How might we stay sane and productive when working from home?

By Azeem Butt, UX Researcher & Cyberpsychologist at SPARCK

Background...

I moved to Leeds from Manchester a month before lockdown started, I felt really excited at the prospect of meeting new people and starting in a new environment. The first three months were challenging as I felt isolated being in a new city where I barely knew anyone, whilst also not being able to see my family and closest friends in Manchester.

I had to look after my mental and physical health day-by-day and made goals to keep myself motivated - mostly through meditation, connecting with friends and family, and quality leisure time like Netflix or reading, exercising, and eating healthily.

Despite that, I burnt out from the high expectations I put on myself, then I realised that I had to be ok with not being ok, and the rest just fell into place as time progressed...

Once I got into this state of flow, I found myself getting out of my head to be more rooted in the present moment. Lockdown eased off, and I started to venture out more. I had enough of working remotely so I went back to the office early and I’m enjoying the hybrid working.

I am sharing this experience because it’s important to cultivate a sense of connectedness – especially as our experiences have all been different and we continue to work remotely.

The change in our use of tech in the last year

While we can celebrate how quickly and successfully, we adapted to working remotely and digitally, we also need to acknowledge the profound impact our lives, at home and work, and our health – physical and mental.

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We readily accepted the benefit that the internet and collaborative technologies brought us, by keeping us connected to carry on working. Technology allowed us to keep in touch with our connections and loved ones, but research has progressed our understanding of how these changes have affected:

Our work performance and wellbeing, for example digital distraction and presenteeism.
Our increased exposure to technologies, leading to digital fatigue.

As the hybrid working model emerges, it is an opportunity to reflect on ways to achieve a healthier balance – using technology to keep us connected and productive, while reducing and mitigating the risks to ourselves.

So how can we tackle this?

Cyberpsychology provides us with tools to make sense of our technology

So, what is cyberpsychology?

It is the study of the interaction between human beings, society and technology.

It answers the fundamental questions of how the rise in technology may affect humanity, now and in the future. It helps us to understand how a progressively more technologically exposed society affects our mental health.

Assessing the impact of technology can be challenging from a psychological research perspective due to the diversity of devices, content, audiences, purposes and context. Offering a meaningful comparison between these human-computer interactions which are happening simultaneously can be difficult. But cyberpsychology is a multi-disciplinary field covering a wide range of industries as its scope encompasses anywhere with an online presence.

Universities have broken down cyberpsychology into these subtopics:

Mental health online
The self in cyberspace
Cyberbullying
Cybercrime
Online dating/ relationships
Online communications/ marketing
eLearning
Online psychological applications/ healthcare
Psychology of artificial intelligence/ virtual reality
Online addiction
Cybersecurity
Online and video gaming
Computer forensics
Children’s/ teens use of digital technologies
User Experience
Human Computer Interaction

Cyberpsychology allows us to draw from scientific literature to measure the impact of technology on human behaviour, mental health, and wellbeing.

As the overlap between man and machine expands, the relevance of human-computer interaction (HCI) research will only increase. And, with the rising number of internet and computer users around the world, it is evident that technology's effects on the human psyche will continue to significantly shape both our interactions with each other and our perceptions of the world that is literally "at our fingertips”.

So, what can we do to strike a healthy lifestyle?

When working from home, its important to recognise that it is OK to...

Consider coming to the office if it is safe and convenient to do so
Book time off, so you don’t feel overwhelmed
Declutter your work desk
Eliminate the distractions where possible
Focus on one thing at a time
Manage expectations with your clients
Allow for quiet time away from your work laptop and phone during lunchbreaks
Turn off all notifications after work is finished
Set out of office emails automatically after work and during holidays
Ask for help and collaborate
Keep open channels of communication so you don’t feel isolated
Block out time in your calendar for uninterrupted work time
Plan breaks between meetings
Re-think how you want to manage your calendar & your availability

Outside work, it’s important to recognise that it is OK to…

Pause and ask why, before you habitually use your mobile phone, laptop, or any other device
Plan some screen-free activities in the week and give yourself a break
Turn down screen-brightness or use dark mode before bedtime to increase readiness for sleep
Pause notifications or turn them off completely
Delete any unnecessary apps, you don’t use on your phone
Set up screen limits on your devices
Spend time outside in nature

This is all great advice, but in practice, it can be difficult so look after yourself, ask others to support you in this change, and offer support to others.

References and recommended reading:

Cybercognition by Lee Hadlington (recommended book)
Galpin, A. & Taylor, G. (2018). Changing behaviour: Children, adolescents and screen use. British Psychology Society Behaviour Change Briefs (Online)
https://www.bps.org.uk/member-microsites/cyberpsychology-section
https://www.lenstore.co.uk/research/health-cost-of-screen-time/