Cabin fever is the phenomenon that occurs when someone is stuck inside for a protracted period of time, unable to get outside into fresh air or to interact with other human beings. The oldest known use of the term cabin fever to mean a type of claustrophobia caused by being forced into a period of isolation occurred in the early 1900s. It seems to have originated in North America. The image is one of a pioneer spending long winters by himself on the Great Plains, where severe weather and distances from neighbours were truly isolating.
Sadly, many of us are now at risk of something similar as we all work from our homes. Courtesy of broadband and the internet and laptops the technology is there to facilitate professional people working effectively and efficiently anywhere. Skype and Zoom and Teams all provide technology platforms we can use to have a virtual office in our front rooms. In fact, the current difficult circumstances are just accelerating a trend that was happening anyway.
See this article Global Remote Working and Statistics which says that Across the globe, working from home and remote locations has grown 159% since 2005, more than 11x faster than the rest of the workforcecommenting Many of today’s job seekers are searching for greater work/life balance, and broader choices in terms of where – and how – they work.
Whilst this Harvard Business Review piece Is It Time to Let Employees Work from Anywhere? comments A 2017 Gallup poll reported that 43% of employed Americans had spent at least some time working remotely, and US Census data released in 2018 reported 5.2% of U.S. workers being based entirely at home and discusses the positive advantages and the potential increase in productivity.
However as with all rapid changes in the work place this one has happened so fast that we are still adapting to the many changes it brings. See for example this article The 7 biggest remote work challenges (and how to overcome them) which comments It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. A report from the United Nations International Labour Organization found that while employees are more productive when they work outside of the conventional office, they’re also more vulnerable to working longer hours, a more intense work pace, work-home interference, and, in some cases, greater stress. It discusses the challenges of working too much, prioritising and dealing with interruptions (the doorbell, your dog barking during an important call).
It also talks about the risks of loneliness and lack of human interaction quoting the actor Cody Jones “To a certain extent, your co-workers are your social circle. Sometimes it is hard to explain to others that all your friends are online.”This Virgin article The five challenges to working from home and how to fix them discusses the “always on” problem My desk is always there, like a siren song, calling me to take care of some small thing at all hours of the day. Mitch Leff, president of Leff & Associates Public Relations agrees, "Separating work from home is a challenge. It’s very easy to find yourself down in the office getting ‘just one thing done’ in theevening, when you realise it’s midnight and your family has all gone to bed!" we’ve all been there!
The other thing I have learnt over the past week is to use the technology to have virtual coffee breaks or tea and chats with colleagues, scheduling them if necessary. After all, in an office we take time to speak to our colleagues so why not do so virtually?
On line gamers have known this for ages and as Bob Dylan said in the lyrics for the song You’re a Big Girl Now You’ve known it all the time, I’m learnin’ it these days.
That for me is the thing: we will need to adapt and learn. Here are 10 Really Smart Quotes About Working From Home including building a stress free zone, get ready (don’t stay in your slippers) and get up don’t work from bed, and again stay socially connected. I particularly like
Close the door
"The most important thing is to have dedicated office space where you can CLOSE THE DOOR and have set office hours. ... I did the opposite and allowed work to swallow my home life for a while. ... Stupid mistake."
--Kathy Kristof, editor of SideHusl.com
Create routines
"Establish a pre-work routine and an after-work routine. Working in the same place where you wake up, eat, and sleep can make anyone go crazy without proper boundaries in place."
--Marissa Owens, Opportunity Business Loans
I suppose as we leave our virtual office at the end of another virtual day it is really just a question of balance and finding time for our social and family selves as well as our work self. As Michelle Obama said “We Need To Do A Better Job Of Putting Ourselves Higher On Our Own ‘To Do’ List”.
Sadly, many of us are now at risk of something similar as we all work from our homes. Courtesy of broadband and the internet and laptops the technology is there to facilitate professional people working effectively and efficiently anywhere. Skype and Zoom and Teams all provide technology platforms we can use to have a virtual office in our front rooms. In fact, the current difficult circumstances are just accelerating a trend that was happening anyway.
See this article Global Remote Working and Statistics which says that Across the globe, working from home and remote locations has grown 159% since 2005, more than 11x faster than the rest of the workforcecommenting Many of today’s job seekers are searching for greater work/life balance, and broader choices in terms of where – and how – they work.
Whilst this Harvard Business Review piece Is It Time to Let Employees Work from Anywhere? comments A 2017 Gallup poll reported that 43% of employed Americans had spent at least some time working remotely, and US Census data released in 2018 reported 5.2% of U.S. workers being based entirely at home and discusses the positive advantages and the potential increase in productivity.
However as with all rapid changes in the work place this one has happened so fast that we are still adapting to the many changes it brings. See for example this article The 7 biggest remote work challenges (and how to overcome them) which comments It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. A report from the United Nations International Labour Organization found that while employees are more productive when they work outside of the conventional office, they’re also more vulnerable to working longer hours, a more intense work pace, work-home interference, and, in some cases, greater stress. It discusses the challenges of working too much, prioritising and dealing with interruptions (the doorbell, your dog barking during an important call).
It also talks about the risks of loneliness and lack of human interaction quoting the actor Cody Jones “To a certain extent, your co-workers are your social circle. Sometimes it is hard to explain to others that all your friends are online.”This Virgin article The five challenges to working from home and how to fix them discusses the “always on” problem My desk is always there, like a siren song, calling me to take care of some small thing at all hours of the day. Mitch Leff, president of Leff & Associates Public Relations agrees, "Separating work from home is a challenge. It’s very easy to find yourself down in the office getting ‘just one thing done’ in theevening, when you realise it’s midnight and your family has all gone to bed!" we’ve all been there!
The other thing I have learnt over the past week is to use the technology to have virtual coffee breaks or tea and chats with colleagues, scheduling them if necessary. After all, in an office we take time to speak to our colleagues so why not do so virtually?
On line gamers have known this for ages and as Bob Dylan said in the lyrics for the song You’re a Big Girl Now You’ve known it all the time, I’m learnin’ it these days.
That for me is the thing: we will need to adapt and learn. Here are 10 Really Smart Quotes About Working From Home including building a stress free zone, get ready (don’t stay in your slippers) and get up don’t work from bed, and again stay socially connected. I particularly like
Close the door
"The most important thing is to have dedicated office space where you can CLOSE THE DOOR and have set office hours. ... I did the opposite and allowed work to swallow my home life for a while. ... Stupid mistake."
--Kathy Kristof, editor of SideHusl.com
Create routines
"Establish a pre-work routine and an after-work routine. Working in the same place where you wake up, eat, and sleep can make anyone go crazy without proper boundaries in place."
--Marissa Owens, Opportunity Business Loans
I suppose as we leave our virtual office at the end of another virtual day it is really just a question of balance and finding time for our social and family selves as well as our work self. As Michelle Obama said “We Need To Do A Better Job Of Putting Ourselves Higher On Our Own ‘To Do’ List”.
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