Health

Corona:Advantages in the home office, It’s finally time for selfcare

In addition to the logistical challenges that the home office brings with it, the question also arises: Do I still have to get dressed

Dilnaz Shaikh

March 26, 2020

Corona advantages-in-the-home-office-it-s-finally-time-for-selfcare

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In the series “How I Met Your Mother” one of the characters, Robin Scherbatsky, who works as a news anchor, has a colleague and co-moderator who thinks his job is a professional siding. Because he doesn’t think he can tear anything in this station and at this brutally early time anyway, he doesn’t care about anything. And because the viewers only see him from the navel upwards anyway, he wears nothing under his news desk. So, a pair of underpants. That’s it. A chic shirt and jacket above, a white, unsightly men’s panties below. Now that many of us have gone to our home office, we face similar challenges: What do I dress when nobody sees me anyway? What do I wear when I’m only seen upside down in video calls? And do I have to get dressed if it is much more comfortable in my pajamas?

Now there are, of course, different personalities and, accordingly, a varied approach to the clothing issue in the home office. There are people who get up at seven in the morning, do yoga and greet the day with a sun salutation, shower and sit afterward as if they had been peeled from the egg in a stylish study, into which golden daylight falls. There is also a homemade smoothie, of course.

The normal mortals, however, only get up shortly before the start of work, quickly make a coffee and shuffle at the desk in their pajamas, the hair stands tangled on both sides, as if it had had a party of its own at night, woolen mice hanging from the slippers thrown over cardigan has long since had its best days. In the end, it seems, at least, you sit like the “dude”, the main character in the classic film “The Big Lebowski”, at home in your bathrobe for days and drinking White Russian. In such cases, one can only pray that the spontaneously scheduled meeting becomes a call, not a video call, and sometimes wishes for better self-organization back to the usual four walls of the open-plan office, which is actually not particularly popular.

You can’t always choose that at the moment. In the Corona crisis, many companies send their people to their home office indefinitely, and many employees welcome this: To get away from people as little as possible, which also means not sitting in crowded lanes, touching various escalator railings and possibly coughing up allow. “For people who are not used to working in their home office, this is the real challenge,” says Cornelia Seewald. She is a qualified psychologist and coach and advises companies on change processes.

Is it bad now, as a person who is not tried and tested at home, not to get into gear in the morning in terms of fitness? “The day starts later in the home office and is more comfortable. You can start the day more relaxed, ”says Seewald. In her experience, many enjoy the quiet in the morning and also the convenience: not just having to sit in an uncomfortable tie or tight skirt, not wearing makeup. Taking time to arrive in everyday work. So that’s not bad, it’s normal. And even helps many people to start the day more relaxed.

Fashion brands are also adapting to the new challenges. Fashion bloggers recommend the best and most beautiful pajamas and jogging pants that you can wear in your home office. Because what is comfortable can still be pretty, which also does something with your own self-esteem and work motivation. The Swedish shoe label Flattered sends pictures of the “perfect home slippers” around, they are pretty and at the same time comfortable for at home. Maybe a nice change to thick wool stockings or felt slippers. A nice compromise with tight jeans and an uncomfortable blouse is light fabrics for the home, linen, cotton, and sometimes even silk pajamas.

Because comfort or not, even on the phone it makes a difference whether you are lounging on the couch in plaid pajamas or sitting at your desk in a good mood after a hearty breakfast. Nobody wants to speak on the phone in a busy voice and give the conference the impression that they have just fallen out of bed. Self-regulation is the psychological keyword: structuring everyday life, and that starts with putting on clothes. Those who set themselves neuropsychological anchors, i.e. routines and habits that need to be repeated, are more productive at work because The switch from hanging mode to work mode is made easier.

It can look like this: not eating everywhere, not working everywhere, not sleeping everywhere. At least freshen up in the morning according to the routine, even if it is not the super chic dress and the red lipstick, but only a cat wash. It is made so clear to the mind: the day begins. I’m starting to work. “If you really get ready in the bathroom, put on something beautiful – the whole self-assembly is done. Then you are in a good start phase, also because you may be used to it, ”says Cornelia Seewald.

Spatial markers can also help to differentiate the home office from the rest of the home. This is where my pen, my computer, and my notebook are, and work is being done here. Here, instead of my pajamas, I might be wearing at least nice jogging pants and comfortable shoes. Such rituals can help you switch to work mode. If you follow your morning routine in the morning, you simulate a normal day-to-day work – and usually get in better.

There is no dress code for the home office

This is especially important if you are single and live alone. Families and couples often have established rites anyway. Who goes to the bathroom first? Who’s making breakfast? The system gets going immediately with the usual rhythm.

There is no dress code for the home office, which is nice. “Of course, that’s different when you confer via Skype,” Seewald points out. You should stick to the customs of the respective company, so as a man you should wear a suit if you want it. The nice thing about a home office without video calls is exactly that: I can quickly take things off afterward. I get dressed, but in a way that is comfortable. Not because nobody sees me anyway, but because it is most comfortable for me in this situation. “It becomes critical when hygiene suffers from negligence,” says Seewald. “Then it can be dangerous.” It is not always clear to draw the line in the home office. So here is the recommendation: little morning rituals. In addition to brushing your teeth, don’t forget to comb. Shave every now and then. Such things.
But it’s not all work. The home office and the time gained from it offer opportunities, also in terms of your own fashion sense, your own beauty rituals. It starts with having time, a lot of time to make your own closet. What do I really wear regularly? What I haven’t worn in at least a year – that can go away. Declustering at home, Marie Kondo would be proud. But: You can hang around too, without a guilty conscience! You don’t have to optimize yourself in the time of complete isolation. It’s more about knowing yourself well and feeling what is good for you. Do I feel really good if I hang in my bathrobe and with White Russian in front of the telly all day? Or is it not more beneficial for my well-being,

“We all wish that this time would not take too long,” says Seewald. But the opportunities that this time gives us should not be underestimated, “keyword: self-care”. At least for those who are not sick or busy taking care of their children during these weeks, or still needing to go to work because home office is not possible, can try to do something good for themselves. And for many people that also means putting on something nice or particularly cozy. You don’t have to, as influencer Riccardo Simonetti suggests, have your hair greased for days to do good to the scalp. (If you really want that and possible roommates don’t mind, of course, you can.) But there are many other beautiful things that do most people good, which we can enjoy doing in this time of retreat and rest, instead of feeling the prescribed rest as an imposed break. “Take a long bath, do a body peel, a face mask, a hair treatment, more yoga,” suggests Cornelia Seewald. “Prepare freshly squeezed juices, chop raw food.” Hair treatments, face masks that paint the nails. Things that we otherwise don’t have time for while rushing from appointment to appointment.

“It also has something to do with self-efficacy”

It is a time when you can try out new make-up without looking at it strangely because you will never get it like the super talented people on YouTube anyway. A time in which you can put your favorite outfit on and put it on – just for yourself, not for anyone else. Those who do not want to be concerned with what he or she is wearing can discover other rites of reflection and self-care. “You can make phone calls in peace, with your girlfriend or family,” says Seewald. “Or listen to a CD or record in the morning that you don’t have much time for otherwise.”

Self-care, self-care can also be the meal that you cook yourself in the evening. The time with coffee in the morning alone in the kitchen, with the newspaper and the incredible silence that this time brings with it. “Self-care also has something to do with self-efficacy, so: I am responsible for the fact that I am well.” At the moment, we are all of course also responsible for the fact that others are doing well by staying well at home. And by the way, we can make sure, self-efficaciously and selfishly that we are well.