Working from home, remote employment whatever you name it, this is need of the hour in this current situation.
Even without coronavirus outbreak health concerns, according to studies, the practice of work remotely has grown by 140 percent since 2010 and continues to rise. Today, 4.3 million people work from home at least half of the time even when there’s not a global pandemic going around like now.
But it’s not always fun and games when you don’t have a boss looking over your shoulder.
The following are some mistakes you might make remote-working for the first time, and some advice on how to avoid making them yourself.
Not creating a proper workspace: Your environment plays a vital role in your productivity. While working from home many people make the mistake of not creating a designated workspace for themselves which leads to major procrastination later on. So to avoid that, pick a corner of the house where you won’t get easily distracted and can focus on your work just as much as you would if you were in office.
Not dressing the part: Who doesn’t enjoy being in their comfortable home attire? However that might be not suitable for work. It doesn’t matter if you are working from home or working from the office, always remember to dress professionally. You don’t need to go overboard with anything, something that suits a professional setting would do.
Not having a backup plan: Power lapses happen, internet connections get lost, but these inconveniences shouldn’t waste your day while working from home. Instead, it’s a good idea to have a firm backup plan in place to get work done so if there’s trouble you can pack up and calmly employ your plan B (perhaps a portable charger, USB modem, etc)
Only depending on one form of communication: Sure, email is easy, and it can become a habit to rely on one form of easy communication, but that won’t always work when you are working from home. It’s important that remote workers use multiple forms of communication. A smaller video chat such as on Google Hangouts may also have its place in the day; social media could be a backup plan for a remote team in an emergency, and don’t forget about instant messaging. These apps will help you stay connected with your team even during this time of need.
Another important factor to keep in mind is-
Not connecting face to face more often: Remote work has both pros and cons. Speaking of pros and cons, one of the biggest drawbacks of working from home is not getting to connect to people face to face. If this is the very first time you are working from home then it’s safe to say that you are used to checking up on your manager, supervisor or colleague for instant feedback which might be difficult in remote work but not impossible. So don’t shy away from a quick Skype call when it’s absolutely necessary. It will amaze you how significant a face to face interaction can be.
Exploiting the situation: Letting the employees work from home to ensure their safety is a big risk for the management. It can be quite challenging for them to take this decision without having a proper tool to verify employee productivity. As an employee who got the chance, it’s in your best interest not to take advantage of this situation. So don’t exploit this opportunity rather work even harder so your employers can count on you in the future.
No one knows when we all be able to go back to our daily routine. Until then, let’s avoid these 6 mistakes while working from home to ensure 100% efficiency and productivity.