Returning to this little blog series and being incredibly on topic at the moment thanks to the current pandemic, this post discusses remote work/working from home and how it should be a usual element of the working world. As I noted in my post on flexible working (which you can read here), in relation to diversity it should be accessible and guaranteed for all who require it, whatever age, gender, ethnicity, ability or life-stage one is.
I’m also writing this post in relation to the paid work I’ve recently begun to do and my own personal research. This includes digital transformation, using technology to solve business problems. Thanks to the ongoing situation we are living through, businesses in all industries have had to adjust rapidly and customer needs have changed dramatically which companies have had to align with in quick speed. This includes how everyone is working.
Definitions
Mine
Remote Work/Working from Home (WFH) – a work arrangement in which employees do not commute or travel to a central place of work but work from anywhere they want to.
Others
“Meaningful work, creative work, thoughtful work, important work – this type of effort takes stretches of uninterrupted time to get into the zone. But in the modern office such long stretches just can’t be found. Instead, it’s just one interruption after another.” (Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hannson, Remote: Office Not Required, 2013)
“Working at home can result in lower stress levels and greater productivity, and with employers catching on to the benefits, it’s likely that you could find yourself working at least partially from home in the near future.” (The ultimate formula for working at home, Georgina Lawton, GoThinkBig, 2018)
“Some 7.3 million British workers are now working – men in almost equal numbers to women – and that means anything from later start or earlier finish times to nine-day fortnights, working from home and job shares.” (Mary Portas, Work Like a Woman, 2018)
“But home working isn’t a new concept, it’s just that few of us have chosen to do it full time. [...] It’s estimated that, before the Corona crisis, 15% of us were regularly working from home. Modern technology has enabled those working in office type, predominantly service industry jobs to do this.” (Caroline Bayley, BBC The World of Business podcast episode no. Working From Home, 16 April 2020)
My Opinions
As I noted in my post on flexible working, neurodiversity and disability are important factors for me when thinking about working remotely/from home. From a diversity and inclusion point of view, being remote makes sense. Now that everyone is having to work from home, something that many people including those who are disabled have wanted as part of the normal working world for a while, it is hopeful that many more employers will want to bring onboard more diversity who can work from wherever they can. It should no longer be seen as a benefit or reward, it should and hopefully now will be the norm. Yet, even now that it has become usual for everyone, employers should seriously consider the opportunities of prioritising inclusivity and accessibility from now on.
How I Work from Home
Months ago, before lockdown began, I was working from my Mac Air laptop on my lap whilst either sitting on my bed or a comfy chair. This was not making me productive at all as I was not able to separate doing work and play. I also had my one day a week shop job then so didn’t feel like I was needing to work so much the other days of the week. This has changed in the last few months due to lockdown, starting to work for other people and wanting to write more. I’ve now got a desk set up in my room with a chair in front of my window so that my face is naturally lit when I’m on calls. If I didn’t still live with my parents and siblings, I would work somewhere that wasn’t my bedroom but you have to make the most with what you’ve got.
I try to work during most hours of a working day as I possibly can, although I’ve learnt that I can be more productive in the afternoon than the morning. Lunch breaks are always kept for an hour but change time wise daily depending on what I’m doing and the rest of my family are up to work wise. I keep track of the time I spend doing work via a timesheet on Excel (I have an upcoming blog post on what timesheets are and how to create/use one coming soon).
My Tips!
Get dressed.
I’ve become a bit irritated when doing online shop browsing seeing the amount of loungewear or comfy clothing that is being promoted. I’m also not one of those who agrees with the whole “you don’t need to wear underwear at home” people. Yes, being comfortable is good but you still need to look decent and professional.
Know what’s going on during the day with the rest of your household.
For those who have children, alternate childcare with your partner if you can and give them things to keep them occupied when you’re working. For those who don’t, but you live with other people, have briefings to know what’s going on when and who needs certain rooms at specific points in the day.
Set boundaries by working office hours as much as possible.
Unless you have very late afternoon or early evening meetings planned, try to work within a routine-set time bracket that works around when you’re most productive. For me, I usually start between 10 and 11 and try to finish by half 6. There are some days where I might finish a little earlier depending on how much I’ve done or need to do. Work out what works for you but try to work during the whole day and not just in the morning or afternoon only.
Know what time of day you are most productive.
Whether you’re a morning person, a night owl or an afternoon worker like me, you need to know when you are going to get plenty of work done. You also need to slot in times you can step away from work during the day for meals, drinks or exercise. I definitely recommend using a timesheet to keep tabs on what times you do work and a calendar to keep track of all upcoming meetings. Timing yourself with a timer or stopwatch or using time methods such as the Pomodoro time slots can also be beneficial.
Make Lists
At the weekend, usually on a Sunday, I’ll write a to do list for the week ahead in a A5 lined notebook with a uni-ball ink pen. I write in whether I have any meetings or events and what days they are on, what writing work I want to do, any chores I need to do to my room and admin tasks. I then use the Bullet Journal indexing method at the back of a notebook to look back at past weeks and to look for specific notes that I need at any given time.
Be aware of workaholism.
Thanks to all the wonderful technology at our disposal, it’s not just the distractions of play that can get in the way but also the sense that we always have to be non-stop working. I’m trying my best to look at my emails less and to not always have work on my mind, whether that be paid or voluntary. I also try not to look at my phone when I’m looking at my laptop screen (putting your phone down back facing up helps).
Final Thoughts
Although I do enjoy working from home/remotely, the two things are slightly different and I hope that, once lockdown lifts, I can work outside of my house as well as in it. I miss coffee shops and libraries and can’t wait for them to reopen. I’m also thinking of looking for a co-working space to start going to (so any recommendations in Bristol are welcome). However, whilst I would like to work from an office someday, I don’t feel that it would ever be a necessity to be in a specific workplace all the time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this blog post on WFH. Let me know either in the comments or by getting in touch with me via any of my connected accounts what your thoughts are on the subject. The next post will be up sooner than later, I promise!
Beth x