Health Highlight: Fri. 24, Mar.
Today's highlight: Commuting can help provide the space you need between work and home life.
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“A journey from work to home is about more than just getting there – the psychological benefits of commuting that remote work doesn’t provide” (URL, Glasp)
✍🏼 Matthew Piszczek • Kristie McAlpine
🗞️ The Conversation • 🗣️ @ConversationUS
Brief
This article summarizes the main points laid out in the research paper “All in a Day’s Work: Boundaries and Micro Role Transition” about how commuting plays a role in mitigating the effects of burnout under certain conditions. 1 2
The focus is on a concept called liminal space—which in architectural terms means a physical space between one destination and another (like a bus stop or gas station); 3 4 and in a mental health context, refers to an emotional or metaphysical space between two roles or situations (worker to parent). 5 6
Break it down for me
Commuting creates a “liminal space” in both physical and metaphysical terms—a physical space between your home and work, as well as a metaphysical space between the roles you play in both places—where people can transition and recover from the demands of the workday. And depending on certain factors of the commute, like the mode of transportation and stress incurred by the commute, the access and quality of this mental liminal space can have positive impacts on the commuter’s ability to recover from burnout.
But what if I work from home?
The goal is to practice detaching from your current role and preparing for your next one; to stop overthinking about stressful situations at work and instead focus on activities that help you relax and bring you joy.
“Our findings suggest that remote workers may benefit from creating their own form of commute to provide liminal space for recovery and transition – such as a 15-minute walk to mark the beginning and end of the workday.”
So what do I need to do?
If you commute, try to limit the stress of the commute and maximize the time by listening to music or calling a friend. If you you work from home try carving out some time at the beginning and end of your day to help make clearer boundaries between your workday and home-life.
🏷️ Tags: #WorkLifeBalance #LiminalSpace #Commute #Stress
Notes
“All in a Day’s Work: Boundaries and Micro Role Transitions” https://www.jstor.org/stable/259305
“A journey from work to home is about more than just getting there – the psychological benefits of commuting that remote work doesn’t provide” https://theconversation.com/a-journey-from-work-to-home-is-about-more-than-just-getting-there-the-psychological-benefits-of-commuting-that-remote-work-doesnt-provide-195799
“Liminal Space: What Is It And How Does It Affect Your Mental Health?” https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/what-is-liminal-space/
“My Favorite Liminal Spaces on Campus” https://college.harvard.edu/life-harvard/student-stories/my-favorite-liminal-spaces-campus
“Along for the ride through liminal space: A role transition and recovery perspective on the work-to-home commute" https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20413866221131394
“On the Road Again: The Mitigating Effects of Commuting on Work-Family Negative Spillover” https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.17098abstract