Since the onset of Covid-19 in early 2020, working adults all over the world were encouraged to work from home due to government regulations implemented to curb the spread, and Jakarta is no exception. While the immediate health benefits of avoiding shared spaces during a pandemic are obvious, companies and employees shouldn’t overlook the potential health consequences that can come with working from home for an extended period of time.

Multiple lockdowns in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, have negatively impacted the physical and mental well being of its people, leading people to become unhappy and unproductive while working remotely. Working remotely has also put many employees at the brink of burnouts or even depression due to the increasing demands of work and employers expecting employees to continue working after work hours.

Let’s take a closer look at the negative impacts of long-term remote working on our mental health.

THE PERILS OF LONG-TERM ISOLATION

While Jakarta is currently not in lockdown and there are not many regulations in place that restrict movement of the public or strict enforcement to wear masks, the global threat of another wave of Covid-19 lurks ahead with reported new variants of the virus. This means that another lockdown to prevent the spread of community cases is highly likely, and city dwellers in Indonesia may have to prepare themselves for isolation yet again.

Humans are social creatures who thrive with social interactions that reinforce our sense of well-being and belonging in the community, especially for individuals who are used to working in a close-knit culture at the workplace or enjoy working in a coworking space in bustling cities like Jakarta. When millions are forced to not only work remotely but also minimise social gatherings mental health is greatly affected, which could lead to feelings of isolation, helplessness and depression.

A recent study has highlighted that 19% of individuals who had to switch from working in the office to working remotely felt lonely when working from home. As for employees who thrive on working in teams and human interactions, maintaining relationships with co-workers and managers is important as the lack of it affects their work performance and mental wellness.

Citizens can’t lift lockdowns or risk breaking rules, but what else can be done to prevent the negative impacts of working from home from having long-term effects on individuals?

IMPROVING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

To alleviate feelings of isolation and loneliness, it is crucial to maintain some semblance of your life before Covid-19 existed. This includes face-to-face interactions with other like-minded professionals, clocking off work on time or simply having a productive and conducive workspace, which can be achieved by working at a coworking space instead of from home.

On top of the benefits of human interaction, coworking spaces like JustCo also provide you with a proper space to destress and rest whenever you are feeling overwhelmed from work, which might not be possible at home if you don’t have the luxury of space for a relaxation area.

IMPROVE WORK PRODUCTIVITY AND MENTAL HEALTH BY COWORKING IN A SAFE SPACE

Another way to stay sane while working remotely is to mimic your working habits as though you are, in fact, working in the office. This will be difficult to achieve at home since not everyone has the luxury of building a dedicated workspace in their homes. To better facilitate this, you can jump on JustCo’s JustDesk Unlimited membership plan that will allow you to have a workspace at our locations in Jakarta.

With a JustDesk Unlimited, you get a dedicated workspace that you can use daily, allowing you to draw a line between work and leisure time compared to working from home or from your bedroom.

You can commute to our co-working spaces in the morning and “clock out” when your working hours are over and head home to rest,  or brush shoulders and strike up a conversation with other professionals in our coworking space,  just like when lockdown hasn’t been implemented. In fact, stress levels can be decreased by making connections with professionals from other companies at coworking places and when employees can find confidantes for their problems. This way, you will be able to prevent yourself from working for an extended period of time without human interaction during lockdowns and possibly reducing the chances of burnout.

Get in touch with JustCo to find out more about our co-working spaces and solutions in Jakarta today.