Remote-working public servants: 8 tips for managing your work-life balance

From our community

For many public servants, working from home will outlast the Covid-19 pandemic. Remote working isn’t an option for everyone, but for those of us semi-permanently stationed in our lounges, studies or cupboards, new strains have been added to our work-life balance. One estimate suggests remote working adds a grueling three hours to the average workday.

To help you manage, we’ve done some homework on home-working. We asked the Apolitical community what’s helped them to manage their work-life balance. Here’s what they said.

Retain your office working habits 👔

“My practice to manage work-life balance is first to start and end my workday at the same time each day. I’m not perfect at doing so, but I do so on the majority of days. Second, I get up early and go for a walk before work to get my body going for the day. Third, I ensure I step away from my computer for a real lunch break. Finally, I rarely look at my work emails outside of work hours.”

— Senior Project Office, Canada

“I am trying to manage my work balance by trying to establish rigorous schedules mimicking regular working hours. It is important to try to set your own workspace in your home and also act as if you were in an office environment. For instance, use work clothing, and focus [only] on your tasks during your workday. Having pauses is also very important, and turn[ing] off your computer when your journey is finished is a must. Don't work after hours!”

— Sergio Gómez Barrera, Alderman, Gobierno de Zapopan, Mexico

Avoid meeting creep 📲

“It's true, we're working longer hours. The number of meetings isn’t helping. They can go on from hour to hour. At the end of the day you realise that you don't have time to actually put into action the conclusions of the meetings.”

— Paula Kolenko, Government of Slovenia

Set aside time for unstructured chat 💬

“Make time to connect ‘face to face’ with your colleagues. We had a Microsoft Teams ‘morning tea’ every day at 9:30am; whoever was available logged on. It was valuable to talk with people every day, to maintain our connection and recreate the office chats that so often lead to new ideas.”

— Elizabeth Bazen, Principal Policy Officer, Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Australia

Develop your self-discipline muscle 🌄

“Don’t take self-discipline lightly, train that muscle! Strict (or semi-strict) routines, work in self-care moments like walks, yoga, meditation, good and healthy meals and always try to end the day on a good note. Put all the work related stuff in a box and put it away in case you don't have the luxury of a separate office. But most importantly, schedule yourself harder than usual – that’s where the self-discipline comes in!”

— Therese Råberg, Strategist, Kronoberg Region, Sweden

Work on personal projects 🎭

“I struggled with work-life balance early on in the pandemic, but I realised that the same tools that make it all too easy to stay plugged into work can also make it easy to enrich our personal lives. I’ve been using some language learning apps and Twitter Spaces to gather with people interested in the same stuff I am. The key for me has been to stay committed to things that build up my personal life and not just my work life.”

— Josh Solinger

Separate your home and work devices 💻

“Since the lines between work and home have become blurred, I have separate phones for work and home. Every evening, I keep the work phone away and don’t look at it till the next morning. That seems to have helped the anxiety. My team continues to have access to my personal number but they’re aware that’s only to be used in an absolute emergency!”

— Senior Advisor, New Zealand

Go outside! 🌲

“In a regular day, I apply discipline to take a walk and get some sunlight for 30 minutes. It is something quick, but very helpful to keep my self-care.”

— Gustavo Garcia Vieira de Almeida, Chief Planning Officer, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“Make time to get out of the house every day. Go for a walk, wave to the neighbours, sit in the sun.”

— Elizabeth Bazen

“Every day I make sure to take time to ground myself by spending time outside, even if it is a few minutes: taking my dog out for a few minutes in the morning, at lunch, going for walks, enjoying my coffee or lunch outside and joining some informal meetings (with my team) on my patio. Now that the weather is nice and warm enough, I open the windows in the office where I work to hear the birds singing. This brings me calm and comfort throughout the day.”

— Manager, Government of Canada

Get a good boss (or kids)

“I personally haven’t been working longer because I am lucky to have a boss that makes sure I can log off at 5pm. My co-worker and I check in virtually with my boss everyday to discuss workload. The purpose is to ensure we are not overworked.”

— Senior public servant, Canada

“Have kids at home, they won’t allow you to work long hours!”