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Hitting the brakes on the endless workday

Posted On: Mar. 3, 2021 1:03 PM CST

biking

Expert say employees can run the risk of burnout if work-life balance is out of whack, and the pandemic’s push to telecommute has set the wheels in motion for trouble ahead as work and family time see no boundaries.

The solution could be a “fake commute,” reports KTRK-TV, an ABC News affiliate in Houston.

Profiling office worker Susan Jaworski, who said the longer she went on working into the evening, “the harder it was” to stop answering emails or sending messages.

“The blend between home and work was starting, and there wasn’t really a transition," she told the news station. So she started doing a fake commute: riding her bike around her neighborhood before and after her work day.

Jamila Owens, a colleague who helped develop workforce solutions, says for those who are working from home, getting out of the house at the beginning and especially at the end is essential.

“You talk about the day not ending, answering one more email. Telework puts you in the position of having instant, 'always on' communication. And so having a ritual to help you turn that off is very important," said Ms. Owens.