Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have seen the rising statistics around stress and poor mental wellbeing in the workplace. Offices can be stressful environments for many of us. From toxic bosses to unmanageable expectations to uncomfortable colleagues, there are a lot of aspects that come into play.

Pippa has worked remotely in healthcare for five years and recently took up a part-time job at a climbing gym. “I’ve always struggled with office culture, whether it was the nonsensical early wake-ups just to spend hours commuting, thinking about what clothes I should wear, or small talk,” she tells Stylist. “Having two vastly different jobs has helped me acknowledge that I’m good at what I do and that I’ve actually got more to offer. My mental health has improved, and my overall stress levels have reduced by not putting so much pressure on my career.”

Sarah trained as a primary school teacher but has since taken up a remote part-time copywriting job for an agency. She shares: “I’d always had an extreme aversion to the word ‘no’, and had a habit of taking on all the work that was given to me even if I didn’t really have the capacity. Now I’m in charge of my own workload, my mental health has improved massively, and my flexible working pattern means I can really fit my work around my life, rather than the other way around.”

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