Fortunately, remote workers can successfully navigate health risks by using certain tech tools designed to enhance different aspects of their lives, including physical fitness, mental wellness, and productivity.
By Michael Akuchie
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is remembered as a rough patch in recent history, it also contributed to the rise of remote work. With social distancing now a thing of the past, remote work has evolved from being seen as an alternative work style to a sought-after perk that helps prospective job applicants determine whether a role is the right fit.
Beyond the flexibility that remote work offers, both employees and freelancers have the opportunity to establish a better work-life balance. This often means spending more time with family at home rather than spending almost the entire day at the office.
However, despite the significant advantages of remote work, several health risks remain. For instance, working from home can lead to boredom and fatigue, ultimately reducing productivity. Furthermore, spending prolonged hours in a sedentary position can have a substantial impact on physical health.
Fortunately, remote workers can successfully navigate these health risks by using certain technology tools designed to enhance different aspects of their lives, including physical fitness, mental wellness, and productivity. This listicle highlights five tech tools that remote workers should strongly consider to improve their physical and mental well-being this year.
Asana
For those in project management or supervisory roles, keeping track of tasks assigned to team members can be quite challenging, especially if done manually. Enter Asana, a work management platform designed to help teams efficiently manage and track their tasks. It is available as a mobile app and as a web platform for personal computers.
Asana enables users to create tasks, organise them, assign employees to specific tasks, and monitor their progress. Users can also add notes to each task, providing team members with additional information to enhance their chances of completing the job successfully. If you’ve been struggling to keep track of the numerous assignments given to the people you manage, it might be time to try Asana or alternatives like Trello to boost your productivity.
Clockify
Have you ever wondered if it was possible to track your work hours and determine how long it takes to complete specific tasks over a week or a month? Clockify is a tech tool that enables remote workers to analyse their work hours, providing detailed insights into areas that may need adjustments.
It’s an excellent way to evaluate performance and devise strategies for improvement. Clockify is particularly useful for eliminating distractions and prioritising important tasks. While users can manually start the timer to track their time spent on work, the app also features an auto-tracker that automatically records your time.
MindDoc
Although remote work has reached widespread praise for being flexible, being fixated on a screen in a room for many hours can induce loneliness. A survey conducted by Nuffield Health showed that a quarter (25%) of respondents revealed that they struggled to manage the feeling of being isolated from friends. If left unchecked, such feelings can lead to mental illnesses like depression and dangerous coping mechanisms like alcohol abuse.
MindDoc is a tech tool that can help users be aware of their mental health and identify areas for immediate improvement. It caters to various categories of users including those who want to improve their mental wellness, those feeling emotional distress, and those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
One of its features is the ability to recommend audio courses and other helpful materials based on your responses to three wellness questions it asks you daily.
The app also provides detailed resources on how to navigate feelings of anxiety and burnout. While this is in no way a complete replacement for a therapist, it is one of the easiest ways to practice self-care while working remotely.
Slack
Burnout is a major concern for remote workers, with 49% of respondents in a McKinsey survey reporting that they felt a certain level of burnout. However, managing burnout is not an easy affair, especially when working in a high-pressure role. However, remote workers can ease the burden by using tech tools like Slack.
Slack is a cloud-based message app typically used in the workspace. Through its AI-powered features, users can simplify certain tasks and save their energy for more demanding responsibilities. With Slack AI, users can get automated conversation summaries after a meeting which eliminates the need to spend hours on manual transcription.
Users can also use Slack’s Status Update feature to set boundaries at certain times. For instance, if you had a dentist’s appointment at a certain time and didn’t want to receive any message, you could simply update your status. You can even go a step further by enabling the Do Not Disturb feature, muting future notifications so you can focus on the current task.
StayFocusd
Sometimes, remote workers may feel the need to take a short break from their tasks. These brief respites are often spent on bathroom breaks, eating, or scrolling through the Internet. However, the Internet is filled with websites that can easily distract workers, making it difficult to return to work after a quick break.
If you find it hard to stay focused due to the Internet’s distractions, the StayFocusd browser extension might be worth exploring. Available on the Chrome and Microsoft web stores, this extension allows users to block specific websites, helping them concentrate on their tasks. Users can even block the entire Internet except for work-related sites. Additionally, remote workers can set schedules for when these websites will be blocked, eliminating the need to manually restrict access.
Michael Akuchie is a tech journalist with four years of experience covering cybersecurity, AI, automotive trends, and startups. He reads human-angle stories in his spare time. He’s on X (fka Twitter) as @Michael_Akuchie & michael_akuchie on Instagram.
Cover photo credit: RoboticsBiz