7 Practical Tips To Keep Workloads At Home In Balance

Working from home has become increasingly popular in recent years. Technological developments have made it easier than ever to work effectively at a distance. In addition, due to the corona crisis, and being forced to work from home for many, working from home has become even more commonplace. Now working from home has many advantages. Working becomes more flexible, care tasks at home can be better distributed, more time is available for family and friends, and travel times are no longer an obstacle. But working from home also brings its own challenges. For example, it can be more difficult to keep business and private life separate and the increased workload poses a serious challenge for many employees and employers. After all, how do you keep the work pressure in balance at home?

Work pressure and the workplace

In a survey by the CNV, 34% of those questioned indicated that the work pressure is higher than ever due to the corona crisis. This is partly due to the increase in work pressure caused by sick leave and layoffs, but also to the blurring of the line between work time and private time. The fear of many employers that working from home leads to less productivity and commitment, therefore, appears to be unfounded. Employees actually experience more work pressure now that they work at home. High work pressure is not by definition bad. Short-term stress can even improve motivation, performance, and concentration. Prolonged and sustained stress both the employer and the employee must continue, however, is a different story. Excessive workloads over a long period can lead to long-term stress, negative feelings, overwork, and may even eventually lead to burnout. The NCPSB reports that over 37% of the working population is regularly unable to work due to stress complaints, overexertion, and/or burnout. It is, therefore, safe to say that excessive work pressure is a major problem.

Unfortunately, failure due to stress, overexertion, and burn-out is still an increasing problem in the labor market. It is therefore essential that more attention is paid to these complaints and the problems they cause. Only by gaining insight into this situation can work be done on these problems. Fortunately, there is much that can be done by the organization itself to prevent the pressure of work from rising too high. Both employers and employees can also take steps to keep the work pressure at home in balance. We give you 7 practical tips.

7 practical tips

1. Stop overtime

In many companies, overtime has become more the norm than an occasional thing. Overtime seems to equate to increased productivity, but nothing could be further from the truth. Working more does not at all mean that the outcome is also better. Overworking can lead to increased workloads and elevated stress levels. To improve the work-life balance, it is therefore smart to actively discourage or even stop overworking. By discouraging overtime from management, as it were, employees get the feeling that it is "okay" to stick to their set work hours.

2. Automate

In many offices, automating processes is a doomsday idea. Yet automating can go a long way toward making work more efficient and achieving a better work-life balance. A lot of time is lost in a workday due to repetitive chores and unnecessary tasks. Automating various processes saves time and leaves more time for useful things and deadlines. As an employer, automating certain tasks, such as answering emails, entering notes, and drafting, can be encouraged. Moreover, by offering smart software solutions, employers can incorporate automation into company policy. This makes communication, collaboration, consultation, planning, calculation, and processing a lot easier and more efficient.

3. Ensuring the work-life balance

One of the biggest challenges of working from home is ensuring the balance between private and work life. With a home office, these two things flow together easily. It is important that both the employer and the employee continue to understand and encourage the importance of this balance. Maintain a clear cut-off for the workday and curb accessibility to allow free time to truly be private time.

4. Teambuilding

A good mutual atmosphere is very important in a company. While working from home, there is a real chance of diluting contacts between colleagues. That is why it is extra important to invest in the team atmosphere using team building, team activities, and meetings. Fortunately, all this can also be organized online so that team building is not a problem even in these times. Moreover, it offers employees the opportunity to maintain contact with each other outside the necessary phone calls and e-mails and to talk about things other than work for a change. This stimulates collegiality, productivity, and the working atmosphere.

5. Communication

Good communication between employer and employee is essential. By keeping the lines of communication short and making managers available to staff, stress-related complaints can be discussed at an early stage. In this way, problems relating to work pressure and the daily schedule can be identified and remedied at an early stage. Good communication promotes the working atmosphere, even at a distance, and keeps employees and employers happy.

6. Facilitating the home office

Employees need to create a good home office. Ideally, this should be a place where they can work in peace and take into account ergonomically sound working posture. After all, poor work posture can lead to various health complaints. The employer can facilitate a home workstation by providing the right homework equipment, offering a good desk and a good office chair, and by making a homework assignment budget available. Workwize specializes in providing all home office products and services. Through the platform, you can centralize and streamline the procurement of homeworking facilities. This saves the administration for the employer and employees can purchase the necessary products and services themselves on the platform.

7. The right tools

To work efficiently remotely and maintain contact with colleagues, the right tools for working from home are necessary. With good planning and communication software, the lines stay short, and working remotely with colleagues becomes a lot more accessible. Planbizz helps to find and implement the best fitting planning software for each company. After all, every organization is different and has different needs when it comes to planning. Finding and implementing good planning software is a good step towards efficient working, both at home and at the office.

Conclusion

Effective working from home stands or falls with good communication and collaboration. After all, keeping the workload in balance is a joint responsibility. This new way of working is the future. It is unthinkable that after this crisis we will all be working full-time in the office again. That is why it is essential to invest in effective home working. This will benefit both the employer and the employee in the long run.

About the authors

This blog is part of a series of collaborative blogs between Workwize and Planbizz. Workwize is the platform that allows you to effectively facilitate working from home. Planbizz offers expert assistance in the selection and implementation of Workforce Planning software.

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