Workplace Wellness: 5 Mental Health Benefits of Working in an Office
Every day is one day closer to going back to work in the office. The idea of leaving behind our desks at home and heading into the office may create some feelings of anxiety, so it’s essential to understand the mental health benefits of returning to a normal worklife. Although there may be some uncertainty about how life may look with the new Delta Variant and mask mandates being reintroduced, there is certainty that our mental health can improve just by going back to the office.
Going back to work at the office means working with others again. A contributing factor to the increase in mental health disorders like depression and anxiety in 2020/2021 was due to the isolation people felt by being alone all day. Phone calls and virtual meetings are not the same experience as meeting face to face with someone. Working from home means missing out on running into work friends in the hallway, chatting with coworkers in the break room over a cup of coffee and running out on your lunch hour to meet a friend for a meal.
People were meant to live together, be together and work together. We were not meant to spend our days in quarantine or home alone with no one around us. The prospect of seeing friendly faces, sharing stories about your life with others and gaining new friendships is a factor to be excited about. The more time we spend around the people who make us happy, the less alone we will feel and the more our mental health will improve.
Going back to work at the office means spending the day somewhere other than your home. Let’s face it, spending 24 hours, 7 days a week in the same place can get boring very quickly. One of the great things about working in an office or group environment is that every day is different and coming home feels like a reward. So often people used to say, “I can’t wait to go home” after a long work day. Changing our environment is key, especially when it comes to stress.
If your work environment and home environment are in the same place, you won’t be able to disconnect the two. When you are at home, you won’t be able to decompress from the day since everything around you will remind you of the work day you’ve had. You also might feel obligated to work longer hours since everything you need is right at your fingertips. The ability to disconnect your personal life from your work life is key when it comes to a healthy mindset.
Going back to work at the office means less distractions and increased concentration. When you are working from home, it is so easy to get wrapped in distractions that take you away from your workday. Whether it is throwing a load of laundry in, checking the mail, taking a break to pay your bills, or looking at your wall hangings for so long that you decide you need to purchase something new right then – the distractions of working at home are endless.
Being able to focus on your work and not all of the things on your home to-do list is important. All of us want to put our best foot forward during our work day, so that we achieve our best results. Working in an environment that constantly pulls us away from concentrating, makes the environment more stressful and hard to clear our mindset.
Going back to work at the office means increased networking opportunities. Not only does working with others increase our mood, but it also increases opportunities both professional and personally. One of the top ways people meet their future spouses is at work, since it presents the opportunity to connect every day with someone.
From a business perspective, so much growth of a company comes from who you know, not just what you know. The people that you work with, may not be people you would haven chosen to spend your time with or otherwise would have met. Having connections always comes in handy, whether you are in line for a promotion or are looking to expand your professional development in a way they can assist. When you are excelling in your professional career, you feel proud of yourself and what you have accomplished. Your self confidence will improve, which is part of having a healthy mindset.
Going back to work at the office will cut down on your home expenses, so you stress less about your bills. When you work from home, you are using your personal utilities to charge your work day. You may have had to upgrade your internet package and you’re using more electricity to charge your computer and light your home. These daily expenses add up, so every month you are paying more than you did when you worked in an office. One less bill to worry about, is one less stress on your mental health.
It was hard for many of us to transition to working from home and for many of us it will be hard to transition going back to the office. The real estate industry has changed dramatically since the pandemic and maybe your company has changed office spaces since the quarantine. It is even possible that maybe your company has decided to continue working from home indefinitely! If that’s the case and your mental health is suffering, check out some of the flexible membership options that coworking spaces like CommonGrounds Workplace offer. Love where you work and love the mindset that comes with it.
