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By Angela Brown

'Zoom' burnout

Health advocate offers advice on reducing work-from-home stress during pandemic

Mar 29, 2021 | 5:36 PM

Raise a virtual hand if you’re ‘Zoomed’ out, burned out and your work-life balance looks more like a jumbo jigsaw with all the pieces astray from working from home during the pandemic.

A local health advocate said the COVID-19 restrictions can create many stressors people need to be aware of to keep their mental wellness in check, particularly since some have had to work remotely for more than a year.

“Surveys that have been conducted throughout the pandemic have indicated that as far as work goes there are high rates of burnout, and adverse mental health impacts are reported among those who work remotely,” Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Battlefords branch executive director Jane Zielke de Montbrun said.

Some of the pressures include added responsibilities and new stressors related to having a blurred work-life balance. Ongoing changing provincial COVID-19 regulations and guidelines can also have an impact.

She said people can feel anxiety from not knowing when things will return to normal.

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“We’ve gone through the first wave and now we’re going through the second wave. Now we have a variant,” Zielke de Montbrun said. “So there is not that clear line to improvement that we would typically maybe see in other cases. It’s kind of all over the map.”

Studies show young workers and women have been particularly affected.

“There is an increase in disordered sleep, a decrease in motivation, and an increase in anxiety and depression, for example,” she said.

Job stress increased 20 per cent in women versus 1.6 per cent in men.

Zielke de Montbrun said studies have been undertaken by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health based in Toronto, as well as the national branch of CMHA. There have also been studies completed in the U.S. and the U.K. throughout the pandemic.

“I think there is a lot of awareness about how we need to collect data around the effects of the pandemic on our mental health collectively as a people,” she said.

There are “far reaching implications” to the mental health side of the pandemic, she said, in addition to the mental health struggles people already experience as a society.

Zielke de Montbrun mentioned constantly participating in online meetings also can be fatiguing for people. And viewing a mirrored image of oneself as a participant can be a bit disconcerting in itself.

“It’s a stressful thing in a different way,” she said of the online experience.

The advocate encourages people to take a breather whenever they can if they are feeling stressed or anxious while working from home. Go outside to enjoy a walk and some fresh air to stir up the feel-good dopamine released from the activity.

“Exercise is so important to us for our mental health,” she said.

Zielke de Montbrun reminds people to pick up the phone and look for ways to connect with others if they feel isolated and lonely.

And reach out for support from health professionals when they need it if they are dealing with any mental health challenges.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW