This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 28th Feb 2022.

Welcome to the February summary edition of the Remote Work Wellbeing Digest - the response has been fantastic, so many thanks to every single dedicated subscriber! Towards the end of every month, I will summarise the most recent research and topics covered in the digest in this short post below, meaning you have a reminder of the most pertinent topic easily at hand!

• Have consideration & understanding for CEOs No one has escaped unscathed from the impact of the pandemic and recent research from Professor Nick Bloom, from Stanford University, shows that the average CEO in a 3,000-employee firm spent 12 hours a week dealing with the pandemic and managing the effects. A sobering figure and a significant amount of time in any workweek, which in itself illustrates the extensive demands that all leaders have had to endure during the pandemic.

Also, the general impact on all workers' wellbeing - The impact on both general wellbeing and work-related wellbeing has been recorded extensively over recent months. This chart from an extensive study by HBR, gives a clear sense of how much work wellbeing has been impacted.

Taken from: The Great Resignation and effect of emergency home working

• Your brain needs regular rest periods We are human beings, not machines - our brain is a muscle and, as such, it tires out because of repeated use, needing rest to recharge. So the trick about productivity for any computer worker is to include regular rest periods for maximum effectiveness. Evidence supports this: a study co-authored by Prof. John Trougakos, associate professor of Organisational Behaviour & HR Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, argues that our brains have a limited pool of psychological energy and the absence of a proper lunch break can actually lower productivity.

“All efforts to control behavior, to perform and to focus draw on that pool of psychological energy. Once that energy source is depleted, we become less effective at everything that we do” he says. Read more here.

Avoid back-to-back meeting fatigue - Too many meetings is a common complaint in the current work climate. First, if you can, avoid having too many meetings scheduled and follow other recommendations in our earlier newsletter article “Escape the Zoom Tomb: ways to avoid virtual meeting fatigue”. Furthermore, recent research from Microsoft shows that back-to-back meetings are stressful, but check out the image below to see how taking breaks supports better brain functioning.

Taken from: Trust the science, your brain needs regular rest periods

• Use Emojis to Express your Feelings better Broadly speaking, a recent research study found emojis do reflect how we feel, but there are some gaps. Psychologists now see emotional experiences as falling along with continuous scales of both valence — how positive or negative an emotion is — and arousal. Check out this new study.

Taken from: Emojitastic! Express your emotional experiences with :-()

• Compassionate leadership is the key to a healthy return to the physical office. It starts with YOU, the self-compassion and self-care so you can be a compassionate leader! Employers and leaders take note, currently, you and your group need extra special support and consideration. Your tasks, responsibilities and resilience over recent times cannot be underestimated or undervalued. Playing many roles; the messenger, the support structure, the motivator etc., whilst possibly also struggling themselves with this new way of working and the external stressors the pandemic provided.

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This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 28th Feb 2022.