When you need to, or you’re forced to, work from home, the thought can be a bit daunting. People often worry about the work-life balance, about missing out on the social world of work or about having the right equipment to go about their working day.
It isn’t all bad though. Working from home can actually bring about a host of benefits to your mental and physical health, often providing health advantages that offices don’t give enough freedom to offer. In this blog, we’re going to bring you some of the positive sides to working from home, and how to make the most of your new-found home environment.
Freedom of movement
One of the most immediate benefits of working from home is that it gives you much more freedom to get out of your seat and to have a wander around the house to stretch your legs. While many modern offices can encourage the workforce to get up and move around, naturally this can make you feel a bit self-conscious, or even give the appearance you’re doing less work. This isn’t a problem when working from home, where the house and garden is your oyster.
Healthier lunches
It can be a real challenge eating healthy at work. The shops are just around the corner, the biscuit jar sits temptingly on the desk and thinking of something healthy for every day is a tough task. Working from home gives you full access to a larder and fridge full of ingredients, that can be stocked with healthy offerings if you shop wisely. You are the master of your environment here, so if you want to be exceptionally good with your intake, make sure the only snack food in the house is on the healthier side of things, like fruits, nuts and more. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water too.
Exercise opportunity
Talking of lunch, working from home gives a great opportunity for you to head out on a walk for lunch. Since you’re at home, you’ll know the best places to go to stretch your legs and you can even take the bike out for a lunch break of cycling to get in that much needed exercise to fuel you for the rest of the day. Being at home puts you at liberty to get equipped for exercise since you’ve got full access to your wardrobe and any other exercise equipment that you have.
Family time
If you’ve got younger children who aren’t in school and if you can avoid the distractions, working from home presents a great opportunity for some time with your kids. Family time is one of the best ways to give your mental health a boost and you’ll get to spend more time with them through their most important developmental stages, furthering your connection with them. Make sure you establish boundaries however – you don’t want your kids being a guest star in your high-level client calls after all!
Avoiding commuting
The commute, for many people, is not a fun experience. Crowded onto rush hour trains, wedged in static traffic jams or bundled into buses, most of us would rather avoid it all if we can. Naturally, when you work from home, you get all of that commuting time back and this can often have a big impact on your mental wellbeing. Not waking up to the prospect of a commute to your workplace can help you get your day off to a great start, not to mention once you clock off, your working day is done there and then.
Those are some of the best ways that working from home can help your mental and physical wellbeing. For more tips on how to stay healthy, keep an eye on our comprehensive health blog.