With globalization taking over corporate life and employees seeking to balance work across time zones and their personal lives, companies are increasingly promoting the use of “work from home” as an incentive to keep employees motivated and also bring down infrastructure costs associated with having employees in an office. There are many businesses which maintain an office purely for skeletal staff and administrative purposes, but have almost 100% of employees working from their homes. While whether this is a good practice from an employee connect perspective or not is a topic for another discussion. What I have tried to list down in this article are a few essential do’s and don’ts while working from home. These are drawn purely from personal experience as I myself work extensively from home.
1. Set expectations clear
Most people who work from home do so because of personal reasons / commitments – health, kids etc. So communicate those reasons upfront to your employer. Discuss black out periods, when you will not be available; back up plans for those times, specific deliverables / KPI’s etc; so that your employer is aware of when you are available and what to expect from you.
2. Plan your day
Like any day at office, plan your day even when working from home. If you have to drop your kids to school, pick them up, chauffer them for extra curricular activities, bake those times into your daily schedule and plan meetings around them. When you have immovable deadlines; plan your day in such a way that you either start the day early or stretch at night, have someone to cover for the some of your personal errands etc.
3. Get the right infrastructure
Get a good high speed broad band connection, an external camera, power backup (if you are in cities like Pune, Bangalore which are plagued by power cuts) etc. Even if your company doesn’t pay for all or part of these, consider these to be your investment for the work-life balance that you are striving for. This will ensure that you are able to work effectively, do F2F meetings if required on skype etc.
4. Get the schematics right
This includes your work space and your work attire. Believe you me – when you are dressed professionally, you sub consciously start acting professionally. Being dressed in boxer shorts and an old T gives you a feeling of casualness. This may not be appropriate for most lines of business and may subtly hinder your work process. Similarly sitting plomped n your couch with TV on or on your bed with a pack of chips next to you will have the same effect. Obviously dressing up in a 3 piece suit when at home would be extreme; unless of course you are having a video conference with senior stakeholders in which case it may be warranted. But have a work desk ready with required office paraphernalia – pens, post it’s, note pads, chargers etc. Dress in comfortable casuals – even a fresh pair of jeans and a formal shirt would do the trick.
5. Be available when you say you will be
Log into your office messenger service or Lync etc when you start your day and show that you are available. Be prompt in responding to calls, emails like you would when you are in office. When you leave your computer, put an appropriate status message on the office communicator to indicate when you will be back. Use the time you are online effectively for productive official work – anything else in my view would be downright unethical and a breach of trust that your organization has placed on you.
These in my view are a few basics that would be a good foundation to productively deliver from home. Would love your views if there are any other factors that have worked for you.
1. Set expectations clear
Most people who work from home do so because of personal reasons / commitments – health, kids etc. So communicate those reasons upfront to your employer. Discuss black out periods, when you will not be available; back up plans for those times, specific deliverables / KPI’s etc; so that your employer is aware of when you are available and what to expect from you.
2. Plan your day
Like any day at office, plan your day even when working from home. If you have to drop your kids to school, pick them up, chauffer them for extra curricular activities, bake those times into your daily schedule and plan meetings around them. When you have immovable deadlines; plan your day in such a way that you either start the day early or stretch at night, have someone to cover for the some of your personal errands etc.
3. Get the right infrastructure
Get a good high speed broad band connection, an external camera, power backup (if you are in cities like Pune, Bangalore which are plagued by power cuts) etc. Even if your company doesn’t pay for all or part of these, consider these to be your investment for the work-life balance that you are striving for. This will ensure that you are able to work effectively, do F2F meetings if required on skype etc.
4. Get the schematics right
This includes your work space and your work attire. Believe you me – when you are dressed professionally, you sub consciously start acting professionally. Being dressed in boxer shorts and an old T gives you a feeling of casualness. This may not be appropriate for most lines of business and may subtly hinder your work process. Similarly sitting plomped n your couch with TV on or on your bed with a pack of chips next to you will have the same effect. Obviously dressing up in a 3 piece suit when at home would be extreme; unless of course you are having a video conference with senior stakeholders in which case it may be warranted. But have a work desk ready with required office paraphernalia – pens, post it’s, note pads, chargers etc. Dress in comfortable casuals – even a fresh pair of jeans and a formal shirt would do the trick.
5. Be available when you say you will be
Log into your office messenger service or Lync etc when you start your day and show that you are available. Be prompt in responding to calls, emails like you would when you are in office. When you leave your computer, put an appropriate status message on the office communicator to indicate when you will be back. Use the time you are online effectively for productive official work – anything else in my view would be downright unethical and a breach of trust that your organization has placed on you.
These in my view are a few basics that would be a good foundation to productively deliver from home. Would love your views if there are any other factors that have worked for you.
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