After getting used to it, many employees gradually feel a slight home office blues. Despite all the comforts that working at home may have, they sometimes feel lonely because of the lack of colleagues. We have a few tips on how you can better overcome the physical distance until everyone can be back in the office together.
Light and shadow in the home office
Elimination of the commute, more flexible time management, and more productive work at home desks: This is exactly what some employees have wanted for a long time. In the meantime, working from home has become part of everyday life for many of us and we have to say that the home office also has its disadvantages. Above all, social isolation, which can become a real psychological burden.
Because as much as colleagues sometimes get on the nerves, many of them miss them now. We, humans, are social beings by nature. Those who live alone often feel particularly clearly that they lack interpersonal interactions; the bustle in the canteen, the chat in the tea kitchen, or the after-work drink with the team.
Together instead of alone: Good bosses keep teams together even at a distance
In many companies, it will take a while before teams are completely back in the office. In some cases, colleagues will continue to work at least partially from home in the future. Therefore, when it comes to team cohesion, managers are currently particularly challenged to adapt to the new situation and to ensure that no one is lonely in the home office.
Many superiors have therefore established regular virtual team meetings via video conference over the past few weeks. Really good bosses even deliberately plan time for private exchanges, for example at the end of the appointment. Or they organize additional calls in which professional issues are left out and the main aim is to have fun with the team. Because video conferences, which are designed for efficiency, often mean more stress for participants in the home office. A virtual meeting with the team for an after-work drink, for example, or a motto video call in which everyone wears their ugliest shirt, for example, can provide compensation.
If such measures are not yet in place at your employer, do not be afraid to speak to your supervisor about them. You can also pick up the book yourself. We have a few tips on how to defy the loneliness in the home office.
Tip 1: Just talk to colleagues privately
In the office, the private exchange often happens by itself – while waiting at the printer or the kettle in the kitchenette. These opportunities are missing in the home office. But you can also do this from a distance – at least partially. If you have to clarify professional matters with a nice colleague via chat or call, a small private exchange can be attached. Just check it out: “How are you doing in the home office?” or “Do you have any plans for the weekend?” These and similar questions can open the door for a little chat that enriches both your working day and that of the person you are talking to.
Tip 2: Together for a virtual lunch
In the past few months, many companies have established virtual lunch appointments where employees have lunch together in an online meeting. If this trend has not yet arrived in your company, simply take the initiative yourself and invite your favorite canteen colleagues to lunch via Zoom, Hangouts, or Skype.
Tip 3: Take a walk with your favorite colleague
With some colleagues, a friendly relationship develops over time. Some may only now realize in the home office how important their favorite colleague has become. And these “fellow workers” are particularly missing now. Do it like in the office and maintain common rituals also virtually. If one of you gets stuck with a tricky task, do you otherwise take a walk around the block and talk about the problem? Then grab your smartphone instead and stroll through the neighborhood with the “Frollegen” on your ear.
Tip 4: Plan after-work activities
If one day is the same as another and you mostly only see the wall at your home office from morning to evening, it is hardly surprising if you gradually feel a sense of loneliness. That is why after-work activities in the home office are immensely important. You may not be able to pursue all of your hobbies yet due to the current restrictions. But make up your mind, meet friends as much as possible, play sports. This has the positive side effect that you draw a clear line between work and private life and do not run the risk of “bogging down” at work.
Tip 5: think positively!
Admittedly, in times like these, that’s asking a lot. But our attitude is known to affect our well-being. And although you would prefer to sit in the office with your colleagues instead of at your interim workplace at the kitchen table – the home office will definitely have something positive for you too. Does your alarm clock ring later because you don’t have to commute to work? Does the coffee taste much better than the broth in the office? Can you now use your lunch break better for shopping and thus have more free time on the weekend? Focus on the good parts when the home office blues overwhelms you.