9 tips for new home workers

I wrote an article a few months ago which turned out to be my most popular ever, called My 7 rules for remote work sanity (it’s also available in Japanese). It was designed for people who are planning to work remotely – typically from home, but not necessarily – as a matter of course. With the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), many workers are finding that they are working from home for the first time, as companies – and in some cases, governments – close offices and require different practices from workers. Alternatively, it may be that you suddenly find that schools are closed or a relative becomes ill, and you need to stay at home to be with them or care for them. If you are one of those people – or work with any of them – then this post is aimed at you. In it, you’ll find some basic tips for how to work from home if it’s not something you’re used to doing.

1 Gather

In order to work from home, you may need to gather some infrastructure pieces to take home with you. For many of us, that’s going to be a laptop, but if there are other pieces of hardware, then make sure you’re ready to bring them home. If you don’t have a laptop normally, then find out what the rules are for using your own devices, and whether they have been changed to account for the period when you’ll be working from home. Download and install what you need to do – remember that there are open source alternatives to many of the apps that you may typically be using in the office, and which may provide you with a sufficient (or better!) user experience if you don’t have access to all of your standard software.

2 Prepare

What else do you need to do to make sure everything will work, and you will have as little stress as possible? Making sure that you can connect to work email and VPN may be important, but what about phones? If you have a work-issued phone, and it’s the standard way for colleagues or customers to contact you, then you may be OK, as long as you have sufficient coverage, but you may want to look at VoIP (Voice over IP) alternatives with your employer. If you have to use your own phone – mobile or landline – then work out how you will expense this and with whom you will share this information.

3 Agree

If you have been told that you may (or must) work from home by your employer, then it is likely that they will be providing guidance as to what your availability should be, how to contact colleagues, etc.: make sure that any guidelines are plausible for you, and ask for clarity wherever possible. If you are having to work from home because of family commitments, then it’s even more important to work out the details with your employer. Rules to support this sort of situation vary from country to country, and your employer will hopefully be aware that their best chance of maintaining good output and commitment from you is to work with you, but if you don’t come to an agreement up front, you may be in for a shock, so preparatory work is a must.

4 Educate

Just because your employer has agreed that you should work from home, and has agreed what your work-time should look like, it doesn’t mean that your boss and colleagues will necessarily understand how this change in your working life will impact on how they relate to you, contact you or otherwise interact with you. Let them know that you are still around, but that there may be differences in how best to reach you, when you are available, and what tasks you are able to perform. This is a courtesy for them, and protection for you!

5 Video-conference

If you can, use video-conferences for meetings with colleagues, customers, partners and the rest. Yes, it means that you need to change out of your pyjamas, brush your hair, get at least partly dressed (see some of the tips from my semi-jokey seasonal post The Twelve Days of Work-life Balance) and be generally presentable, but the impact of being able to see your colleagues, and their being able to see you, should not be underestimated. It can help them and you to feel that you are still connected, and make a significant positive impact on teamwork.

6 Protect

During the time that you are working from home, you need, if at all possible, to protect the workspace you will be using, and the time when you will be working, from encroachments by other tasks and other people. This can be very difficult when you are living in a small space with other people, and may be close to impossible when you are having to look after small children, but even if it is just room for your laptop and phone, or an agreement that the children will only come to you between television programmes, any steps that you can take to protect your time and space are worth enforcing. If you need to make exceptions, be clear to yourself and others that these are exceptions, and try to manage them as that, rather than allowing a slow spiral to un-managed chaos[1].

7 Slow down

One of the classic problems with working from home for the first time is that everything becomes a blur, and you find yourself working crazily hard to try to prove to yourself and others that you aren’t slacking. Remember that in the office, you probably stop for tea or coffee, wander over to see colleagues for a chat – not just work-related – and sit down for a quiet lunch. Take time to do something similar when you’re working from home, and if you’re having video-conferences with colleagues, try to set some of the time on the call aside for non-work related conversations: if you are used to these sorts of conversations normally, and are missing them due to working at home, you need to consider whether there may be an impact on your emotional or mental health.

8 Exercise

Get up from where you are working, and go outside if you can. Walk around the room, get a drink of water – whatever it is you do, don’t stay sat down in front of a computer all day. It’s not just the exercise that you need – though it will be beneficial – but a slight change of scene to guard against the feeling that you are chained to your work, even when at home.

9 Stop

Another common pitfall for people who work from home is that they never stop. Once you allow your work into your home, the compartmentalisation of the two environments that most of us manage (most of the time, hopefully) can fall away, and it’s very easy just to “pop back to the computer for a couple of emails” after supper, only to find yourself working away at a complex spreadsheet some two and a half hours later. Compartmentalising is a key skill when working from home, and one to put into your daily routine as much as possible.

Finally…

It’s likely that you won’t manage to keep to all of the above, at least not all of the time. That’s fine: don’t beat yourself up about it, and try to start each day afresh, with plans to abide by as many of the behaviours above as you can manage. When things don’t work, accept that, plan to improve or mitigate them next time, and move on. Remember: it is in your employer’s best interests that you work as sensibly and sustainably as possible, so looking after yourself and setting up routines and repeatable practices that keep you well and productive is good for everybody.

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1 – I know this sounds impossible with small kids – believe me, I’ve been there on occasion. Do your best, and, again ensure that your colleagues (and manager!) understand any constraints you have.