During an extended period of working from home, I get concerned about employee health and safety at home. This is especially important during the coronavirus pandemic quarantine with the added fear and anxiety we are all feeling.

Not everyone is suited for the isolation from working from home. If employees have the TV turned on to the news all day or are constantly scrolling through social media, their uneasiness and apprehension increase and productivity decreases.

Luckily, all of our employees have access to all of our training videos so we can easily curate a small collection of courses that can ease their minds. Here are a few ideas:

Stress Management

Stress is when anxiety disturbs the body’s normal state of functioning and it affects everyone differently. Our series on stress management will help your employees understand the different kinds of stress, how to avoid stress, how to handle unavoidable stress, and how to manage stress.

External stress can be caused by the disruption of working from home, canceled events, and family demands while quarantined. Internal stress can come from chronic worry about the pandemic, pessimism about the future, and unrealistic expectations about other’s actions. I think our courses can help support employee health at home.

Change Management

Change can be hard when it’s scheduled, managed, and planned. Having to abruptly relocate your workspace to your home for several weeks can be an overwhelming change experience for your employees. We have a course in our Coping with Change series that people will find really helpful. It explains two different models: thought-oriented and results-oriented.

In the thought-oriented model, I think it will be natural for people to immediately resist this change and have feelings of anger and frustration. Simply watching our course may help them be more self-aware and be able to pivot and change their mindset.

Healthy Sleep

During an extended home quarantine, we can all go a little bit stir crazy. We spend too much time with the gloom and doom news reports online and on TV. Some people may fire up their laptop from their bed. All of these may negatively affect your sleep patterns. One of the reasons for a home quarantine is to help us all stay healthy. Sleep should be restorative to your mind and body and if you are not sleeping well, you are more susceptible to stress, illness, and burnout.

We offer a four-part series on the science of sleep that will help your employees sleep well. The course on sleep hygiene provides some actionable ideas you may not have thought of regarding the timing of exercise, alcohol consumption, and electronics in the bedroom. We also have a course on how to beat insomnia with additional tips. Did you know that if you wake up in the middle of the night for more than 20 minutes, experts suggest that you get out of bed and do a quiet activity like reading for a while?

Mental Health

Many people experience the debilitating symptoms of mental illness, but they don’t recognize the signs. In many instances, they’re left untreated or will self-medicate which can be unhealthy. A home quarantine may exacerbate the symptoms. Our series on mental health includes courses for employees dealing with mental health illness and for managers managing employees who are experiencing these issues. Make sure they have access to online resources to help support their mental health at home through this challenging time.

Additional Training Topics

When you work with a company like HSI, you have access to a full library of training videos that you can easily access and assign to your learners as needed. A few other helpful topics focused on employee health at home might include:

• Ergonomics: Employees are setting up new workspaces in their homes and these courses will give tips to keep the spaces ergonomic to avoid things like eye strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and muscle strains.
• Deskercises: Employees working from home may be sitting improperly on a couch, floor, or in bed. This five-part series provides simple exercises and stretches to alleviate pain or discomfort.
• Keep Your Cool: This series is about how to keep your cool when things get tense.
• Take a Deep Breath: This stand-alone course explains deep breathing and relaxation techniques to help you get through stressful situations.
• Coronavirus Precautions: Your employees are being bombarded with conflicting stories around the coronavirus. Give them accurate information so they can take the proper precautions to stay safe.

I can work from home for a few days but after a while I need human interaction. I will create my own coffee breaks to catch up with co-workers or walk on my treadmill for 15 minutes. I have been lighting my favorite candle and I take regular breaks with my dog. Take the steps you and your employees need to take care of yourselves while working from home.

Additional Resources

• How to Use Online Training During a Home Quarantine
• Coronavirus Precautions for Employees
• How Can Workplace Wellness Be Improved?
• View our coronavirus and pandemic planning training topics