Working from home is the new norm. Even though working from home is here to stay, not everyone is a fan, especially some business owners that were not allowing their employees to work from home before all this.
As people move into work from home environments as part of “the new normal”, they will be forced to adapt to a new lifestyle, even as they remember the work from home tips during the coronavirus quarantine they have already learned. If you can learn to turn your home office into a nest and learn how to avoid distractions while working from home, it can be very rewarding. The work from the home environment will, in many ways be a benefit to both employers and employees once all of the wrinkles are ironed out.
The main reason why some employees strictly refused to let their employees work from home was that they were afraid that their now remote employees would not perform on the same level as their in-office counterparts. While this is a legitimate concern, we also believe that remote employees can be as productive as their in-office colleagues or even more, which is why in this post today, we will be looking at some of the ways you and your employees can stay productive or even improve your productivity while working from home.
1) Introduce a Company-Wide Working Schedule
Working from home should not be different from working from the office. However, since you and your employees are most likely surrounded by a similar environment which you usually use to relax instead of work, working from home could lead to more procrastination.
That is why it is important that you, as the business owner, set a working schedule for all your employees to follow. While yes, you should allow more flexibility when it comes to when people start or end their workdays, it is important to set a schedule so that work still ‘feels’ like real work. A work schedule can also help make the transition from traditional office work to home office work easier for you and your employees.
2) Eliminate All Distractions
When working from home, it is much easier to get distracted as there is almost always something that is screaming for attention. And that is not good, especially when you are doing your best to try and concentrate hard on your work.
To avoid this, eliminate all possible distractions from your immediate surroundings. Whether it is the TV or the laundry basket from yesterday, turn it off, fold it, due whatever you need so that it does not scream for your attention. It will give you much-needed peace of mind and you will be able to concentrate on work much more easily.
3) Get All the Software You Need
All successful remote companies rely on many tools to help them optimize the way they work. Everything from instant messaging apps that eliminate the need for email to video conference apps that are being used for meetings, if there is a tool that makes life easier, remote companies are sure going to use it.
When it comes to business owners checking whether or not their employees are doing the work they are being paid to do, usually, in-office, they can simply walk to their employees and see what they are up to. With remote work, that is not possible. That is why more and more remote companies are relying on employee monitoring software to help them with that. This type of software allows employers to monitor what their employees are doing at any given time and in real-time.
4) Do Not Overwork Your Employees or Yourself
Now that everyone is working from the comfort of their homes, it may seem that you have a lot more time to do your work. While yes – you do save some hours on the commute and the usual office banters, unexpected tasks and hiccups may and most likely will still happen.
The smartest move you can make to ensure that you do not end up working too many hours is to not overwork yourself or your employees every day and leave enough time for the unexpected. This will reduce the stress of all your employees because in the back of their heads they will know that the risk of running behind schedule is minimized.
Conclusion
So there you have it – four ways to ensure your employees and you are still productive while working remotely. By following these pieces of advice, you will ensure that your employees and you will still have the drive to devotedly do their job, even with everything that is happening in the world.
Make sure you set a working schedule, eliminate all possible distractions, use all the software you need, and do not overwork yourself or your employees, and who knows, maybe when all of this boils down, you will want to stay working from your home.