A Pandemic Work From Home Pledge
Lisa DeLuca lisa.x
![Lisa DeLuca lisa.x]()
Lisa DeLuca lisa.x
Vice President of Engineering & Product @ Unstoppable Domains, WITI Hall of Fame, 3x LinkedInTopVoices, Distinguished Engineer, Inventor, Speaker, Author
Working from home almost my entire career I'm often asked for advice for web conferencing etiquette. Pre-coronavirus I would've said:
- Turn on your video camera - especially when most of the team is colocated and you're not. Show the people on the other end of the line that you're a real person. There is a lot to be said for those subtle unspoken facial expressions and body language you can pick up from seeing a person as they speak.
- Don't mute yourself - It takes too much time to unmute (especially when double muted) to get a word in, often times resulting in a lost opportunity to be heard.
- Share your screen - a picture is worth a thousand words! People tend to understand ideas and concepts faster if you include a visual on top of spoken words to tell your story.
However, with this #newnormal my advice is flipped on it's head:
- Do NOT turn on your video camera - We're all fighting for bandwidth with a family of streaming devices and neighbors also working from home, if you turn on your camera it can result in network issues. Also, turning on your camera might make others who are "not camera ready" feel pressure to turn theirs on as well. None of us need additional anxiety right now. A great camera alternative is to upload a headshot. That way people will see your face rather than the default initials.
- Mute yourself - Working from home with family, especially young kids who don't understand boundaries, can cause distractions from extra noise coming in on your line. If you're the moderator of the meeting, lean into your newfound power of muting other lines for the general good of all participants.
- Share someone else's screen - plan to continue sharing your screen, but have a backup plan by sharing your deck and materials with someone else on the line or sending the materials out beforehand. Again, bandwidth issues.
At IBM everyone up to our senior leaders are taking a #WorkFromHome pledge to be sensitive to the new challenges working from home brings.
How has your routine changed?
Neuro Trainer/Kinesiology/Hypnotherapy/Counselling
3 年"How has your routine changed?" ... Funny you should ask. It is not actually my routine that has changed as such, let me explain. For most of my adult life I have worked successfully from home ... there were always outside appointments and meetings which I could work around school drop off and pickups. I still felt rushed and stressed, there never seemed to be enough time. Early on the only media interaction was Skype. When I first used it there were 40 people on line, yes very early on, a few months later I noticed 400+ and from there the growth was immeasurable. Back then I used it to communicate with my very homesick son who was studying in America. It was a godsend! I never considered all of the possibilities of using "web conferencing" it seemed like something surreal, socially minded and expensive, to use as data was expensive. Today, locked down, still working from home it has taken on another role. For me now, it has become my right hand 'portal', I can see my clients from all around the world any time of the day or night. There are no longer any limitations of time or space. They are there in full view. I can still detect their body language and get a sense of what they are feeling. Initially I was concerned about hypnotherapy when I was not with a client in the room. Still even that I have come to embrace. Now I can spend more productive time with clients and less time driving to the clinic or meetings. The clients are all well versed in the use of the various platforms available and there is no time wasted there either. I am home all the time but I do not feel locked 'up' and I can run a successful business. It is actually the type of practise I run now rather than a change of routine.
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4 年Sharing
Principal Designer
4 年Thank you Lisa. This is a simple but great list to keep in mind. From the perspective of someone who has & works with others that have small children at home, these things go a long away. One of the best things to come from this situation is that I get to meet the families of my remote co-workers. It's helped me build relationships that we may not have in "normal" circumstances. I could not be prouder to work with a team & for a company with such heart.
Sr. Product Manager at H-E-B Digital
4 年Lisa this was refreshing. I love seeing how your tips changed during the pandemic. It's a challenging time and small acts like these go a long way.
IT Instructor and Mobile Apps Developer
4 年Well said