Why ‘WFH’ now means ‘working all the time’

WORKING from home used to be the purview of freelance writers, columnists, online teachers, and transcriptionists. Since the enhanced community quarantine was imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19), however, many 9-to-5 employees have been forced to stay home and accomplish the tasks assigned to them by their respective companies.

But a number of friends have told me that they seem to be more busy now that they are working from home, than when they were actually at their offices. That’s perfectly understandable.

Because many of us keep the computer switched on all the time these days and online, waiting for the boss and colleagues to chime in with the latest comments on our work, or meet on some issues that needed threshing out (e.g., the company’s sales recovery plan) and the like.

Back when we had offices to go to, we could get up from the work station, take a break and chit-chat with friends in other departments; or go out and have coffee at the nearby café. Generally, we had a few moments to be ourselves, in a casual setting, nonoffice mode, to interact socially with others (or just be alone), without the boss—or some officemate who thinks he’s the boss—suddenly showing up behind our backs and leaning over to check what we’ve been up to at the computer.

“Working from home,” however, now feels like “working all the time.” And our personal space and work boundaries have all but disappeared. Which shouldn’t be the case. And I wish the bosses of my desperate friends start realizing that there’s a time for work, and there’s a time to switch off everything.

Here are some tips I can offer to handle the new work-from-home lifestyle:

■ STICK TO A DAILY ROUTINE. Go through the same work schedule as you had been doing when you still went to the office. If you woke up at 6 am to have breakfast before going to work, keep doing the same. If you had your usual staff meeting at 10 am on Monday, stick to the same schedule (encourage your work colleagues or your boss to do this).

And if you used to go home by 6 pm, then switch off your home computer at the same time, as well. Don’t entertain work-related phone calls after you switch off the computer; nothing is that super important that it can’t wait until the next day. Also, if it’s the weekend, do weekend stuff, not work.

■ KEEP A SEPARATE OFFICE SPACE. For those who live in small spaces, this can be a challenge. But ideally, just put some distance between your bed/room and your office setup at home. Put your computer on a sturdy desk or table, and have your files and all your work things nearby.

I understand that those families who have small kids will find it more difficult to do this, but if you must play with them, do so away from your work station. Go to the living room, kitchen or bedroom. It’s also good training for your children to learn that when Mommy or Daddy is working, he/she should not be disturbed unless it’s an emergency (i.e., the cookie jar is empty and there’s no more milk or juice boxes in the fridge).

■ DRESS UP. I don’t mean putting on your work clothes when you sit down in front of the computer. But to complete the transition from your home life to work mode, get out your jammies and dasters, otherwise you will feel lethargic. This is something I learned from one of my yoga teachers—you need to change the energy in yourself and around you for the tasks you do each day. So if you’re ready to sit down to work, put on some casual attire that feels a bit more formal than your usual home or weekend attire. Then if you’re going to bed, change into your pantulog.

■ TAKE A BREAK. If you feel you need to come up for air after the boss has yakked away during the fourhour Zoom meeting, where nothing was actually decided (again!), then by God, get up from your desk. Pour yourself some coffee, take a nap, and recover your energy. I’ve found this to be most effective—the coffee will just give you enough of the caffeine boost to keep you from napping beyond 15 to 20 minutes. After this, I usually feel refreshed, alert and ready to write.

■ EASE UP ON YOUR EYES. Whenever I go for my regular checkups, my glaucoma doctor, Dr. Imelda Veloso of the Asian Eye Institute, always warns me of eye strain, as she knows I usually stare at the computer screen all day because of my work. She advices to stop looking at the screen and look at a far away object. Like, for every 20 to 30 minutes that you stare at the monitor, glance at a distance object for 30 seconds. Also, blink often to refresh and moisten your eyes. (The good doctora has prescribed artificial tears for me, but that’s because she says as one gets older, the eyes tend to dry up.)

■ MOISTURIZE AND USE SUNSCREEN. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you can ease up on your skin-care routine. My dermatologist Dr. Reena Corona of La Nouvelle Image says the lighting from the computer screen is just as harmful as the sun’s rays. Also, artificial lighting at home, especially fluorescent lights, harm the skin as well. So, regularly apply moisturizer and sunscreen in the morning, and clean your face in the evening. (For more skin-care tips, see “A simple skin-care regimen for women over 50,” BUSINESSMIRROR, February 22, 2018.)

As we go on our sixth week of ECQ, we may have fallen into certain bad habits and propagated the overlapping of our home and work lives. The struggle is real, but we can reinstall those work-home boundaries by following the tips above. This will not just restore our mental health, but also prepare us to return to the real office setup when the lockdown is eventually lifted.

Stay strong, folks. ■