A new everyday life - daily schedule, media and work
May 8, 2020, 3:44 p.m.

The corona virus changes our everyday life. Familiar routines and procedures have to be constantly adapted to the current situation, in private life as well as at work. Good planning and mindfulness for yourself and for others helps here. The large amount of information about Corona has also become part of our everyday life. They require healthy and conscious handling of the media. The emergence of new communities in the neighborhood or community can be seen as an opportunity in the crisis.


Mastering the changes in everyday life and the daily challenges is a very important issue for many people ( DCHAN - German-Chinese alumni networks ). Many are forced to spend more time at home, both adults and children. A new daily structure has to be found. Sometimes the work in the home office has to be organized or childcare has to be arranged. Hobbies or leisure activities are eliminated. Instead, there is a lot of time for using media. Information about the course of the corona spread is important, but too much information can also be harmful. As a chance, the new situation results in the emergence of new communities, for example in the neighborhood or in the community.


Plan everyday life

Maintaining a structured everyday life is very important. The basic principle for the current situation can be said: "Only if we take good care of ourselves, have a good daily structure, can we also help others well." This can be achieved, for example, with a fixed plan. Most experts confirm how important and helpful such an everyday plan is ( interview from the time with Cornelia Bertsch, psycho-login and expert in health communication ). The plan serves as a kind of “timetable” for the day or for the week. The following must be taken into account:

  • It looks different for everyone, but fixed routines and rituals can be helpful for everyone . This can be, for example, a breakfast together or a walk at a fixed time. Routines and rituals also provide children with orientation and a feeling of security. Older people, for example people with dementia, also benefit greatly from rituals and routines ( Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft ).
  • Fixed, if possible regular time slots make up this daily or weekly schedule.
  • If you live in a partnership
    or family, it helps to set this schedule together . This increases the liability. You feel more obliged to adhere to and implement the agreed plan. In addition, everyone's needs can then be taken into account accordingly.
  • Importantly, in addition to mandatory activities also beautiful moments or reward activities schedule that good for one.

Job

The effects of the corona pandemic do not stop at work. They pose very different challenges. For some, the workload increases enormously, for example in retail or in the medical field. Others are affected by short-time work or have lost orders as self-employed. For many, the organization of work changes through home office, some have to organize childcare at the same time.

Home office tips

If you work at home, there are a few simple but effective tips:

Design your workplace consciously.

  • If possible, set up a permanent job. Use this only for work. This helps to separate work and private life. For example, if you have to work at the kitchen table, choose a different place for working than for eating etc. This also helps to separate the different areas of life.
  • Also pay attention to how you sit. Sit in a healthy and relaxed posture. Change the seating position more often. Exercise regularly in between. (You can find further information for a healthy workplace at the German statutory accident insurance, for example )

Stay in contact.

  • Discuss in a team or with your supervisor which media you would like to use for meetings and the transfer of information (e.g. telephone, email, video chats). Try not to use too many different media.
  • Clarify at what times you can or must be reached via which routes.
  • Maintain “in-between contacts” with colleagues when you work at home. Continue rituals from “normal” everyday work. This can be, for example, in the form of a short, daily phone call when starting work. Or you can meet for a break together using video telephony. Or you can say goodbye at the end of the day with a message. Choose what suits you.

Plan your day at work.

  • An advantage of home office can be that working hours can be made more flexible. Nevertheless, set working hours as regularly as possible.
  • Regular breaks are proven to be important in order to be able to work in a focused and efficient manner. So plan regular breaks. Do not spend them at your workplace.
  • Make sure you adhere to your working hours. Many work longer in the home office.
  • It is best to make a weekly schedule in which the working hours and break times are recorded. You can also use the online calendar so that managers and colleagues know when you can be reached.
  • Discuss the times with your family and those around you. Can the work be reconciled with your family situation? Could you keep this situation going for several weeks? If not, don't be afraid to seek support. Despite the limited number of contacts, there are options. This can be through a conversation with the supervisor. Or through neighborhood help .

