Guide to Working from Home
by Amy Brugh
I’m writing this blog post in midst of the coronavirus outbreak, where many of us are working from home. Some of us may have experience working from home already, but I’ve learned over this past week that some people have never worked from home at all. This guide is generally written for workers whose work responsibilities are not in direct service for health care or other basic needs.
Here are 10 tips for working from home:
GET CLEAR ON WHY YOU’RE WORKING FROM HOME
There are many reasons why we might work home. Right now many of us are working from home in order to practice social distancing. Social distancing is a set of actions we can take to stop or slow the spread of a contagious disease. It’s a public health term and includes various ways to limit exposure. In these times of COVID-19, social distancing means staying home (if you are fortunate to have a safe home) and when you must go out, staying six feet away from other people, especially when you are indoors. Read more about how you can practice social distancing.
Others of us may have already been working from home. We may have a remote workplace with colleagues geographically dispersed. We may prefer to office at home because of the nature of our work. Some of us might work from home as a way to manage resources wisely and reduce costs.
FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH FROM HOME
Now that you’re going to be working from home for a short while or for the long-term, assess what you can accomplish and what you might not be able to get done. My guess is that many of us can do more work from home than we had ever considered in the past, but things are different today than they were even a week ago. If you still need to go to a physical office space, coordinate with others to reduce interactions with them or set up expectations and practices for social distancing while in the office.
SET UP YOUR WORK SPACE
Now that you’re clear on why you’re working from home and what you can accomplish from home, set up a work space that corresponds with these. Do you need a place to store confidential information? Do you need a quiet space with minimal interruptions? Do you need special equipment and extra room? Some of us may be working from a desk, a kitchen table, a couch, a garage, a porch. If you have the time and resources, give some thought to how you want your work space to feel and how the space can motivate you to get your work done. Do you prefer bright light or soft light? Do you like music while working? Do you have a favorite mug for coffee or tea?
MANAGE EXPECTATIONS
Reduce expectations on yourself and for others, especially if you have the power to make decisions that impacts the well being of staff. Do your best to be clear about what you can accomplish from home and what might need to be delayed or not done at all.
ESTABLISH SEPARATION FOR YOUR WORK AND PERSONAL LIVES
Identify ways to separate work from your personal life.
Perhaps you will designate work only and personal life only spaces. For example, maybe the dining room table is not for work and only for eating or conversation. Maybe the bedroom is only for sleeping and is too small for a desk anyway.
Perhaps you will designate work only time and personal life only time. Set reminders on an egg timer (ok, ok, or on your phone) for how long you’ll work and for when you’ll take breaks.
LEARN HOW TO USE SOME NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Admittedly, I thought most everybody knew how to use Zoom (or Google Hangouts or Skype or whatever). Oh my goodness, was I wrong. I have taught so many people how to use Zoom over these past few days, and have learned so much myself. If you are new to online video meetings, try these now (get your poop in a group before the actual work meetings):
For meeting technologies:
Set up your account for whatever technology you’re using in advance of the meetings
Be aware of time differences and establish start times and end times that are appropriate for whomever is participating (don't start a Zoom meeting at 8:00 a.m. on the East Coast when you’re got folks from the West Coast needing to click in)
Practice with some trusted peeps before you’re in work meetings
Determine in advance if you’re going to be on video and prepare yourself and your appearance accordingly
Have some fun! Yesterday I set my Zoom background to a beach in Cancun
For communications and sharing technologies
If you’re not already using some sort of document sharing systems, whoa, now is the time. Google Drive is one. Folks using Microsoft products will know more than I do about those doc sharing options.
Slack or other project management and messaging tools are awaiting you.
GET HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN PLACE
If you are an employer or are in a positional leadership role and have responsibility for employees working from home, you have some additional work to do.
Review what HR policies and practices you already have in place. Examine them carefully and make changes now to adjust to your organization’s current situation. This may require approvals from others or from board members, so start working on this right away.
Learn what your employees need and want. Listen carefully to them. Respond as best as you can with clear communications on HR issues.
Get outside help from HR experts if something is beyond your knowledge or ability.
Be aware the federal, state, and local policies are changing rapidly related to HR issues for you and your organization. Research some trusted sources and follow their updates as policy changes are made and assistance for organization, small businesses, and individuals becomes available.
COMMUNICATE
Has there ever been a better time for clear, direct, and frequent communications? Use the communications methods that already exist for you and the organizations you are working with or for. Identify new and useful communications methods, especially in these times of not being able to interact with each other in person.
ALLOW AND ACKNOWLEDGE FEELINGS
While you may have already had experiences with working from home, these are unprecedented times for many of us. Acknowledge that uncertainty and fear may make work difficult in ways that weren’t difficult even a week ago. Acknowledge your own feelings and those of others. Take breaks, frequently. Move your body throughout the day in whatever ways work for you. Practice compassion and understanding and gentleness like you’ve never done before.
MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS NEEDED
Whether working from home is an already established practice or is something new to you (and your colleagues), be prepared to make changes. If someone doesn’t have access to technology at home, work with them to figure out how they can participate. If people are juggling too much, determine what work doesn’t need to get done right now and let it go.