How to Combat Loneliness When Working Alone
June 11th, 2021 in News & Blogs
As part of our Year of Positivity campaign, we are giving our community of dog groomers the tools and resources to help with general life and business issues that may arise.
Each month we will be bringing you a new blog post with different topics – last month we talked all about Dealing with Anxiety, and this month we are going to discuss how to combat loneliness when working alone.
We understand that for many dog groomers, working alone is a common reality, especially over the past year. Working as a team of one can be very lonely and isolating at times, so we have put together some of our top tips to help keep you feeling happy and healthy at work.
Take regular breaks
When you are running your own business, time is money. However, to avoid stress and burn out, it is really important that you schedule in regular breaks throughout the day. Whether you choose to take 10 minutes between each client, or bigger, less frequent, chunks of time out is up to you.
Stay connected
Keeping connected with others through messages, phone calls or social media will really help you to feel more socialised. Keep in touch with friends, family or other groomers. Even posting photos of your grooms onto your social media profiles will give you the feeling of connecting and communicating with others.
Discuss your work with someone
If you have been used to working as part of a team, you may be missing the workplace chats about what work you currently have on, or even conversations unrelated to work. The best way to replicate this is to talk to someone at home (a partner, family member or friend) about the day you’ve had and also ask them about theirs. If anything significant has happened, or if you need advice on something, use them as you would a colleague.
Have a healthy lifestyle
Having a healthy diet and exercising is something that is mentioned a lot when thinking about mental health and wellbeing. It may sound a bit cliche now, but it is really important to stick to a healthy, balanced diet as well as exercising regularly. Take healthy food and drinks with you to work, and try to pop out of the workplace on your lunch break for a quick stroll. It’ll do wonders for resetting your focus after a busy few hours.
Be organised
Working as a team of one can be really stressful at times. If you’re having a bad day at work due to a high workload, unexpected problems or clients not showing up for their appointment, it can be hard to keep yourself focussed without other teammates there to support you. One way to try and combat this feeling is to be as organised as possible. Keep on top of your bookings, stock inventory, health and safety and anything else you need to do to run your business successfully on a daily basis.
Ask for help
More and more people are now understanding what it is like to feel lonely whilst working alone. If you are struggling with loneliness, it is important to reach out to someone you trust and let them know how you’re feeling. They may be able to help you, even if it’s a quick message or phone call during the day to keep you feeling in touch with others.
For more information on coping with loneliness, including organisations that might be able help you, you can check out the NHS loneliness pages or visit the Mind website.