“For Nils Backhaus, who lives in Bochum, just outside Dortmund in Germany, even when he’s working from home commuting is still an essential part of his day that he can’t go without. At the end of the working day, around the time of 1700, the 34-year-old research and policy adviser for Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health puts on his shoes, and gets on his racing bike to cruise through the tranquil landscapes along the Ruhr River. This daily ride – what he calls his “fake commute” – mimics the trip he used to take returning from the office, before he transitioned to home working. It’s Backhaus’s way of recreating a more traditional start to ‘Feierabend’, a German word describing the time after work is done, and a period of leisure and rest begins.” How ‘Feierabend’ helps Germans disconnect from the workday
Today, take time to read this long and in-depth article from the BBC’s Life Project about ‘Feierabend’ as a way to cope with home working without commuting – create your own fake commute to help your mind separate work from the rest of the day.
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