Are Remote Workers Doomed to Feel Isolated and Sad? An HR Strategist Shares How to Overcome the Challenges of Working From Home. Miriam Groom specializes in employee experience and development. She shares her advice about overcoming the pitfalls and challenges of being a remote worker.
By Mark Klekas Edited by Mark Klekas
Love it or hate it, you probably have a pretty solid opinion on remote working, and it's probably not changing anytime soon.
The internet has exhausted the remote vs. office work debate; however, there is still much to be said about the long-term impacts of a remote workforce. One of the biggest drawbacks to remote work we know about is isolation, which can have an impact on employees' happiness.
Miriam Groom specializes in coaching and counseling, employee experience, recruitment, retention and employee development. She works as a leader in talent management for KPMG and founded a national career counseling practice, Mindful Career. In this interview, she shares her advice about how to overcome the pitfalls and challenges of being a remote worker.
Q: What are the most common psychological or emotional pitfalls related to transitioning from a traditional office job to becoming a remote worker?
A: Every individual will experience this transition a bit differently. It really has to do with their personality type. The way people manage their time autonomously and the boundaries they set for themselves are two of the major issues that can cause a lot of stress.
For instance, someone with a perceiving personality type — a type that prefers relaxed, spontaneous schedules, as described by Myers Briggs — may have difficulty with the lack of formal boundaries keeping them in check. These people might end up feeling overwhelmed by too much unstructured free time. Someone who relates more to the judging personality type, characterized by a task-oriented and "type A" personality, however, may find themselves working overtime and on weekends because they can't separate work from life. Both types can, however, adapt to remote work given the right tools and by learning new behaviors.
How can someone deal with the stresses of having to separate their personal and professional life once they begin working from home?
Those who end up working overtime and on weekends can consider scheduling breaks for activities like eating lunch, doing 15-minute meditation sessions or simply closing their computer for a few minutes. It sounds obvious, but making personal time a formalized "to-do" item can help people feel more balanced. It's one thing to tell yourself that it's time to stop working, but it's another thing to work it into your schedule as a real activity.
Without supervision from superiors or co-workers, what strategies can you share for staying focused and motivated as a remote worker?
Again, the strategy will depend on the individual and their personality. Someone with perceiving traits will have a harder time staying motivated, as they tend to procrastinate and want to do things that are fun rather than follow the rules and check things off their list. For these individuals, asking for routine check-ins with their team can help them stay on track. Ultimately, it comes down to understanding your workstyle and personality so you can identify approaches that make sense for you.
When someone starts working remotely, they often feel isolated from their coworkers and no longer part of their organization's culture. What should be done to counteract this?
A sense of belonging is important for all extroverted or introverted employees. Replicating an in-person environment isn't always possible, but people still need to try to bond. This can include a 15-minute virtual coffee break each day or making plans to meet in person if the situation allows it.
Companies should encourage casual chatting and virtual hangouts if they don't infringe on workflow or take up too much time.
Related: 9 Things Extroverted Leaders Need to Know About Working With Introverts
What are some signs that someone is not adjusting well to being a remote worker from an emotional or psychological standpoint? What should they do about this?
It can be hard to identify signs when you can't see a person's face. Nonverbal cues can communicate a lot, however, so I recommend having meetings with the camera on so you can gauge people's facial expressions and body language.
Some signs of isolation can include answering fewer emails as well as seeming less engaged and less involved in meetings and other virtual activities. People expressing sadness and depression are, obviously, some of the most obvious signs they need help adapting to remote work.
Related: How to Lead With Emotional Intelligence in 2023 and Beyond
How can someone overcome the overwhelming urge to constantly check their work emails, voice mails and text messages during their off-hours?
People get addicted to checking work emails the same way they get addicted to social media and other online distractions. Understand that screens are addictive, and consider turning off notifications on evenings and weekends. It's important to take our lives and our health as seriously as we take our work.
From a psychological standpoint, what are some of the biggest mistakes you see first-time remote workers make?
The list is long. Working into the night, not leaving the house, not having any kind of routine (including hygiene routines), not taking breaks and failing to implement time management techniques are among the most common. Working in a physical environment typically forces us to follow strict routines that include commuting each day, taking lunch breaks and following a lot of external cues and prompts. We can recreate these on our own in a remote environment, but it takes self-awareness, deliberate effort and some relearning.
Is there any other advice you can offer to remote workers when adopting this lifestyle?
Become self-aware and figure out your personality type, working style, anxiety triggers and other traits. Self-awareness isn't a given. Most people assume they know themselves but are surprised to learn much more once they undergo various assessments. There are many approaches to improving job satisfaction in a remote environment, but they can't be successfully honed unless the person understands their personal traits well.
This story was written with excerpts from the book The Remote Worker's Handbook. Buy it now from BIZ Experiences Bookstore | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple
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