Signs Your Colleague May Not Be Coping Well With Working From Home
With us now being more than two months into the community quarantine, we can already expect some adjustment to have sunk in. By now, many of us would already have been able to set up our work-from-home (WFH)station, establish a routine, work out rules with our spouse/children/family, and in general been able to sit down, get on with it, and be as productive as can be given the circumstances.
If the above describes you, lucky you and well done. You’ll get through this and probably miss it when things go back to normal. And if everything is going well for you, you might have the energy to look out for your friends and colleagues’ well-being as well. But how could you tell from afar if your colleague may be struggling? Here are a few watch-outs:
They can’t see the upside
Your boss might not like it, but we can all admit that WFH definitely has its upsides – enjoying home cooked meals everyday, spending more time with family, and working in your comfiest sleepwear are some of them. A colleague who can’t or won’t see the benefits might have something going on that makes it hard for them to see the upsides.
They’re online but “offline”
On the other hand, WFH can also be a minefield of distraction. It’s easy to keep the TV on in the background or to spend time perfecting your chocolate chip recipe. Colleagues who may appear to be online but uncharacteristically slow or unresponsive to work requests may need help delineating personal time and work time. Or may have just gotten themselves trapped deep in a YouTube rabbit hole they can’t get out of.
Happy Hour is always on
Having an occasional (and well-timed) drink or two is certainly an acceptable way to unwind and decompress. But if you find that a colleague’s drinking habits have changed significantly, or if it is disrupting the quality or professionalism of his work, it could be a sign that things are not all well.
They have no one to share their anxieties with
Living under uncertainty and lockdown measures is enough to do a number on anyone. But going through it alone is a different ballgame altogether. Keep a concerned eye peeled for colleagues who live alone or individual contributors who have limited meaningful engagement with others in the team. They might benefit from having more regular contact.
They’re taking care of everyone
Yes, it’s their job to watch for everyone’s welfare, but it gets really hard to manage one’s own anxieties when there are so many looking up to you and so few looking after you. This could be your boss, your HR colleagues, your team leaders, or support staff – they’re living through the community quarantine too, and have been thrust in an overwhelming situation and have to deal with, manage, and hold up a strong front all at the same time.
The exacting and taxing implications that Covid-19 have brought down on all of us did not really give anyone a lot of time to cope and adjust. Everyone has had to deal with a lot in such a short span of time, and options to deal are limited by quarantine restrictions. If you, your colleagues, or your organization need help to support mental health, Infinit Care takes advantage of online platforms to connect you with mental health practitioners from the comfort of your own home. Our network includes licensed psychologists, social workers, counselors, and coaches who can give you the guidance and tools you need through times of stress and anxiety.
