How to Deal with Depression of Back to Work After a Long Time
Hybrid Working

How to Deal with Depression of Back to Work After a Long Time

|Jul 21, 2021
1,937 Views

Do you dread going to work? Change is not a great friend of the human mind, and many statistics prove how anxiety and back to office depression can affect mental health. However, as the workplaces are now starting to resume to many normal organizations, they have different ways to deal with anxiety and depression. Some continue with the pre-Covid practices, while some are highly impressed by the hybrid work policy and its benefits.

Why wouldn’t it be? Hybrid remote work offers many benefits to both employers and employees and the biggest one being flexible work hours. Though there are many types of hybrid work arrangements, each organization aims to be more productive and understanding towards employees in the post-Covid world.

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But one thing that remains common is back-to-office depression. With the change in routine, even if it's a hybrid workforce, employees are fretting over leaving their homes and starting to work back in the office. For the people who suffer from clinical anxiety, this stress seems even more.

Depression of back to work is no joke, and many scientific studies prove how depression in the workplace can cause restlessness and mental health issues. Therefore, this article will study the impact of depression on going back to work and entail successful ways to overcome this anxiety, especially for a hybrid remote work policy.

How to Overcome Depression of Going Back to Work

How to Overcome Depression of Going Back to Work

After more than a year of staying in pajamas and working from bed, people are now suddenly asked to come back to the office. As if nothing was changed and we weren't made comfortable attending zoom meetings in our home clothes. Those long minutes of commute to work seem like hours now, and it is all the result of work from home for months.

Just like the sudden hit of the pandemic confused all of us to the core and the shift to work from homemade everything seems chaotic, this return is no different. So make sure you give yourself time and enough relaxation to get back to this routine, so the mind isn't subjected to unnecessary pressure or depression of back to work. Moreover, here are a few tips you can follow to overcome the depression of going back to work.

Get Organized

Start with little, and soon it will seem like a lot. Our routine amidst pandemic is seriously messed up, and there is no doubt about it. You must not expect yourself to get up at 8, get ready and take a shower all in 5 minutes to leave for work. The laziness and checking emails with one eye open have got to all of us. You must start preparing ahead and slowly, so the mind gets into the routine by time.

Take Time

Take Time

We all know how we work from home. Taking frequent effective breaktime, getting up to have a nice cool drink, getting distracted by technology and whatnot. No one has worked 8 hours straight while working from home, and we all have adjusted our work hours around our flexible schedule. Your first day at the office is going to be hard, and there is no doubt about that.

Understand that you won't be feeling as productive as you used to in the pre-Covid world, but there is no meaning that you won't feel efficient again too. If your first day demands a few breaks, then take it or walk around to recharge your energy after each big task to avoid depression of back to work.

Give up Control

It's not about letting yourself lose but remaining sane and strong. Going back to work is going to bring a lot of health concerns. Especially with people concerned about older adults or small kids at home, washing hands and staying no closer than 6 feet from everyone will be the norm. Though social distancing should be a basic routine now, it is not possible to stay 6 feet away from everyone at all times. Accept that so you can get back to normal.

Health Factors

Health Factors

Health is the major concern and common cause of depression of back to work. People have become anxious considering their health when they have heard about going back to work after quarantine. As a result, they begin to engage in behaviors – such as repeated, excessive hand-washing – to ease their worry and avoid the anticipated result. They are attempting to get control of the situation when they do this. But, unfortunately, the more they indulge their obsessions, the more they lose control.

One approach to avoid this is to protect yourself as much as possible - wash your hands for the recommended length of time and wear a mask – and then let the chips fall where they may. Also, keep in mind that you will not always be able to defend yourself no matter what you do. Surprisingly, relinquishing control is a means of regaining it.

Support from Colleagues

Sometimes we forget that this pandemic has got us all in almost the same boat, bigger, smaller, worse or better, but we are fighting the same issues. Your colleagues might be undergoing the same kind of stress when it comes to coming back to work. From the fear of change to exposing their family members to this infection, the feelings are mutual. It is extremely helpful to take help from a colleague or share your anxiety with them in such scenarios.

Think Positive

Think Positive

It is hard to think positively after what 2020 has done to all of us. But to move forward, you have to look forward to avoid all the depression of back to work. So start by thinking about the positive aspects of going back to work. It could be your friend at work, that nice coffee machine or the comfortable ergonomic chairs. Thinking about fun chit-chat sessions and those breaks can help you get prepared for it.

It might be helpful to jot down these things and think about all the great things coming up in the future year.

Dealing with Anxiety in a Hybrid Model

Dealing with Anxiety in a Hybrid Model

A hybrid work office is much different than a conventional office. It is a combined arrangement of in-house employees and remote workers. Since there are few days where employees work in the office while the operations are remote on other days, a hybrid workplace can bring lots of changes in employees' lives.

If a hybrid workplace is not planned and established properly, organizations might suffer. This is why you must carefully choose a hybrid work model or template that fits your organization.

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