Work-life balance in remote work – how to effectively separate private life from work

In the era of digitization and the shift from traditional work models to remote work, the challenge of maintaining a work-life balance is becoming more and more complicated. Working from anywhere in the world is undoubtedly a huge benefit. Still, it also brings numerous challenges, including difficulty separating working time from rest. Check out how to maintain a healthy work-life balance and prevent burnout while working remotely.

The well-being of employees is the key to their productivity, so they should know what rules to follow when working outside the office to achieve it.

In this article, you will learn:

• What is work-life balance, and how does it affect employee productivity
• Why it is worth taking care of the balance between professional and private life
• Effective tips to help maintain a healthy balance between work and private life

Work-life balance – what is it and why is it important

Work-life balance is the idea of achieving a balance between professional and private life, which consists of many smaller life zones, such as:

• career,
• family,
• hobbies and interests,
• friends and acquaintances,
• education and development,
• physical activity,
• recreation.

Achieving a balance between these spheres of life allows you to achieve a coherent whole that ensures good health, well-being, and satisfaction with private and professional life.

An imbalance between private and professional life can lead to:

• occupational burnout,
• feeling very stressed at work,
• depressive states,
• eating disorders,
• failures in the addiction.

Why it is worth taking care of work-life balance

In addition to reducing the risk of many negative effects of the imbalance between work and leisure, providing a good one brings many benefits to both the employee and employer.

Good work-life balance improves the mental and physical condition of employees. People who do not experience high stress at work feel better and feel less tired. It also directly affects the increase in their productivity.

Rested and relaxed employees can perform their work much more effectively, in a shorter time and less tiring while maintaining full creativity, motivation and focus. For this reason, more and more companies are opting for a 6-hour working day or a 4-day working week. Unlimited holidays are also gaining in popularity.

Employees who have found a balance between work and private life also derive greater job satisfaction and are more engaged, affecting their loyalty to the company and reducing employee turnover. In turn, it also affects the improvement of the employer's image and reputation on the market, and thus the possibility of employing the best specialists on the market.

How to maintain a work-life balance while working remotely – tips

It is not enough to take care of work-life balance only once. It's a way of life that makes you happy. Beginnings can be difficult, so we propose some simple methods to help employees separate their professional and private lives while working remotely. Anyone working from home can follow them and quickly see positive results.

Set working hours and your availability

Establishing your working hours is extremely important as it provides a daily routine that makes you feel better, minimizes stress and wastes time.

Work-from-home hours are best aligned with office hours. Remember to take a lunch break (e.g. by setting an alarm clock for the right time) and not spend it in the workplace. If you don't change your surroundings, you won't be able to rest properly.

You should also set times when you are unavailable. Otherwise, a message on the work communicator or an important email will keep us at the computer and upset our balance.

Separate your work area from your rest area

To make it easier to separate your private life from your professional life, it is also worth doing it physically – by setting up a separate workspace from the rest of the apartment. It is best if it is a separate room, but if this is not possible, it is best to put the equipment aside after work so that it is not conspicuous in private time and does not tempt you to look at it.

Remember that you shouldn't work where you sleep, so if you can, separate your sleeping area from your work area. You can also work on the balcony or in a nearby cafe.

Plan and take breaks at work

When working from home, sometimes we focus so much that we forget to rest, and this reduces productivity and leads to fatigue. That's why it's worth setting an alarm for breaks at work and sticking to it consistently. It will give your body time to recover.

During the break, it's worth getting up, moving and going out into the fresh air to oxygenate the mind. People working in front of a computer screen should also, as far as possible, look at an object several dozen meters away in space to relax their eyes.

Manage your working time wisely

Postponing unpleasant tasks is a time-waster and, at the same time, additional stress and distraction, so it is worth planning them in time to complete them as soon as possible. After completing such a task, you will feel relief and additional motivation, thanks to which reaching for the next task will be easier. Postponing unwanted tasks to the very end has the opposite effect - it reduces productivity and causes stress, reducing the quality of work.

You should also know yourself to understand your mode of operation. The most complex and demanding tasks are best planned for the part of the day when we are most easily focused and rested. While performing such tasks, it is also worth informing associates to avoid approaching us with urgent matters that will distract our attention.

Avoid distractions

It's very easy to get distracted at home. It can be the fault of the television, radio, pet play, or even muffled voices from other rooms. Everyday activities, such as putting in laundry or watering flowers, also tempt us. However, you should refrain from doing such activities because they distract us from the task and cause additional stress.

Notifications from the phone and other devices are another dangerous distraction, so during work time, it's worth using applications supporting concentration and productivity that suspend notifications and access to various applications and games for the time of work.

Give yourself time to rest and take a vacation

Remote work is remote work, not sick work. Therefore, you shouldn't work if you are sick. It also tires the body, and during illness, it is harder for us to focus, making us less efficient. If we need to rest, let's take advantage of the holiday and give ourselves time to regenerate.

A healthy work-life balance requires listening to your body and responding to its needs.

Summary

Ensuring a healthy work-life balance is extremely important for maintaining health, satisfaction and commitment to work. Employers should support employees in achieving it. This way, they benefit employees and the entire organization through their productivity and the excellent work they can do, free from stress and fatigue.

If you want to help employees understand how they work and provide them with a tool that will allow them to track their working time and conveniently request time off, try Calamari for free for 14 days now!