Working from home can be incredibly beneficial for a whole host of reasons. Without the need to commute to a fixed office location, remote workers are free to make their decisions based on other factors like family or lifestyle. They may choose to live further away from the CBD, reduce their carbon footprint by downsizing to one car per household or change their working hours to accommodate other commitments like errands or simply sleeping in. Working parents may find it easier to fit in school runs, childcare and extracurricular activities. Equally, those with time-intensive hobbies, such as marathon training or side hustles may find it easier to juggle.

We know that remote workers are more productive than their in-office counterparts and potentially happier, as according to Buffer’s State of Remote Work, most remote workers would rather continue working remotely for the rest of their careers. 

And yet, it’s not all good news. 

For some, working remotely can mean better work-life balance and more time spent with friends and family, but for others working and living in the same space can lead to disconnection, overwork, and difficulty switching off. 

To unpack this difficult issue, I chat with workplace psychologist, Dr. Richard Mackinnon to hear his perspective on overwork and stress and his tips on how to achieve a better work-life balance for remote workers. 

What’s the issue with remote work?

“It’s becoming more of a challenge with time passing,” Dr. Richard says. “Technology allows that there’s increased flexibility of working arrangements, which is a great thing, but one of the downsides is it hasn’t always come with effective training and support to enable people to manage these boundaries.” 

Having an adequate policy, training, and support is essential in ensuring remote work is successful at both the individual and company level. Like anything new, working remotely isn’t something you can just fall into and immediately excel at, it often takes time to adjust, intentional effort, and a strong support system to ensure things run smoothly. 

“Of course, at the moment, 2020 is a bit of a nightmare for all of this because so many people are working at home for the first time. They did that suddenly with, in many cases, no support,” Dr. Richard muses. “And, so in doing so, they’ve picked up some pretty awful habits.”

The effects of WFH on remote workers

“I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve worked with this year who fell into that trap of long working hours because they didn’t have their routine,” Dr. Richard says. 

Without the everyday rhythms of getting ready to leave the house, commuting, and settling into the office for the day, it’s much harder to enforce structure, and we can end up falling into unintentional bad habits...read more

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