Work-from-home burnout: What it is and how your home can help with it

by Ann Marie Damashek, GRI, CBR, SRES 06/16/2024

“Work from home burnout” refers to being in your home constantly and having a lack of location change affect your work-life balance and mental health negatively. Some have reported feeling tired or just losing their focus throughout the day the longer they work from home.

In fact, remote workers may have to work a little more to make their space meet their needs.

Don’t worry. There are ways to enjoy your space while combating the negative effects of prolonged work-from-home burnout.

Here are a few ways to reclaim your home and how it can help you kick the work-from-home burnout blues:

Enhance your living space

Swapping out decor now and then is par for homeownership. However, upgrading your decor to something that helps refocus your mind and allows you a bit of breathing room is recommended for those working and living from home.

Try getting a breath of fresh air while incorporating living decor into your home. Houseplants can help elevate your mood while giving you something out of the ordinary to focus on. They’ve also been known to clean the air around you and help keep certain odors and contaminants out.

If you’d rather look into more functional ways to enhance your living space, try using organization and storage areas. Creating space on a counter or table is a great way to give the allure of being clean while giving your items a new and convenient home.

Enjoy your living space

Every home has a space inside it that makes for a good getaway place. If you need to find a corner to spend your lunch break, reading a book and enjoying a cup of coffee, try setting up a small table and chair near a window. This will also help provide more natural light, which has been known to bring elevated effects to most rooms.

If you find you have more space with fewer things in it, try creating a meditation corner or space for light exercise work. Keeping your blood flowing and taking breaks to clear your head are great ways to maintain a productive workweek. One of the perks to working remotely is your space is yours, so you can use it as you need to.

For those with a completely blank wall that seems to be taking its toll on you, try the soothing nature of a water element surrounded by natural or living pieces, like a living wall covered in climbing houseplants. These elements can help simulate an outdoor break area or a peaceful garden.

Embrace your living space

Every so often, it's best to embrace your situation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create a remote work environment that best suits your needs. If your space is small, but distractions are large, try adding a few room dividers or room dividing pieces, such as bookshelves.

Breaking up the room is an excellent way to avoid remote work burnout, as it creates a dedicated workspace that separates home life from.

If you still find yourself feeling a little out of sorts, try rearranging your home’s furniture. It’s not as large of a project as a full renovation can help ease your work-from-home burnout by giving you a fresh perspective of your space.

When working from home, burnout is bound to happen. There are ample ways to maintain your well-being when working from home, such as maintaining scheduled work hours, deep breathing exercises during your day and getting enough sleep.

Maintaining social connections with co-workers, other friends, family and community members can also have a great impact on your mental health and help you avoid work from home burnout.

About the Author

Ann Marie Damashek, GRI, CBR, SRES

Ann Marie Damashek has always been a natural at helping people prepare their homes for sale. She started out with a successful business selling goods for people on eBay. "Nine times out of ten they were hiring me because they were down-sizing,” Ann Marie says. "So I decided to get my license. I said, ‘Might as well sell their house too.’” The transition was a smooth one and for nine years she’s had a thriving full-time real estate business that allows her to marry her entrepreneurial spirit with her passion for helping others. With an office in Larchmont, New York, she serves all of Lower Westchester County, with her primary market in the Sound Shore region. The majority of her business is "sphere of influence” with former clients referring her to friends and family. A gifted communicator, Ann Marie quickly builds trust and rapport with her clients by being both thoughtful and responsive; she understands that during the purchase or sale of a home, a quick response time is crucial. "I am very accessible,” Ann Marie says. "I always make time for my clients. They can call me, text me, email me up until 10 o’clock at night and I will respond. I’m available on weekends. I get back to people very promptly. I’m very customer service-oriented.” Her clients appreciate her professionalism, passion and enthusiasm and as a result her repeat and referral rate continues to grow each year. While selling real estate is serious business, Ann Marie knows that at times humor and a moment of levity can be a relief to clients. While she has a laidback and easygoing personality, she can be assertive when needed on her clients’ behalf. She loves being of service to them, and the continually changing nature of the work keeps her engaged and fulfilled. "It’s never boring,” Ann Marie enthuses. "Every day is different. That’s probably what I like most about it. But I also enjoy helping people sell or buy and educating them about the process. I love helping them achieve their goals.” This ethic of service has resulted in well-deserved recognition. Ann Marie has received the Westchester Magazine Five Star Real Estate Agent Rating four years running, in 2015 and 2016 she was the #1 agent in her office, and she’s a Zillow 5-Star Premier Agent. To keep in touch with former clients, Ann Marie sends cards to mark special occasions or reaches out via email. To market her listings, Ann Marie uses Multiple Listing Services (MLS), as well as Listingbook.com, a service that allows both agents and their clients access to MLS data. She also uses a Facebook business page and ads to boost new listings or promote upcoming open houses. "That drives a tremendous amount of traffic,” Ann Marie says. She also uses the most popular real estate websites such as Zillow and Trulia. A strong believer in giving back, Ann Marie sits on the Board of Trustees of her church and is involved in a variety of social justice projects. She’s affiliated with Furniture Sharehouse, a furniture bank for Westchester County, which collects and distributes gently used furniture free of charge to those in need. "I love it on so many levels because as a realtor, it’s helps my sellers downsize through charitable donations. I like the environmental aspect of it as well. And it helps people who truly need things.” She’s also involved in Impact 100, a women’s philanthropic giving organization. In her free time, Ann Marie enjoys gardening, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. For the future, Ann Marie wants to continue expanding her business and developing her brand, and she someday hopes to grow a strong team. But her main goal is to stay in the real estate business, helping her clients to achieve their dreams.