Remote Work Burnout

JJ Parker  0:03  
So, Melissa, last night, the last person I talked to, was one of my colleagues at work. Yeah. And then this morning, the very first person I talked to was one of my colleagues at work. I feel like I'm on call 24 hours a day. Yes, it just doesn't stop. And being a real worker is pretty tough.

Melissa Albers  0:25  
Yeah. And I think a lot of people are feeling that as we get into this over a number of months. At first it was novel and stressful, and then it got kind of where we figured it out a little bit. And now I think there is some fatigue and a lot of the lines that we've always had are getting blurred all over the place about how to work right like

JJ Parker  0:43  
the, our, our pastor teams of going to the office, you know, it was like, you had a whole routine. You got up you Baby got ready, you commuted in, right? You were there for a period of time. Yeah. And then you went home, but remote work. It's all jumbled up, and it's So easy to not have those boundaries. Yeah, anymore and have worked just in life just all mixed up together.

Melissa Albers  1:10  
Yeah, I think I think our natural sense of responsibility and obligation is really kicking in. And I think there's a whole lot of fear. People are fearful that if they don't work, or if they don't get stuff done as quickly as they're supposed to, they'll be judged. Yes, they're working harder than normal. They're not taking vacations, like many of my clients have talked about not taking any summer vacations, which is never the way that it is, especially in Minnesota. Yep. We're always taking a lot of time off and there's so you're right. All sorts of things are getting blurred right now. And I think it's making people really tired.

JJ Parker  1:41  
Yes. So as we keep on being remote workers, we've got to be really mindful of a couple things. Yeah. First, we've got to really look in and and feel. Are we fatigued? Yeah. Do we feel on call all the time. Because that really wears on you, right? Yes. Yeah. So setting those boundaries to say like, hey, it's okay that I clock out at five. Yeah, you know, and maybe even within your organization, you can influence, you know, your immediate team, right? Maybe the larger organization to say, Hey, we, you know, we might be getting a lot done here, but it's not sustainable over the long run. And we've really got to think about what the new normal is for our remote work culture.

Melissa Albers  2:31  
Yeah. And I think too, it's not just checking in with our work, and with the people around us, but I think most importantly, it's that awareness of checking in with our own feelings first, because our feelings are driving everything. And I think if we are avoiding those feelings of I'm tired, I feel like I'm not productive because I'm not getting any breaks. But that's okay. I'll just ignore my feelings. I think really checking in with our own feelings and responding to those Feelings earlier. earlier on, we have a much higher probability of being successful in being able to figure out some new ways of being. Yeah.

JJ Parker  3:08  
And I, we've talked about before some of the old routines that we had when we were working on the office actually really served as well. Right. You're talking about a coaching client who would ride the train into downtown. Yeah. And then walk three blocks to the office. Yes. which gave her a time. Yeah, I think Yeah. Before she settled in for her workday. Yeah. And the remote work environment didn't give her that time. Yeah, it was really impacting her day. Yeah. So this idea that even at home, we're developing good habits. Right, right. We're getting up. We're maybe getting showered. We're getting dressed professionally. Yes. We're getting mentally ready for our day. Right. And when we do our work, and then we're coming back off of that, right, right. We have seen like our our entering back into our Like, yeah, you know, and we're developing habits that keep us mentally healthy.

Melissa Albers  4:05  
Yes. And one of the examples I had is that there was like a woman that I was working with who said, My computer is on all night. And in the in the middle of the night if I wake up, I can see through my bedroom door, the light from the computer in the dining room.

JJ Parker  4:20  
It's like a horror movie. Like I see the glow.

Melissa Albers  4:23  
Yeah, exactly. Right. And and so those boundaries were so cross for her that it was constantly causing anxiety for her. So just the simple act of creating some new fences. Yes, based on how she was feeling and I think those that can I really be helpful.

JJ Parker  4:37  
That's a great tip. Now, you told me one thing once i think is like the most important parts of Yeah, especially this remote work transaction, is you need to feel good to do a good job.

Melissa Albers  4:50  
Yes. And that is so true. You need to feel good because if you don't, everything that you're creating is taking more from you. It's harder takes longer, it's more stressful and it just builds off more of the same. If you can really work to feel good inside, everything else becomes easier.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

‍