Navigating Remote Work

Sometime last year, remote work became the best thing since sliced bread. Lots of companies adopted it, especially those in the tech sector. This was triggered by the COVID 19 lock down. Everyone involved was excited about it and that is understandable.

Joe is one of the “essential workers” who cannot effectively work from home, so he is in the physical office every day. He does not mind as long as his teammates are responsive whenever he needs them. One missed call is forgivable, but 4 missed calls to the software guy was where Joe drew the line and took up the matter. 24hrs later when the SG returned Joe’s call, the reason he gave was that he is a nocturnal animal(?). He could not have returned his calls at midnight. Makes sense, right?

Working from home has quickly become a thing, and companies have put policies in place to guide it. However, a lot of folks lack the discipline and experience to make it work. First of all, remote work days ARE NOT anyone’s days off. This incorrect synonym gives the impression that no work needs to be done and whatever gets done is out of the goodness of heart. Choosing to go remote is not a decision to be taken lightly. Like the software guy earlier, it was not made to encourage nocturnal living and sleeping during the day. Anyone who thinks that way should probably run their own company and let the nightcrawlers turn off their gadgets during the day.

The laid-out rules by employers are not enough to make WFH productive. Employees who have to work from home should have in mind that it is not a holiday and how much they are able to get done is (has always been) solely their responsibility

On a personal scale, remote workers should set principles to support their work and stick to them. These will help anyone focus to avoid falling short on your expected performance average and KPIs. Here are some tips you can adopt to be better

• Set Boundaries: Designate a room or corner to be your workspace and make sure nothing else apart from work is done there. You can go ahead and be a little extra by dressing up to go to that corner
• Work Hours: Assigning specific times of the day to “be at work” is a necessity. Following this, relay your work hours to your co-workers. NO, 9 pm to 4 am does not count in this case, except of course that is when other people are in the office.
• Proactively Communicate with the Office: Effective collaboration while working remotely is achieved when there is constant communication and jara. In short, overcommunicate.

When I was younger, whenever my siblings and I abused an opportunity, my parents revoked our rights to it. Some companies are yet to get a hang of remote work. Poor delivery from the lab rats they have taken a chance on will not encourage them to push forward with it.

However, remote work has become a necessity which may live with us forever because of changes in work practices which is enabled by information communication technologies.