from factual sources such as the World Health Organisation, NHS etc
- Limit your social media intake: follow accounts that make you feel positive and mute those hashtags or accounts that create further anxiety or worry
- Find distractions such as exercising in the home or garden, new hobbies and checking in with others
- Create a new routine even if it feels awkward at the beginning!
- Create boundaries around your communication; don’t feel you have to check-in with people continually, or if you want to speak to someone outside of your support network use charities such as No Panic
- Have a ‘worry time’ where you allow yourself to worry for a small amount of time
- Be honest. No-one is expecting you to be positive every day. It is better to acknowledge all your emotions whether sad, upset, guilty, anxious or angry
- Create some calm in your day. There are lots of apps, YouTube videos and Instagram accounts to access mindfulness and meditation exercises
- Take mindful moments throughout the day such as when you are brushing your teeth or washing the dishes
- Change your mindset. You are not ‘stuck at home with everything shutting around you’. You are at home staying safe and all essential places such as medical centres, food shops and chemists are staying open
- Face-to-face interaction is important, use video chat where able
- Think about ways to disconnect from your work during down-time, try to not work in your bedroom where possible
- Keep the work community spirit active by organising virtual socials and chats
- Ensure to maintain communication with your management chain about how you and your colleagues are feeling
- Communicate what you need from those you live with in order to continue working efficiently
- The mind benefits from wholesome food as much as the body, so try to eat well
Here at Havas Just:: we are all working together to look after our own mental well-being and to look out for our colleagues. For example, our fabulous social team has been hosting virtual socials including a weekly pub quiz as well as a virtual baby-shower lunch for one of our Justees! In addition, we are all maintaining regular communications during JAM, our weekly all-agency meeting, which is currently being hosted via video chat.