Are you a newbie to the remote working world, or a seasoned freelancer with peak productivity in a home office? No matter how much experience you have, we can agree that working from home brings out a different side of people compared to office life. With the sudden change of pace, your colleagues have probably shown another side of their work personas.
From the impeccably dressed colleague suddenly showing up to video calls in pajamas, or the morning person sliding an email into your inbox at 2AM, we’ve all done things that would have been unimaginable at the office.
This is why we have outlined 5 unique remote work personas — see if you or your colleagues fit into any of these categories! More importantly, we have offered suggestions to better support your colleagues as they adapt to the work-from-home life while improving team collaboration.
Here are the 5 types of remote working colleagues you’ve encountered over video calls:
1. The Natural
This person was born for the #WFH lifestyle. They juggle work and life perfectly, even with the cat walking over the keyboard and the neighbors blasting music. When everyone was still figuring out new apps and schedules, they seemed to have mastered the art of maintaining high productivity while working from home. Remember to ask them for tips on thriving in their home office and striking that balance between me-time and work-time.
2. The Parent
As schools bring their classrooms online, kids are stuck home , and things can get… a little chaotic. The soundtrack of 5-year-olds shouting over your work meeting is probably getting old by now, as is the ‘sorry I’m late — had to change my baby’s diapers’ excuse. 24/7 parenting is hard, so try to be more understanding of the parents on your team!
3. The Introvert
At first glance, introverts seem to be made for remote work. However, without the office chatter and same-table lunches, they might be left out of the loop when socializing moves online. To be more considerate of your more reserved colleagues, your team can try out Lark’s Virtual Office — a digital water cooler that recreates the spontaneous chats in the office.
Be it the latest Netflix show or your weekend plans, catch up casually with zero pressure in the audio-only virtual office, where even the introverts feel comfortable to join the discussions.
4. The Hard-Worker
Miraculously, this person is even more productive at home than at the office. The distractions of being at home seem to have no effect on their laser-sharp focus. But the hard-worker may be vulnerable to a bad work-life balance, and easily let work time drip into their personal plans.
Keeping a clear schedule is extremely helpful to avoid burnout, because you can reserve time for yourself — and spend those hours undisturbed. Lark’s calendar makes this even easier, because your colleagues can check your schedule and see when you are unavailable. No longer do you have to sacrifice me-time for sudden calls and meetings!
5. The Tech Noob
Lastly, we all know that one colleague who never remembers to mute themselves. Did you know that some kindergartens are now including “Can independently mute and unmute himself when requested to do so” in their student report cards? There is no doubt that navigating the various remote working apps has become a new must-have skill in these changing times.
With Lark, video calling has never been so easy — start a call, mute yourself, or share screen all with just one click. To make things even easier, you can share more than just your screen! Use Magic Share to share and collaborate on editable content such as Lark Docs and external files while discussing them over video call. It’s 2020, who even still switches between tabs to take notes in a meeting? With Lark, you do everything in one app.
Going remote is not an easy task. But don’t worry, we are all in this together! No matter which persona you are — be it the natural or the unmuted — try to support each other in getting used to the new normal. With Lark’s myriad of user-friendly features, everybody can find a solution to their struggles and adjust quicker to remote working.
Lark is the perfect all-in-one remote working solution. Try Lark for free today by clicking here!
