I’ve been a librarian working from home for seven years. There are loads of learnings to share as you rapidly transition your physical work online.
The first tip is often: get dressed. If that helps you feel normal or productive or fab, do it. If you’re reading this post at 3pm and you’re still in your pajamas glued to your computer, rock it. I probably am too, though to be fair I attend audio calls. Colleagues have joked (not joked) we’d like company bathrobes.
Before anything, let’s level set. This time in the world is not normal. All systems are being challenged. And we didn’t choose it. Almost nothing is business as usual. Impacts ripple out and come back to us in every aspect of life.
Work went from in-person to remote over a weekend. Past notions of what is productive and professional seem not to fit anymore. Authenticity is needed in ways never experienced. Work life balance is gone. This is our opportunity to redefine what these things mean now. What are the essential competences? What does it mean to be human, at work?
The remote workforce has been smaller than the physical up until a few weeks ago, and we haven’t fully nailed it. Social isolation was always there, sometimes written about, and rarely spoken about. Maybe you can’t “cut it”, maybe you’re “not a fit”. But now as you all come online and validate a hushed experience, as we find a new normal over the months and years ahead, we need to bend remote work to fit more of us.
We are designed to connect. And right now, we are connecting a lot. But the connection doesn’t feel the same after we hang up and log off. What is often left unarticulated as we join remote workforces can be the most critical awareness for our wellbeing: emotional regulation is now—even more than in the physical office—yours to carry, let go, act. And these aren’t normal days, so it will require more attention.
Brene Brown encourages us to settle. To pause, reflect, and begin to choose how we show up. Here are some ways I’ve found to settle at work:
- Working from home means we can’t see each other as clearly as we would in an office. You can leverage this when it works for you and speak up when it doesn’t.
- Discover what you need. Set it up for yourself. Have fun with it. And if you need tangible support, ask for it.
- If you’re not clear on boundaries, this is your opportunity. Boundaries are and will continue to be challenged on many fronts like never before, from our immune systems to our borders. I’ve been actively working on boundaries for two years, and even I’m having to level up, hold them higher, and more firmly. It can be tiring but it is essential. The added work and stress load from unclear boundaries is more tiring.
- Time has gotten so long, yet so valuable and short. We feel lucky to have jobs, safe jobs, and we are. That doesn’t diminish the preciousness of the life energy we trade for money. Start billing your hours. Notate how you’re spending your work time, then review critically if time matches values. Adjust. Quietly change one little thing and see if anyone notices. Here’s the thing: they probably won’t. They can’t see you. But they will notice how your mood lifts, your compassion expands. Then change something else. Look for solutions. Keep going, and please share what’s working for you.
- Turn off all work notifications on all apps, all devices. Check messages when you choose. If people need to urgently connect, they will find you.
- This is a chance to let go of the physical office and discover new ways of working. Can you flex your work hours to fit your creative mind and life needs? Do you feel inspired to knock out project work during quiet off-hours and bake during peak ping time? Go with it. Block off time when you need to step away, then step away.
I love working from home. I cannot imagine commuting ever again, working the same shift, packing my lunch (shudder). But we haven’t got it right. Yet.
Just as this is our opportunity to decide how we want to show up in our lives, with our communities, to librarianship, it is our chance to choose how we want remote work to be in the future. If you would like to receive it, I can continue sharing ideas. And I ask you to please contribute your thoughts, feelings, and learnings so we can build a truly connected work from home community where we can thrive in our work and as humans. Just as you need us to help you come online, we who have been here a while need you too.
LINK: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/working-at-home-isolation-1.5103498
Written by Carlie Graham
Consulting Librarian
Twitter: @carliebrary
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May 16, 2020 at 02:19AM
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The Work from Home Emotional Load - stopthefud
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