Adjusting to Covid-19 and working remote
Everything has changed in the last few weeks. Schools have closed. Major league sports have suspended their seasons. Airlines have cut their flight schedules. Hospitals began preparing for a predicted surge of patients. Limits have been established in terms of the number of people inside restaurants and grocery shops at a time. And last, but not least, workplaces shut down. Were we prepared for this? How has it been working remote so far?
Companies around the globe have rolled out mandatory remote work, but adjusting to full remote work can be a challenge, especially for those who are not used to doing it occasionally. Some employees will be working from home for the first time, which means figuring out how to stay on task in a new environment that may not lend itself to productivity. But there are ways to deliver results and avoid going stir-crazy, from setting up a good workspace to the way you communicate with your team.
Running Remote, an international organization focused on managing remote teams, highlighted some of the major challenges of working remotely and how to overcome them.
- Isolation
Working remotely doesn’t have to mean working alone if this is something you don’t actually enjoy. For example, extroverts will likely enjoy connecting and interacting with other people often and a good webcam and headset are key for a comfortable quality experience and a remote company culture.
- Lack of productivity
Multiple studies have shown that remote workers are often more productive than those who work in an office. However, not everyone has natural self-discipline to work well remotely. One of the best ways to face it is by creating a good morning routine, which includes exercising and quickly scanning their inboxes to find the most urgent tasks. For those who are not used to this environment, there are many tools available to help you track your actual work time and improve productivity, such as Time Doctor, Timely and Hubstaff, with automated time tracking functionalities targeted to teams and projects.
- Team communication
Most people spend their days near their boss and team, meaning communication is easy and effortless. Working from home, forces us to rethink and readjust our work habits, bringing up the importance of maintaining good communication. How can we continue to work collaboratively as a team? Organizations must set communication protocols and channels to facilitate clear and fluid exchange between their team members when working remotely, right from the start. Here there are some examples: Slack, Pukka Team or Appear.in.
- Internet connectivity issues
Every time professionals go work from a new location there’s a common risk: a lack of a reliable internet connection to be able to work effectively. In these particular times, with millions of people working and learning from home during the pandemic, internet networks are set to be strained to the hilt, as explained in this article from New York Times.
- Unplugging from work
While some struggle with eliminating distractions and focusing on completing their work tasks, others have a hard time unplugging at the end of the workday. Establishing clear and specific working hours per day, defining time breaks, having a designated space for work, away from where you typically spend your free time, are just crucial measures to take when working remotely.
In current times, we need to adopt certain behaviors. If you are part of the risk group, ask friends, family and delivery services to bring things like groceries and other essentials but leave them outside. Keep calm, stay home and be safe!
