Some people worry that the lack of structure to their week is negatively impacting their mental health.
Luke Geoffrey, 35, a copywriter who lives in Manchester, England, is currently furloughed, which means every day really does feel like a weekend.
“No morning alarm, no commute, no overflowing inbox, no deadlines. Sounds blissful, right?” he said. “As furlough drags on, we’re at something like 15 weeks now, I miss having a reason to wake up in the morning and crave a workout for my brain.”
Mr. Geoffrey said the really good parts of the weekend still aren’t available. “I’m not able to go clubbing or attend a comedy show, or do any of the other things that usually recharge my soul,” he said. “No Olympics, no Wimbledon, no festivals, no vacation, no Eurovision song contest.” With nothing official to look forward to, Mr. Geoffrey said, “I think there’s a tsunami of people like me just steeling themselves for their first breakdown, with no coping mechanisms.”
Others, with the means to do so. are simply integrating time on and off the clock.
Rob Parks, 35, a health care I.T. analyst who lives in Washington, D.C., said the best part of remote working is he can be anywhere, as long as he has his laptop. He’s planned a few trips from now until the fall, all to places with beaches where he can swim on his lunch break and enjoy a piña colada the second the workday ends and he closes his laptop.
The fact that he doesn’t have to take vacation days, and he can stay at these places as long as he wants, whether it’s a weekday or weekend, makes him giddy.
“I’m down at Virginia Beach until Friday,” he said. “I might stay until Sunday. Or longer. I just don’t know.”