4 Signs That You Might Have the Work at Home Blues
“Live/Work housing offers end to commuter blues.” I recently saw this headline in the local business journal. As you can imagine, I got a big chuckle out of it. As a veteran virtual worker, I know better.
There are definite advantages to working from home. You pick your own brand of coffee, set your own dress code, play whatever background music you like and best of all . . .there’s no commute. However, if you work from home 3 or more days a week, you have probably become familiar a distinctive set of challenges I call the work at home blues or WAH.
WAH or waaaaah! as I say it, refers to the unproductive work habits commonly cultivated by the isolation and detachment that remote workers experience when working from home.
It stands for the constant interruptions and distractions from family, friends and neighbors who don’t respect your time. WAH represents the dissipating energy levels you experience in a work environment void of new stimuli. It characterizes the uncomfortable feeling you get when you realize that no matter how much you contribute, your co-workers still believe that you are out golfing or shopping, rather than working, when you are home. In short, WAH refers to the uneasy realization that your workdays have become consistently unproductive.
I learned to identify the Work at Home Blues because I have experienced it, in varying degrees throughout my career. I had to find ways to combat it.
In this series, we’ll explore 4 signs (and their fixes) that you just might have the Work at Home Blues. The first of which, is isolation. Sound familiar? Read more about the perils of isolation in my blog post Feeling Isolated? You’re Not Alone.
