The current health crisis has caused many companies to adapt to telework. This may not be easy for everyone, even affecting both person and job level, as we saw in the previous post: The reaction of our brain to situations of isolation. In addition, it seems that this new employement situation is going to be maintained over time more than we originally imagined. Therefore, despite the difficulties, it is advisable to follow some guidelines that can help you to maintain the work productivity.
Teleworking involves putting the mind into “work mode” in an environment that is normally to rest or leisure. With which, there are a lot of distractors that tempt us to look up more than necessary or to take more breaks than we normally do. These problems will be accentuated if there are young children to attend. Thus, these days, concentration and constancy problems can affect even some people who are used to teleworking, affecting both labor productivity and the attention given to comply with the measures in cybersecurity.
So that all this affects as little as possible the first step is to establish a specific space for work. It is not recommended to sit at the same table that is normally only used for eating or for other leisure activities, because in these places the mind is used to relaxing and it will be more difficult to keep the attention on the obligations. Another factor to consider is the presence of more noise than usual (the TV turned on by other family members, conversations between them …), which is inevitable in most cases. Due to all this, it is advisable, as far as possible, to enable a desk in a separate room, for example, or in any other place that is not used to rest and allows to maintain a certain distance from other members.
On the other hand, in these months, confinement has dramatically decreased our exposure to sunlight, which is very beneficial for health (it strengthens the immune system, regulates sleep/wake cycles and is a source of Vitamin D, among others). Although we can now go for a little walk, it is not enuogh. Thus, it will be positive that the place that we enable to work is located close to a natural light source, as long as it does not directly impact the eyes to avoid glare and reduce the risk of eye fatigue.
Another aspect to consider is the time we dedicate to work activities. Many people may have to adjust their work hours due to new family reconciliation needs. It is recommended that this be facilitated by companies, however, there are some organization guidelines to keep in mind. Although the distribution of working hours may be different from the usual one, it is important that it be strictly followed. That is, that working hours are only for work and the same with rest times. Maintaining these activities temporarily well-defined is imperative to avoid cognitive overload and allow the mind to truly evade and disconnect from the obligations.
In short, having a space dedicated exclusively to work activities, staying away from the noises of the activity from the rest of the people in the house and ensuring good lighting are going to be key factors to maintaining productivity levels at work. In addition, respecting both working hours and hours of rest will ensure greater efficiency at work activities, as well as a proper cognitive recovery. In this way, it will not be so difficult to cope with the day to day despite the exceptional current situation.
For more information regarding employee support and workforce cyber risk management, contact Kymatio now.
