Making WFH work for you

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WFH — privilege for some, hardship for the others!

Professionals working from homes, be it by choice or by circumstances (like the one whole world is facing today, COVID-19), have shared mixed reactions on their WFH tenures— some consider it to be convenient & productive, while some complain of longer working hours & too many distractions.

There’s a sudden spike in articles & blogs these days where everyone is talking about principles, guidelines, best ways etc. of managing WFH. However, we are missing out on addressing a crucial issue that is emerging to be a new devil out of these WFH conditions — stress & frustration from longer working hours. In this blog, let’s look at the this issue and determine how to solve this puzzle.

Why aren’t we happy with WFH?

Those who aren’t really enjoying WFH situation are unhappy with challenges like :

1. Abstract login & logout time
2. Too many unplanned meetings in a day
3. Longer sittings
4. No cap on availability hours

Well, to be honest, most of these problems are the outcome of over-thinking and stress. On the contrary, these appear to be challenges only because employees interpret WFH expectations incorrectly.

The style of working, notion of doing everything right and the race to stand out of the league are a few factors that contribute to frustration & disbelief in employees towards WFH setup.

At this point, it’s worth taking a look at certain myths which drive the psychology in employees’ mind and make them believe that WFH isn’t for them.

Common Myths of Working From Home

1. There are no concrete logging hours. This is the biggest evil! Just because you aren’t required to visit the office premises doesn’t make you work without limits. Only the place of work has changed, not the hours. What matters is the collaboration of team members & focus on the job — be it from anywhere.
2. Be available all the time. The belief that we shall remain available over emails/other communication channels at all times to respond to our colleagues the moment we receive a message is too common. However, it’s an overkill. WFH doesn’t make you any lesser responsible for your family & friends- the me time is and will always remain important.
3. Stretch to cover up for meetings. Meetings are part of the work, they help you plan and cooperate. However, if meetings make you unproductive or makes you believe that you lost some hours for which you have to stretch the day, it’s high time to check whether those meetings are adding any value? Analyse if meetings are worth your time rather than over-doing the job.
4. Sitting for longer hours is a good way of creating visibility in WFH. Do you think that your team mates might question your contribution since they can’t see you working? Does this make you work more to show your worth? If yes, let me reiterate that every team member has a specific role to play and success of the team is defined by cumulative efforts of all. Remember — quality of the work speaks for you more than the quantity.
5. Unplanned catchups are an overhead & distracting. While too many meetings can be exhaustive for you, think of the value they bring — instead of waiting longer on passive communication channels, the clarification/questions/issues are discussed way faster on a call. It’s all about how the team balances it.

With a lot of such myths exist a few facts that we tend to overlook and end up finding ourselves fighting against the WFH stress. Let’s dive into the positive aspect of WFH and understand the facts & ways to handle WFH effectively.

How to overcome the WFH stress?

1. Build a collaborative culture. It’s all about the team dynamics- people prefer different work hours at home, work in different geographies, have variety of personal stuff to take care of etc. When team members respect each other’s time & work, have mutual understanding of milestones and share common goals, it becomes really easy to work — be it from office or from home. Ensure that with all sorts of time preferences, there are certain overlapping hours to keep things moving swiftly.
2. Be honest & open about availability. As long as there’s no risk to meeting timelines or quality standards, you can be flexible in choosing what time works best for you to deliver work. But, don’t fake your availability. It’s important to let your team know about the hours you’re in and out of the work.
3. Plan WFH the same way you plan work from office. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re working from office or home — what matters is that the job gets done. During WFH, execute your daily responsibilities exactly the way you’d do it from the office. Be focussed, have small breaks, attend meetings and setup home office such that you continue feeling the same passion about your work.
4. Track & share your progress. With distributed working hours & random work requests, we end up overlooking(or forgetting) some of the efforts made in the day. This leads to dissatisfaction and a belief that we haven’t done enough — thus resulting into extended working hours. Solution to this issue is tracking your activities. Note down the stuff you’ve worked on and discuss them with your team members. It gives the sense of accomplishment and content.
5. Follow standard login & logout timings. You go to office to collaborate, focus and deliver — not for spending 8/9/10 hours at some desk. Develop a home office that keeps you at your productive best during the standard working hours of your organisation. It’s absolutely ok to turn off chat notifications on your phone during the odd hours. No one can be 24*7 available, no one expects that either — the only expectation is to contribute towards team success(which is beyond time calculations anyway).
6. Stick to the priorities. Follow a plan. Problem arises when we deviate from the task at hand to complete something else and there’s no one around to point that out. When you realise that disturbing the priority has left a lot to be completed on the list, you end up working more. Stick to the order of work you’ve planned and keep the team mates informed on the time it might take you to complete it before taking up something else.
7. Consider WFH as an opportunity. WFH is to keep you safe, closer to your family and happy. Use this as a leverage to learn & improve quality of work. If work load is high and isn’t letting you excel, just remember that this is the same load you’d be through had you been working from office. WFH doesn’t change how you take up the load and how you plan to deliver, it just changes the place. The moment we understand this, WFH becomes an opportunity to grow.
8. Raise the voice at the right time. When things go beyond control and none of the above approaches help you overcome the stress of long working hours during WFH, it’s time to raise concern and fix the problem at a team level. Adjusting to working conditions is only productive until you enjoy it. When you start feeling pressure and load, it’s best to voice it up with your team members. Look for alternatives that suits everyone.

Conclusion

Employees are the most valuable assets for an organisation and no business can sustain with unhappy, exhausted or anxious employees. WFH, thus, is a policy(some may call it a necessity of today, and I agree to it) that is formulated to assist organisation employees in managing personal liabilities/preferences/health while contributing to their professional commitments & making the organisation grow. It shouldn’t be the cause of your distress or disappointment. Better you handle yourself, more fruitful WFH becomes.

Happy WFH!