November 6, 2020 | Ajita Chamberlin | |
Views: 72
Rate this idea:
Loading...
The What
My suggestion is to trial a 'Time out' between 12pm and 1pm each day (or equivalent depending on time zone) Everyone would block out time in their diary and to support this by not scheduling any internal meetings at this time. By having a 1 hour amnesty, we'd be encouraging our people to use the time wisely to do other things; whether it's a walk or a run to get outside in the daylight hours, reading a book or simply having a traditional phone call, with colleagues friends or family. This time can be used to recharge and take a break. This may not work for external meeting, but it would be a good practice to have internally, as we all prioritise healthy habits.
The Why
A recent study by Oracle and Workplace intelligence surveyed 12,000 people across 11 countries and found that 78% of the global workforce reported negative impacts to their mental health this year, with 42% saying their productivity has plummeted and 41% saying they are challenged because there is less distinction between their work and home life. However working from home has it's benefits too, more time with family, more done by avoiding the commute, especially when we stick to good habits that allow us to be our best. When working from home it can also be easy to find yourself becoming overwhelmed by Teams calls, direct messages and emails.
The How
This is a focus on remote workers and not site workers. I would suggest we reach out to leaders in the business and assess their thoughts, for example may not be ideal in a commercial world. We could maybe do a HO trial as majority of staff are home working, while there is the current lockdown.
(16 votes, average: 4.88 out of 5)
Loved this idea!
Great idea Ajita – time zones are indeed a challenge but we need to build on the principle of this idea particularly as we know from survey results that people feel a need to be “always on” when working remotely. That is not sustainable and we need to work smartly as a collective.
Love it Ajita.
This is a brilliant idea, especially in the northern hemisphere where winter lockdown means we get very little chance to see daylight hours during a work day.
Great idea Ajita, and I know this is happening in other firms as well as my wife’s company recently introduced this to their staff too. They went a step further and said that everyone should block an hour in their diary at a time to suit their convenience and to actively seek some fresh air and light if possible.