Working-from-home has become the norm rather than the exception this past year, when people the world over were forced to work-from-home owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it took some adjusting and getting used to (coupled with lockdown and homeschooling), everyone did it. And some countries across the world are still predominantly working-from-home.
But as with all changes, there are positives and negatives. And while the positives are many (spending more time with family, no daily commute, spending less on office lunches and morning coffees), there are also a number of negative side-effects to working-from-home, most of which are health-related. Let’s take a look at some of them and see how they can be prevented.
1.Poor Posture
The biggest effect to our health when working at home is with regards to our posture. Not all of us have a proper work set-up at home, or even a work desk, so we land up sitting either at the dining table (which might not be the correct height to sit and work from over a long period of time) or slumped on the sofa or even sitting on the bed. This is ok once in a while, but if we sit in a slouched, bent position over time, our posture is going to get affected resulting in shoulder and neck pain, back pain and a hunched back.
So avoid sitting on the sofa or bed, and if you do, then make sure you are propped up and upright with the help of some cushions. If seated at the dining table, try and get a chair that is a suitable height for you to work comfortably.
2.Strain On The Eyes
While most of our work is now online – either on our laptops or desktops or smartphones – we used to at least get a break from our screens when travelling to and from the office, during lunch hour or regular tea and coffee breaks with colleagues. But we don’t get a chance to do all this when working from home. As there is no official time to start or end work, we tend to be logged in first thing in the morning or even late into the night. We also spend no time travelling to and from the office and sometimes just grab a bite while working, so get no real lunch break either. And on top of that, we have to help our kids with homeschooling, which is also all online.
This leads to a considerable strain on our eyes and over time, could even lead to poor eyesight. Make sure you give your eyes a rest every few hours. Do some eye exercises. And get your eyes checked regularly by the retina and eye consultants such as retinaandeye.com.au.
3. Lack Of Exercise
Again, because we are sat at home all the time, we tend to get lazy. Usually, we get some sort of exercise during our commute to work – be it a walk to the station or cycling to work – but this doesn’t happen when we’re working from home.
So remember to take a break every once in a while and go for a walk or do some weights at home or even some yoga and stretches.
, everyone did it. And some countries across the world are still predominantly working-from-home. ){kind=link}
