Working from home has both advantages and disadvantages. Many people choose to work from home, but with the recent health concerns, this has become a common occurrence for many more people out of necessity.
Whatever thereason for your work location, you need to make the best of it and remember to keep a connection with the outside world so you don’t isolate yourself completely.
Have a designated work space
Set aside a designated office area within your home. You need to have a quiet place where you can work uninterrupted to stay focused, and some basic work from home tools. Include the basics of a comfortable chair and desk with enough space for you to work.
An absolute requirement is a steady, high-speed Internet connection so that you can stream videos, download documents, and share files.
Know the expectations
As you work from home, it’s vital that you have very clear instructions and expectations. You should discuss all requirements of the job with your employer so that you know exactly what you are responsible for.
Find out what your assignments are, the daily tasks that are assigned to you, and what hours you are expected to work. Be clear on if you need to be available during any certain hours each day. Communicate often throughout the day. If you have questions, concerns, or you are not sure about something, you can easily send an email, make a phone call, have an online chat, or even a video call. Reach out to clarify as needed. This will let you be more productive and work more efficiently.
Communicate often
One of the best things you can do to keep connected while working from home is to have daily and weekly conferences. This is a time to check in and discuss work issues.
Keeping channels of communication open lets you ask for assistance if you’re having trouble, and draw on your colleagues’ and supervisors’ experience to help you through a tough assignment.
You can do a facetime video conference with larger groups to discuss issues that may be affecting everyone, or one-on-one chats with your supervisor to review your performance.
Consider making an online calendar that’s available for public view so that you can keep track of any appointments or blocks of time when someone is or is not available so it’s easier to reach each other.
Don’t forget to socialize (safely)
Working from home can get lonely sometimes, so you need to remember to remain social. The convenience of walking across your apartment to power up your laptop in your pajamas can feel exciting at first, but over time you may start to realize how much you’re missing the little social interactions you get throughout the day.
Even when you’re working from home, you can still make an effort to keep in touch with your coworkers. It’s a good idea to make time to set up a video chat or a hangout to catch up with some colleagues for a coffee break in the morning or afternoon, or even for lunch. These small breaks allow you to keep your social life active.
It may even be a good time to start some office wide contest or social events just to keep everyone involved with each other. This can give you something fun to work towards and keep everyone from feeling so alone. Knowing you are still part of a bigger community can be helpful.
If you find yourself working from home, there can be a great many advantages as long as you remember not to cut yourself off from your friends and colleagues. Don’t just do the minimum and check in when it’s time for that meeting. Make an effort to keep up all the social activities that you did before. It’s still possible, you just have to be a little creative and find a new way to make them happen. Thankfully, this can be done easily with all the tools available online.
