As part of our Health & Well being awareness programme, we have produced an SDBC Working from Home advice sheet. You will find some hints and tips on how to reduce the feeling of isolation and how to create a work space. The advice sheet is shown below and is available to download here.
As we move to working from home as a temporary measure, it is important to keep connected to reduce feelings of isolation, and help you feel connected with colleagues while working remotely.
To help support you, we have put together the following suggestions:
Get Set Up
• Aim to wake up around the same time every day. This helps stabilise your internal clock and improve your sleep overall. You’ll feel less tired, more refreshed, and find it easier to concentrate throughout the day.
• Keep to your established morning routine if you can – get ready, washed, and dressed as if you are going to the office. This will help you get into the mind-set that you are at work.
• Try to set aside a work area separate from your sleeping area, as this will help to prepare you for work mode and make it easier to switch off at the end of the day.
• You don’t need a home office to do this – a small desk set up in a corner of your room, or a laptop at the end of the kitchen table can do the trick.
• Clear your work surface of clutter and set up your equipment to avoid physical strain. If you don’t have a chair with back support, you could add a firm pillow.
Get Moving
• Including some movement into your work day will help maintain your physical and mental health. Remember the stairs you’d be climbing at work!
• Take regular screen breaks and stretch throughout the day – get up and walk around.
• Take a clearly defined lunch break and move away from your workspace.
• If you’re not self-isolating, try going for a short walk during the day– this can help you to feel like you have mentally ‘arrived’ or finished work.
Get Connected
Make sure you keep communication open with your team, as often and frequently as possible.
Here are some suggestions that we are trying:
• Video calls instead of emailing – set up a Skype account
• Short check-in/out calls between you and your Line Manager, at the start and end of the workday
• Optional sessions for colleagues to dial in and chat through any concerns or queries they have about working from home – use your Skype account for multi person chats.
• Access to work should only be via the remote access portal
• Devices must be locked when left unattended
• Hardcopy documents must be kept away from anyone else in the household
Should you feel unwell during your time working from home, please let your Line Manager know.
Stay safe, stay well
