Is Working From Home Making You Mentally Exhausted? Do These Three Things to Prevent Burnout

KOMPAS.com – The implementation of the work from home (WFH) policy on Fridays for the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) provides high flexibility in organising daily cadence. However, working from home eliminates an important process that usually occurs naturally when working in the office, namely the homeward commute. Cognitively, the commute home is not merely a physical transfer; it is a time for the brain to disconnect from office work. When the home becomes the office, that natural boundary disappears. Many employees immediately switch to domestic matters or continue to think about report deadlines after the laptop is closed. ‘Cognitively, the brain requires a transition. So it is beneficial to change location; in the sense that moving from left to right already represents a location change,’ Clement said when contacted some time ago. Addressing the loss of the homeward commute as a break from work can be done by creating substitute rituals inside the home. According to Clement, the first signals that can be easily picked up by the brain are physical changes in the body and the surrounding environment. You do not need to travel far; simply moving your seating position or changing the ambience of the room where you work is enough. One simple method that is effective is altering the way you dress. During the working hours of WFH on Friday, most employees are advised to continue wearing neat clothing to maintain focus. Once office hours end, immediately replace that clothing with casual home wear to signal that the professional role has ended for the day. ‘When we wear work clothes, for example we usually wear polo shirts. So after work do not wear polo shirts any longer. That helps,’ Clement said. Clement explains that this visual separation helps gradually reduce mental tension.