Numerous studies have shown that the health crisis has psychologically impacted many people. According to a study by the Morpheus Network, conducted in April 2020, 47% of the 1,800 respondents said that they had a deterioration in their sleep quality during the COVID lockdown which was related to various factors (sudden change of life, stress, anxiety, etc.)
How do we explain this phenomenon ?
Working remotely definitely plays a role. When we work from home it is harder for us to separate our professional lives from our personal spaces. However, disconnecting is essential for the mental health of your employees. Beyond simply being a break, breaks from work provide many benefits.
What initiatives can be put in place to maintain a healthy lifestyle in the era of remote work and lockdown/curfew?
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Adjust your employees’ schedules to allow them to create a balance
- Set work hours and a real lunch break.
Lunch breaks are important, especially when working from home as it can always be tempting to reply to emails while we eat. A real lunch break allows us to start again on a new dynamic. Depending on the working hours defined by you and your employees, ask them to close their mailbox notifications or professional laptops after 18:30/19. You can also advise them to store their computer at the end of their day. Be sure to rest and leave time to ensure they have a balance between work, their personal, and their family life.
- Protect the health of your employees by offering them time to be active
Disconnecting also includes wellness, sports, going out, walking for an hour, getting some fresh air, etc. With curfew, post-work activities are no longer feasible. You can certainly allow your employees to expand their lunch break or to take an hour in the afternoon so that they can do some physical activity. This break time can be made up by finishing later in the evening or starting earlier in the morning. In addition, exposure to daylight will improve your night’s sleep !
- Allow a small beneficial break after the post-lunch kick
The micro-nap has more benefits than not! It allows for an increase in productivity of 35% and also improves memory, concentration, creativity and mood regulation. A micro-nap can be taken at any time: after lunch, before an important appointment/call, before making a long journey etc. Our brain does indeed need regular breaks, even at home! For this, you can recommend your employees to take micro-breaks (if necessary by putting an alarm on their phone), to stand up from their office space regularly, to stretch, do breathing exercises, move etc. The benefits? Stimulation of blood circulation and metabolism. These are all good solutions to refocus and avoid back pains and headaches.
2. Provide your employees with concrete tools to use in their daily work from home in order to take care of them
It is not always easy to disconnect, everything is a matter of learning and creating habits. To this end, these unprecedented times have revealed new tools to help release the pressure.
- Many mobile applications are now available to learn how to practice meditation and relaxation.
These applications, often composed of guided audios of sophrology, allow us to learn to concentrate and reconnect with ourselves. With the Nap&Up app, your employees will be able to learn how to disconnect thanks to our micro-nap audios (more than 100 audios available!) from home or in a workspace. These audios are composed of themes adapted to the different needs that one can face at work (learning how to keep calm before an appointment, swiftly preparing for a presentation, learn to relax, etc.) and various background sounds to choose from according to one’s desire (take a nap to a playing harp, be lulled by the sound of waves, listen to the rain, etc.). Choose whichever sound fits your mood and wants!
- Today we spend the majority of our day on computers or mobile phones.
All day we are attached to our screens which results in mental fatigue. Some things that you can do to alleviate this and promote disconnection are: breathing exercises, eye massages, stretching etc. Specialists (sophrologist, yoga teachers, etc.) can share their advice through webinars or conferences. At Nap&Up we offer 30-minute webinars to discover these varied and effective practices: eye yoga, self-massage, breathing exercises, etc. Find all of our webinars here.
3. Combine the useful with the pleasant through team activities that go beyond the usual activities
The main problem with the health crisis continues to be lack of contact and relations. It can be very difficult to share the feeling of belonging to a team through the phone or zoom meetings. Why not organize team workshops that go beyond the topics specific to their duties ? You could organize webinars :
- Do It Yourself workshops online.
The goal ? To recreate a team atmosphere around a nice and pleasant environment that strengthens team bonds. Examples include : creation of a recipe, herbal tea workshops, creating a small garden, zero waste workshops, etc. We propose a one hour event about herbal teas led by a Sophrologist. More information here.
- Live sports classes, for a more adventurous or gentle awakening do a morning yoga class before starting your day or at the end of the day to relax and disconnect.
- Morning coffee dates to start your day smoothly or online drinks. Nothing is more enjoyable than finishing your day by relaxing and talking to your colleagues about anything but work. This will create a real and friendly environment.
Efficiency and productivity at work also require a real disconnection. And disconnection means holidays. After more than a year of remote work and major changes in our routines, think about your employees by thanking them and offering them a real opportunity to disconnect. With gift certificates you can take care of your team and ensure a productive return to work.
#InSiesteWeTrust