Posted on: May 18, 2020 | 9 min read

Work From Home Effectiveness is a Two-Way Street

Gallup's most recent "State of The American Workplace" report estimates working from home (WFH) is an activity supported some of the time for roughly 43% of the US office-based workforce. As employees are finding out with the current crisis, working some of the time from home, is very different than working all of the time in one. Having worked in a home office for many years, I'd created a list of tips on how to adjust, which I've passed on with many of my connections found in similar situations. I wanted to share that more broadly in the hope it helps a former colleague, client, or connection make an easier adjustment as companies are making that their new normal. There have been some good posts in recent weeks on the topic for employees, but implementing effective work from home programs is a two-way street, with companies also needing to play their part in ensuring success (Note: A free Gartner research note on the topic is here). I start this post with an employer lens in mind.

EMPLOYER TIPS

  • Create Your Policy - The natural organizational response in migrating towards WFH policies is to cascade the information through email. Email should be a communications channel, not a content repository, so be sure to organize & update information like employee eligibility, expectations, tips, and other details in a single central location available through link employees to review.
  • Standardize Digital Collaboration– Whether its Teams, Slack, Google, etc. you've been considering, bite the bullet, make a decision, and invest in the people, processes, and tech behind one company standard if you haven't already. Many providers are free right now. IM and integrated conferencing are essential for remote employees and will require licenses to stay as connected and productive as possible. So invest, standardize, and support the tech as an essential part of the office productivity mix.
  • Sweat Employee Tech – We all know of people who's cell phones don't work well, or who's affinity for using their cellular speakerphone makes calls painful. Dropped calls, incoherent audio, and spotty wifi connections are all solvable kinds of issues with repeaters, mesh networks, plugging in a wire to the router, and a good headset. But not every employee knows these tips, and sometimes a gentle push via standards on what is expected is needed.
  • Don't Forgo Ergo - Most employees are used to simply using desks and chairs in the office, not having given much thought to the topic of ergonomics at home. Ten hours of typing in a dining room chair looking down at a monitor will generate interest in that topic quickly. Not all employees have a good office chair at home or have ever even thought about the orientation of shoulders, neck, and screen when working. Educate employees on the basics, and consider a program where they can borrow or provision a (cleaned) chair & monitor.

EMPLOYEE TIPS

For the employees that may find themselves working from home exclusively for the first time, there are generally two areas you will spend your time evaluating which are fundamentally different than being in an office. The first centers on how you will use your workspace, and the 2nd is around how to stay connected. Here are some tips I've shared with others over the years in each of those areas that will ensure you are a WFH pro:

Using Your Workspace

  • Combating Open Space – The open plan concept to working tends to fail miserably in homes with families and pets, which is a scenario facing many of us right now. If you have a home office with a door, use it. If you don't, the master bedroom or spare bedroom can work well if you have a chair and a flat surface on which to work (and pay attention to ergonomics). The last choice is an open dining or living room. With open rooms, you'll need to devise a cue that you are working & not to be disturbed. Something as simple as a folding wall divider, sign, or having your (ideally large) headset on can do the trick. Speaking of headsets...
  • Be Heard Clearly – The microphone quality for your audience is a chronically overlooked facet in a home office. Consider investing in a headset that has a good microphone. I invested in these about a month ago specifically because of their ability to drown out background noise (really important in a home office), and there are many options in all price ranges here that are well rated. Bonus tip: If your laptop is connected via wifi, your headset is connected to your laptop via Bluetooth, and you are voice calling via VOIP that has integrated video, every headset will experience problems. Consider dialing in audio via separate cell networks and using the laptop for the video streaming piece. Alternatively, plug your laptop into your router and use a wired headset, which makes a big difference.
  • Make Light Right – The goths and creatives among you may disagree, but it's easy to overlook the importance of good light. Many office environments design for this, while homes skew towards relaxed lighting outside of the kitchen and bathrooms. If possible, try and have lighting closer to daylight in color temp (5000K) and, better yet, sit near a window. For video conferences, if you have a bright window behind you, make sure you close the shades/shutters, as well as considering placement of a light source in front of you to eliminate shadows that otherwise fall on your face.
  • Hide Your Work - Just because you work from home doesn't mean it should be displayed, so keep your work stuff behind a closed door and don't let it remain in the main living area when finished for the day. This ensures you have some separation of home and work. If that's not possible because you are working in a common open area, build in putting away all work material in a bag as a ritual to end your day.
  • Don't Work Sick - Most reading this post have been guilty at one time or another of staying home during a time you were feeling under the weather, yet trying to continue getting work done. The odds are pretty good that you will prolong or worsen whatever it is you've got, which given the current environment, has far greater ramifications. Your home office isn't a substitute for your bed. Take sick time if you feel sick, and let your management know about it.

Staying Connected

  • Recreate Hallway Conversations – There's a significant body of evidence surrounding how important the role of hallway or lunch conversations can be in triggering ideas and supporting the interests of your company. Instant messaging technology is the virtual equivalent of hallway chats in an office. Make full use of it, and also be a bit more "lax" in how often your online status reads "do not disturb."
  • Results Matter (More) - Documenting tangible results, week in and week out matters more when you are seldom seen. If you're not in the habit of documenting for your management, peers, and/or clients you're serving a) what you've accomplished that has driven results, b) what's in flight, and c) what's on deck, its time you start. Make sure you have a recurring cadence with those who manage you and/or for those who you manage, where you communicate that information.  
  • Create New Commutes – Personal connections matter too. It is commuting home forces a transition to wind down thoughts of work. It is important to maintain a ritual at the end of the day that involves at least 15 minutes of transition that replaces your commute. Being mentally present with family/friends generally suffers if you just hopped off a conference call, or dealt with an email without any buffer. Activities like packing, cleaning, reading, or exercising can work well in easing that transition.
  • Schedule Good Habits – If you suddenly eliminated 1-2 hours daily of commuting, consider working in some sort of physical or intellectual (like reading) activity. Your mood will be better for it, and so will your health. Similarly, when lunch is in the fridge in the kitchen, maybe 15 steps away, its natural to take 5-10 minutes, bring it back to your workstation, and keep at it. Try and avoid that becoming your routine, by periodically scheduling time a longer block to eat and socialize with family or roommates, including virtually. You'll be fresher and more productive for it.
  • Schedule Virtual Happiness – Taking the virtual lunch concept up a level, there's nothing wrong with grabbing a drink at 5 PM, and setting up a virtual happy hour to catch up with coworkers, clients or connections. Happy hours/events/etc., keep the relationship gears turning, which are essential to getting work done and advancing business. There's no rule that says you have to be physically co-located to be emotionally present, catching up with your connections. 

Hopefully, there's a nugget in here you'll try out over these next couple of months of uncertainty. If you have leveraged one of these tips in your own lives or have a new one to share, I'd welcome hearing from you here. And if it's after 5, call me instead, and let's test the virtual happy hour concept. Cheers, and stay safe out there.

If you want to learn more about leveraging analytics to save your business or the importance of analytics during a crisis, try reading this blog, or contact an analytics consultant here to get started with a crisis performance management and scenario planning session.

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Topic(s): Empower Employees
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