11 TIPS FOR CREATING WORK/LIFE BALANCE IN THE VIRTUAL WORKFORCE
Written by Jackie Gaines ,Author of Wearing the Yellow Suit: A Guide for Women in Leadership
WELLBEING. When you work remotely—as so many people are doing in the age of COVID-19—there’s no natural boundary between your workday and the rest of your life. Jackie Gaines shows you how to build and maintain greater balance so work doesn’t take over everything else. According to a recent report, the average “pandemic workday” is 48.5 minutes longer than before. It also shows we are attending about 13 percent more meetings and sending 1.4 more emails per day to our colleagues. But this uptick in productivity has a downside: It’s destroying many people’s work/life balance.
“Our work/life balance is already in jeopardy thanks to the impact of COVID-19,” says Gaines, author of Wearing the Yellow Suit: A Guide for Women in Leadership. “Extended workdays only intensify the situation. We are all working hard at our jobs while trying to homeschool our kids, keep the household in order, and still carve out time to connect with loved ones and enjoy our lives. It’s a challenge for everyone.” When you work from home, the “workday” becomes a slippery slope— especially when you’re constantly interrupted by your kids to help them get their schoolwork done online. If
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you’re not careful, meeting your work demands in this chaotic environment can crowd out your other priorities. But Gaines says you can take back control by getting very intentional about protecting your work/life balance in these unusual times. “We all need time to recharge from work,” says Gaines. “By setting some healthy habits for greater balance, you’ll be a much better employee or leader during work hours, and you’ll have more energy and focus for the other things you value.” Here is your to-do list for living a balanced life:
