Remote work loneliness is one of the biggest problems for remote workers. Though working remotely has a lot of benefits, it can sometimes be a little lonely if you typically work from home. So how to overcome isolation when being a remote worker? Let’s discover the article below to find some useful tips! 

1. All you need to know about remote work 

1.1. What is remote work?

Remote working is a working method that allows workers to use online technology to work from anywhere. Similarly, management levels will control and monitor employees’ work progress through remote management software. 

1.2. Pros and cons of remote work

Advantages

Improve work-life balance: Maintaining a work-life balance is always difficult for employees, especially those getting married. However, by working remotely, they can spend more time taking care of their families while still ensuring work efficiency. 

Reduce stress: People who work remotely often feel less stressed since they don’t have to travel long distances to get to work or deal with a cramped office space. They are free from the pressures of daily timekeeping, office regulations, or continuous and long meetings. This contributes to increasing their productivity. 

Time-saving: Remote workers do not need to worry about factors that cause delays such as traffic jams, oversleeping, long-distance workplace, etc. On the contrary, they just need to get out of bed, do personal hygiene, and quickly sit down to work without wasting too much time.

Cost-saving: For businesses, working remotely helps reduce a lot of office operation costs such as office rent, electricity, water, security, etc. For individuals, this working method can help save a lot of costs for meals, office clothes, or travel like gas, repair, warranty, etc. 

Flexible working time and space: With remote work, employees can freely work from anywhere and choose their most suitable working time. They can work from home, in a coffee shop, or in a coworking space as long as ensuring work efficiency. 

Disadvantages 

Easy to lose focus: The comfortable environment of working remotely makes it harder to maintain discipline. Remote workers often find it difficult to concentrate on working for a long time because they are not too tightly controlled by working style or working hours. Besides, some distracting factors such as traffic noise, doorbell ringing, and talking of people around can also cause distraction during work.

Difficulty to communicate and exchange work: Unlike the office environment, remote work limits direct contact between managers and employees or between colleagues. Therefore, the discussions often take place through online meetings or work managing systems, making teamwork more challenging and less effective.

Lack of social interaction: For those who work remotely, communicating and interacting with people around is almost non-existent during the work process, which is the main cause of remote work loneliness. They only work alone without direct meetings or chatting. This makes them feel lonely and lacks a sense of society. 

Difficult to ensure security: Security issues often occur when employees access public wifi at a coffee shop or other location. This is the most vulnerable time for data security as it can be eavesdropped or stolen from employees’ personal devices. 

Inconvenient for new employees: Usually, new employees will have some time to adjust to the job and get to know new colleagues. However, this is quite a challenge for employees working remotely. Because they have to learn how to apply new support tools and new workflow without direct guidance from the manager.

2. How to relieve remote work loneliness 

2.1. Change your workplace sometimes

Regularly changing the workspace is also an effective way to boost the spirit when working remotely. It is best to use a laptop instead of working on a desktop computer. You can choose to work in different places such as a living room, reading room, balcony, or outdoor spots such as coffee shops, libraries, etc., to change the landscape.

2.2. Meet other people when possible

Stay in touch or meet with family members, friends, and other contacts as often as you can. You can set aside a time of the day to go out with friends or call your loved ones to confide and share things. These are all simple ways to reduce remote work loneliness and make up for the lack of social interaction when working remotely.

2.3. Get away from your desk and take a few minutes to relax

When you feel your mood and productivity down, put work aside and leave your desk for a few minutes. You can go make a cup of coffee, play with your pet, or take in the view outside through the window for a change of atmosphere. These simple ways can help you forget the remote work loneliness and come back to work more productively. 

2.4. Decorate and arrange the working corner

If you work remotely and feel your home office is too boring, then it’s time to give your working corner a new look. Try some of the layouts below:

• Put items that are in your favorite color on the desk
• Hang pictures or photos that make you feel comfortable every time you look at them
• Add a few small potted plants to create a feeling of freshness 
• Use scented candles to stimulate the sense of smell and relaxation.

2.5. Make a to-do list to nurture motivation

Making a to-do list will help you manage your time and be more productive while working from home. Try to categorize specific tasks by importance. It’s a good idea to work on smaller tasks before trying to complete the big ones in order to get ready for your next goals.

Besides, dividing the time frame for each task will also keep you on track. You can even alternate breaks and snacks between work hours to relax and regain energy when necessary. 

2.6. Listen to music that makes you more excited

Most people have a favorite genre of music, songs, or singer. So listening to music is a simple way to relieve stress and get back in a working mood quickly. Try listening to music that makes you want to stand up and dance or feel like time goes by faster. Because when you immerse in music, the negative emotions of remote work loneliness will be greatly reduced.

2.7. Join online and offline communities 

You can join online communities related to your current job or industry in order to reduce remote work loneliness. This is an opportunity to connect with new like-minded friends or discover a lot of useful knowledge along the way. If you’re bored with interacting via social media, look for offline communities in your area. You can even build your own community and invite people to join.

2.8. Do exercise regularly

Exercise can help increase endorphins, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is produced to create positive emotions, reduce pain, and improve one’s mood. If you are suffering from remote work loneliness, spend about 30 minutes a day exercising at the gym, or doing other activities such as walking, cycling, climbing, etc. This will both help you release negative energy caused by working alone and improve physical health after hours of sitting at work.

How Enouvo Space can help?

Being the first coworking space in Da Nang, Enouvo Space provides an ideal working environment to help you maximize your work performance and minimize the limitations of working remotely.

At Enouvo Space, we offer different working experiences with an integrated ecosystem of coliving spaces, coworking spaces, and coworking cafes. Joining our workspace will not only allow you to focus on your work but also reduce remote work loneliness with the local and international co-creative community.

Contact Enouvo Space to book a seat now!