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Active Response III Work at home Any sudden change requires you to do three things: create calm, nurture connections, plan and reflect. Figure 1Dancing to Let it Go
Self-care and setting up With little warning or preparation, most of us find ourselves at home, with or without family members, reorganising our normal lives into something new – and trying to get to grips with what ‘working from home’ means. For many this also includes juggling un-paid work, parenting or caring for others along with paid work. This is NOT a ‘business as usual’ situation. There are a range of different demands, and we are dealing with our own reactions to stress, unprecedented change and a high level of uncertainty. •
It’s OK to feel however you feel – we react to stress in different ways, all of which are normal. Allow yourself time to notice what you are feeling
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Look after yourself as best you can – think about your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing
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Allow time to work out what you/your household MOST needs right now – before rushing into being productive.
For many, this is a sudden and steep learning curve on how to work from home. •
Your children and other family members are more important than work: do whatever needs to be done to ensure they are OK
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Compartmentalise and separate as much as possible – be clear where and when you are at work and when you are not.
NZRA Insights Report – Fight, Flight or Freeze in the Red Zone
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Have a separate space, if you can manage it, away from whatever else is going on in the home. Set it up to be as inviting as possible.
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Periods of work may be episodic, built around the needs of the household as a group.
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If you’re sharing your house with others, have a conversation about roles [these may have changed overnight], expectations, boundaries. Clarify the parenting, caregiving or other tasks/responsibilities you share.
Managing Staff As individuals, communities and a nation, we are dealing with an unprecedented set of events unfurling at speed. We have little control over our external circumstances and must comply with government requirements. i.e. go home - and stay there. Instant adaptation to a changed environment is a skill, and not everyone will be at the same level. This calls for a changed style of management and changed expectations. Allow staff time to attend to priorities in their personal and home lives. Some suggestions are: •
Organisations, and you as a manager, need to say: “Give yourself a break, get yourselves organised, find a new way of being in this new environment”.
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