Brace yourselves… WFH is here to stay

IN LATE JULY, the Cabinet met in person for the first time since March – they had to, really, considering Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced he will relax official guidance to ‘work from home if you can’, and has given employers ‘more discretion’ to reopen offices and return to workplaces from 1 August if it is safe.

But that doesn’t mean companies are obeying: the 30 biggest employers in the City of London have said they only intend to bring a maximum of 40% of their workforce back; it is thought a third of London workers won’t go back to the office by Christmas. Meanwhile, job search engine Indeed has told employees they won’t be required to return to any of its global offices before July 2021. Even Patrick Vallance, the Government’s chief scientific advisor, has said there is ‘absolutely no reason’ to change guidance and people should continue working from home where possible.

The message is clear for those of us lucky to still have jobs – and indeed those of us able to work from the comfort of our homes, as opposed to the nurses and cleaners who never stopped commuting – WFH won’t be over as quickly as it started. Which means it’s time for us to reassess whether it’s working for us. The insidious cloak of burnout can feel harder to identify at home; how can we be on the verge of a breakdown when the sofa is only metres away? But we’re all under huge pressure to perform, especially as redundancies rise and a recession looms. With our laptop forever in sight, it can be impossible to switch off.

‘Create a routine and schedule that will give you space to breathe and be adaptable,’ says Anna Codrea-rado, journalist, co-host of the Is This Working? podcast and founder of The Professional Freelancer, a newsletter and community for self-employed workers. She has worked from home for three years, with her partner there for nearly two, and says we should introduce a ‘virtual commute’, where we spend the time we would have been in transit listening to a podcast or having a walk. ‘It’s a ritual where you’re signalling in your mind that you’re now entering this space which, five minutes ago, was your kitchen table,’ she says.

Communicating well with your colleagues is also important, so everyone knows when they should be expected to be contactable and how quickly they should be responding, she says. If anyone emails out of work hours, they should schedule it to arrive during office hours or put a note on the email explaining they don’t expect a reply yet. These boundaries are also important with the people sharing your work space. ‘Explain to others that if the door’s closed, that means you’re on a call, or if your headphones are on, you’re saying “please don’t disturb”,’ she adds.

Another priority for Anna has always been to take the time away from her desk to cook a proper lunch. ‘It builds in a way to have a break and know I’m eating well.’

She also says it’s key to schedule time to see friends after work, both for people living alone and those who’d benefit from a break from co-working with a partner or friends.

Finally, investing in a proper office desk and chair that is good for your back is crucial – ask your company to pay for it if they can, or get your chair from work sent home to you, she says.

The good news is that Anna has learnt to love WFH. ‘It’s about checking in with yourself and adapting if you need to. We need to prioritise looking after ourselves.’