COVID-19 has radically changed the working landscape in America. While working from home offers benefits such as protection from potentially contracting COVID-19 in the office and reduced transportation costs, it also brings about unprecedented challenges — specifically for working women.
According to TrustRadius’ annual report that surveyed the impact of COVID-19 on professional women in tech, “women in tech are 1.6x as likely to be laid-off or furloughed than men.” In addition, women are still expected to assume a large part of the child care responsibility, and thus are “nearly 1.5 times as likely as men to report feeling a greater childcare burden due to COVID-19.”
To avoid the effects of COVID-19 burnout, continue reading for helpful tips you can begin implementing in your professional and personal life to feel less stressed.
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Tip #1: Manage Expectations
Routines are superb for accomplishing goals and sticking to habits. However, when you are juggling your career, your children, and personal care, strict deadlines and routines may go out the door faster than you think. Carve in an extra 10-15 minutes in between your important tasks of the day and allow yourself the space to be flexible.
Tip #2: Set Clear Boundaries at Work
Now more than ever, checking Slack notifications during lunch time and answering late-night client emails in bed has become the norm. However, these habits can leave you feeling depleted and burned out.
If you find yourself working outside of normal office hours on a consistent basis, make it clear to your employer that unless it’s an emergency, you will be logging off at a certain time. Your employer does not need to know the specifics and if he/she objects, consider having a conversation about ways to streamline the work during the day or shuffling some tasks to other members of the team.
Tip #3: Get Your Endorphins Pumping
Move your body throughout the day! Just 30 minutes of daily exercise can have a significant impact on reducing stress levels and raising your endorphins (the “feel good” hormones). If you can’t block out a chunk of time to workout, consider investing in a standing desk or a seated bicycle to keep you active during extra-long Zoom calls.
Tip #4: Ask for Help
According to CNBC.com, symptoms of burnout can often manifest themselves in wanting to be alone. While quiet time for introspection is a great way of reducing stress levels, consider tapping into your support system and reaching out to friends, family, or neighbors to help alleviate feelings of stress or loneliness.
Download and save on your desktop or phone for a reminder:).
A final note on being a woman who works from home…
You’re doing amazing things with your career and the fact that you’re able to work from home, take care of the family, and have other obligations is astounding. If you haven’t heard it before, you are great, validated, and we love to see you thrive!
If you are a technology professional looking to connect to organizations that value your diverse background and the unique experiences you bring, click HERE to apply to work with a MinTech Agency recruiter and land your dream job!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2021 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
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