How to Leave Work Early Even if You're Working From Home

The global pandemic has forced us to adapt the work-from-home (WFH) arrangement to make the world move again. We have since learned that it can be effective, but it can also blur the lines of our professional and personal lives.As a result, working from home causes more stress.

However, this arrangement will likely become part of the new norm with which we have to live. Learning how to set healthy boundaries can help us allocate time for work and rest, and manage our stress levels despite work challenges and uncertainties. Here are some ways to get started.

Prioritise Output Over Logged Hours

With the old office setup, employers cannot expect employees to work once they leave the premises. However, this practice has become outdated now that work-from-home measures are in place. This arrangement puts trust, responsibility, and boundaries to the test. Numerous employees have reported a "nightmare WFH setup"with bosses messaging after hours and workers feeling pressured to clock in throughout the day.

Adopting a new system calls for flexibility in work arrangements, such as focusing on output instead of total hours logged, which could stress both you and your boss. For example, you might feel guilty for finishing your tasks early even though this is a clear sign of productivity. On the other hand, employers might think you don't have enough tasks or you are making less effort.

Studies have shown that staying too long at work can lead to health problems. It is why boundaries are necessary for the era of working from home. Train yourself to leave on time or early if your company allows it.

Is it Alright to Leave Work Early?

After almost two years into the pandemic, you should realise that logging in longer hours doesn't equate to efficiency. Based on a paper by the University of Pennsylvania, an hour of deep work leads to more productivity than several hours of shallow performance. In fact, a person's inability to finish work on time might be because of numerous distractions during official hours.

We should work to live, not the other way around. Therefore, we should still find time for our personal affairs, which we can do by leaving work early or on time.

Achieving a good work-life balance can help boost morale and productivity. As early as 2016, some companies in Singapore learned that supporting their employees' work-life balance benefits them in the long run.

What If You're Not Done With Your Work?

You will never completely be finished with work. Finishing a deadline leads to another; reaching a target leads to more targets. However, if you dwell on what you haven't done, you're bound to bring work wherever you go, even in your sleep.

You don't have to finish all your work in one day. However, if you're planning to leave early, prioritise doing your most critical tasks.

This way, you can leave work even when you're not done without disrupting the workflow of others.

Best Practices to Leave Work On Time

Set Boundaries for Yourself

The most challenging part of working from home is that you could end up working all the time. You get constant reminders, emails, and messages about work even during personal time. You might be tempted to reply or do the tasks because you tell yourself that you might as well get it over with. However, this piles up and three hours later, you've used up your private time working again.

Creating boundaries for work and your personal life will be able to help you disconnect from work. Try making space for a dedicated workplace in your house. This way, the rest of the house still feels like home when you're not on the job.

Additionally, having different devices for work and personal use can help you focus on what you need to do. Once office hours are over, you can turn off your office laptop or phone to avoid trying to work more than you should. This way, you're switching off your work mode, too.

Keep Distractions to a Minimum

Avoiding distractions can help you be more focused on the task at hand. However, remember that some distractions are "healthy," such as interactions with your colleagues, which have become endangered in virtual office setups.

Try to catch up with your co-workers in your official work channels to help you avoid checking on social media. While you should take breaks and maintain healthy relationships at work, social media can make you lose track of time. If you get too distracted, you may need to work well beyond office hours just to make a deadline.

Decreasing your leisure time during work hours can help you perform your tasks better. By finishing your daily tasks on time, you will be able to keep work away from your time.

Avoid Unproductive Meetings

Video conferences are probably the best way to meet with teams in this new norm. However, some managers may have a limited time for availability. As a result, they would often set meetings with practically everyone, even if some people don't need to be in it.

Having a flexible arrangement in participation based on the agenda set could help lead to more productive meetings. Participants should be allowed to choose to dial in when they are needed and may be excused after they're done.

This way, instead of 15 people present through the whole two-hour meeting, some people can dial out and work on other tasks.

Communicate Your Working Hours

Since you don't have to commute to and from the office, your co-workers may assume that you're always readily available. It's not entirely a bad thing, but it also makes it seem that work doesn't end.

It may be difficult to set consistent work hours when you're working with people in different time zones. However, having a clear understanding of your work hours can set the expectations for your output.

Setting a time for your working hours is like setting boundaries with your co-workers. By doing this, they will make the effort to communicate what they need from you during your work time.

Plan After-Work Activities

Sometimes, you would just rather finish up some work since you don't have anything better to do. While it does show dedication, it could also lead to overwork and burnout, especially in a WFH setting.

Setting up activities to look forward to at the end of the day can help you put a hard stop to your work hours. Schedule a run, a ride, a yoga class, or a session with your gym trainer. You can also book a nice restaurant to eat in, or a meet up with friends.

Whatever it may be, plan it like you would plan a meeting and aim to make it on time. This way, you are more motivated to finish what you need to do for the day quicker and be able to leave work early.

As we learn to navigate the post-pandemic world, we understand that WFH is an essential part of the new normal. It also gave us a deeper perspective on mental health, with the prolonged time at home taking its toll on us.

More jobs are now available that offer this arrangement, in addition to those that had to make a shift. Because of this, we should learn how to work in this environment without compromising our mental health.

Visit Career Resources page for more tips on how to navigate this post-pandemic workplace. It also offers expert insights and advice that could help give a boost to your career journey.

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