“We don’t need to stop, but pausing could save us.”
Last Thursday was Mental Health Day, a global effort to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. This, according to the World Health Organization.
It is not a new commemoration; the first Mental Health Day was celebrated in 1992, and annual themes have been observed since 1994. This year’s theme is Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace.
But these days, especially after the pandemic, what is the workplace, anyway?
Sure, it can refer to one’s physical workstation at an office or establishment that one goes to every day. But it can also refer to just about anywhere – home offices, any room in the home, coffee shops.
The pandemic showed us that despite physical restrictions, we can get many things accomplished because we are not bound by the four walls of the office. We can have meetings, we can hold classes, we can collaborate with others on projects using the cloud. Even after the restrictions were lifted, and given the state of public transportation and traffic in our country, it could be argued that remote work is the more productive option. The time that would otherwise be spent travelling or waiting for a ride could now be spent with family, or could be used to rest.
Of course this applies to those whose nature of work allows them flexibility.
Those who work from home, however, know all too well that this flexibility comes at the cost of boundaries. Imagine further those with multiple engagements – side hustles, I believe they are now called – aside from their main job. There is no 8-to-5 clocking in and clocking out. The idea of working at one’s own time is tantalizing, but “own time” can begin at dawn and end at or after midnight. With household chores or short episodes of shows as a break.
Needless to say, the dissolution of the boundaries of time and space could take its toll on mental health. One may wake up wanting to stay in bed all day, or burying one’s head in the sand, and disappearing for extended periods of time. But we’re adults, of course, and we show up however we feel.
The solution may appear obvious especially to champions of work-life balance: take a break. Disconnect. Have a life. Do nothing.
This is sound advice. The catch is, if you are around my age who grew up being taught that there is no substitute for working hard, disentangling from work demands may elicit a feeling of guilt. And isn’t “do-nothing” an unflattering description?
But everyone is a work in progress.
I find that it is healthy to deliberately detach from work for a given amount of time. It’s for the sake of health and well-being, and also to ensure that when you do return to work, you’re back in your element. As it is, some people carry their busy-ness like a badge of honor, a testament to how important they are, how indispensable. It may reflect their fear of being seen as lazy or irrelevant. But as values and perceptions evolve, we find that this could also serve as an indication that one is not able to manage one’s time – oneself – well. And that is not a source of pride.
The pursuit of doing nothing thus is a desirable objective, because done well, “nothing” is actually a big “something,” allowing for gaps and spaces in our life that enable us to breathe instead of constantly catching our breath while we drown in our responsibilities.
One catch, though: planned, temporary detachment may be desirable and ideal, but unfortunately a luxury. Not everybody can afford to take breaks. Some who work hard are ambitious or are workaholics, but many, too, are simply not able to slow down because they need to work to earn money, period. Let’s check on people like this if we know them.
Productivity is good and hard work is noble. Resting is empowering and being kind to oneself. There are no clear-cut rules on how to balance living with earning a living. We don’t need to stop, but pausing could be life-saving.