Create a separation of work and private.

  • When working at home, it is often more difficult to switch off. It is helpful here to set up a workplace that is only used for work. In the best case, this is a study, the door of which can be closed after work. If you don't have the option of an extra workstation, you can also choose a table side or a place where you would otherwise not be sitting.
  • The choice of clothing also has a psychological impact on whether you feel like at work or in your free time. It can be helpful to change before and after work. A suitable piece of clothing may also be sufficient for this, for example a blouse or a shirt, depending on the field of work.
  • In addition, rituals at the start and end of work are helpful. At the end of the day, this can be clearing away the laptop and documents, closing the door to the study or covering the PC with a cloth. Be creative here.

Further information on the topic of home office, including IT, security and data protection or legal issues, can be found, for example, on the website of the New Quality of Work initiative .

Sources: Health Promotion Switzerland , dureschnufe.ch , State Institute for Work Design North Rhine-Westphalia

Labor law and occupational safety in the times of Corona

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs answers many questions about labor law and occupational safety .

Leadership and leadership

As a manager, you are obliged to take care of the health of your employees or your team.

Occupational health and safety standards:

- You can find current information on occupational safety standards, their implementation and various questions on the professional handling of COVID-19 on the website of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, for example .

Care for mental health:

Protection against psychological overload associated with COVID-19 is just as important as protection against infection.

Mental illnesses were already the second most common reason for absenteeism last year (source: DAK Gesundheit . It is likely that this will increase further due to the various additional burdens, for example due to the absence of childcare, the representation of sick colleagues, through time off, Loss of earnings, job insecurity, the fear of contagion if the hygiene regulations in the company are not complied with, the fear of a warning if the regulations are not complied with sufficiently or long journeys for cross-border commuters.

If all of the personnel can be protected from chronic stress and deterioration in mental health during this exceptional situation, they will be better able to perform their duties. Also keep in mind that the current situation will not be resolved overnight. Instead of focusing on repeated short-term crisis management, you should keep an eye on longer-term professional capacity.

What can you do for the mental health of your employees?

  • Make sure that all employees have good communication and accurate, up-to-date information. If necessary, make sure that the information is available in different languages. Also use opportunities to communicate "personally", for example through video messages. It is helpful and safe to create a routine for communication, for example to give a short update every day at the same time.
  • Especially in times of crisis, it is important to be in contact. Ask about how your employees are doing and give them the opportunity to exchange views on what the current situation of the individual is. Use online conferences, for example, but also one-on-one meetings. Not all personal difficulties are addressed openly in the group setting. Here too, a routine is recommended, that is, to observe fixed weekdays and times. Even if there is not much need for discussion, at least a short exchange round should be made. The crisis situation is very demanding for managers, often existential economic questions and challenges are in the foreground. Nevertheless, think about the care for your employees. The support and support,
  • Provide suitable technical means of communication to enable team communication well, even with a spatial separation. You can find information on this in the practical guide "Leading and communicating in the time of Corona / COVID-19" at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland .
  • Initiate partnerships between new and more experienced colleagues. The "buddy system" helps to provide support, to keep an eye on stress and to strengthen security procedures. In this exceptional situation, it can also be very easy for managers to exchange information with experienced colleagues on a regular basis.
  • Enable flexible schedules for employees who are indirectly affected. Make sure that the colleagues can provide each other with social support in good time, for example to be able to carry out their work from home.
  • If necessary, give employees access to psychological discussions and advice.
  • Be a role model. Leaders are also faced with stress factors similar to those of their employees and may find themselves under additional pressure from their leadership responsibilities in the crisis situation. Use the precautions and strategies mentioned for yourself as well, be a role model for self-help strategies for prudent handling of exceptional situations and for reducing stress.

Source:

Institute for Transcultural Health Research