According to a recent poll fewer UK adults feel they are coping well with the stress of the pandemic: in April 2020, 73% said they were coping well, and in February 2021, this figure had dropped to 64%.
We are beginning to anticipate a gradual return to a ‘new normal’ as the pandemic restrictions begin to ease, and many people are understandably anxious about the shift from working from home to returning to work in physical offices.
Most people know that stress is a natural human response and can serve a useful purpose (think of our ancestors and the vital ‘fight or flight’ response). But when we are anxious, we forget this and when it goes unchecked, too much prolonged or chronic stress over a long time period can have an adverse effect on our bodies, both physically and mentally. Ultimately, this can result in burnout – a state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion. If you are feeling drained, overwhelmed, wobbly, anxious, doubtful or sad, try our simple suggestions to regain balance as you return to your workplace:
- Turn to your trusted people – connect with the those you know well and trust to listen to you. If you can’t think of anyone you can do this with safely, consider counselling or psychotherapy
- Try to make a bit more time to build your work friendships – the research shows that this can provide a protective factor against burn-out
- Make sure you take enough time off – zoom culture means that many of us have been working longer hours than usual, and we’ve not even had the commute to and from work to help us create natural boundaries
- Try to stay away from negative people and situations and restrict your consumption of news and social media whilst you recover – this will prevent you feeling even more overwhelmed by events over which you have no control
- Try to get outside every day, even if it’s only for half an hour – you will benefit from the fresh air and natural light
Finally, try our Bite-size Learning sessions to support you further:
We hope you are managing in these challenging times, and as always, we are here to help with all your learning related queries – please get in touch and we will be happy to help.
