Teleworking Tips for Employees

In the previous article, we've talked about Teleworking Tips for Organizations by defining what Teleworking is, how to determine its scope, and what products are used. In this article, I will try to compile the recommendations for employees who already have switched or will switch to the Teleworking.

Personal Topics

Create your routine

One of the most important misunderstandings about working remotely is thinking that you have the freedom to do whatever you want. You are working in the comfort of your home, not in an office anymore. Especially the time you lost on the traffic is yours. You don't have a manager who follows you from the other side of the office. So you may be thinking that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You may think that you can spend more time on yourself. You can be sure that this perspective will affect you negatively from the first minute. You will see why it will do so in the related items one by one.

Having a solid routine is the first and most important step to reduce this negative effect. You will work efficiently if you know when to get up, when to work, eat and “finish your work”.

It is very useful to have routines not only for the activities you do, but also about how to do them. For example, your choice of clothing affects how you work. Sitting in front of your computer with your bed clothes or comfortable home clothes means you start working with low efficiency from the very beginning. Even though it is challenging, business dressing will allow you to focus more easily.

Getting out of bed 5 minutes before your first meeting in the morning is also one of the biggest mistakes. Regardless of the time you start your work, start your day early like you are going to the office every day, spare enough time for complete morning cleaning, have a good breakfast before turning on your computer, or even spend a little time for yourself in between (listening to music, reading a book or newspaper, a short physical or mental exercise, etc.). These habits will increase your efficiency during the day. The time you will spend for them is not a time stolen from work or sleep, but an investment to improve the quality of the day.

Plan, plan, plan

Having only a fixed routine will not solve everything. When you plan your day and try to comply this plan as closely as possible, you will see that your daily efficiency will increase.

Of course, you can tailor the scope of the plan to your own way of working. The plan you make may be a very detailed timeplan of all your day or a simple checklist for the things you want to complete by end of the day. Just not let the day flow itself. Don't let the meetings, the environment, the ringing phones, or TV programs to manage you and your time.

Get rid of the stimulating traps of your home, focus on your work

You have determined your routine and planned your day. Now, it is clear when you will start working and when you will finish. However, you're wrong if you think this situation will solve all your problems.

It is not in vain that there are two different concepts in our lives such as "home" and "workplace". If we have not arranged our home and mindset complete for working you may fall into the stimulating traps of your home. You may suddenly notice that your library next to you is a bit dusty when you start preparing an important report. You may be interrupted in the middle of an important meeting with a ringing doorbell. We will also talk about the physical requirements of the environment below, but it is really important that you focus completely and mentally. By having this mindset at the beginning will increase the efficiency of your work and will contribute to your completion on time. Remember, even if the environment around you is "home", you are actually at your workplace. Whatever happens for a ringing doorbell at your house while you are on a meeting at your office, let it be the same when you enter the meeting from home.

Set your limits and defend them

Now that you are at your workplace in your home, it is natural to have some new rules and limits. You may need to properly express what your rules and limits are to everyone around you. Your spouse, your children, your boss, your colleagues, even to yourself. Sometimes there may be changes in these limits, but it is very important that you determine whether these changes are temporary or permanent and that everyone involved knows this.

You should not forget that you are the most important person to pay attention to the limits. Being at home should not mean that you can work 24/7, be constantly accessible, and that you can be called by your boss at any time. Work - Life balance is really important for you to work smoothly for a longer time and to run your business efficiently.

Don't forget to take a break

You should realize that the routines you live at work have changed. You no longer have office colleagues to call you for lunch or coffee, no shuttle to catch at a certain time. Therefore, sometimes you may be immersed in working without realizing it and diving into the subject you are working on for hours without a break. Such a situation will affect your efficiency and mental agility. Therefore, do not forget to take short breaks during long term activities.

During these breaks, it is beneficial to strive to break physically and mentally from that activity. Opening the window and breathing fresh air, a brief breathing or relaxation exercise, leaving the room you work in, such as going to the kitchen, and getting a coffee or water will help you refresh yourself in a short time.

Improve your stress management skills

Since you are living a new life, this life will also have new challenges. These difficulties can cause stress on you like you have never experienced before and you may not be aware of this situation. It will be difficult to recover when you realize that you are experiencing stress. Therefore, listening to and improving yourself about stress management, preparing for the difficulties you might experience as much as possible will enable you to deal with them faster and more comfortably.

Physical and mental exercise

We have also mentioned the benefits of short exercises above. One of the most important ways to deal with stress may be to improve yourself with mental exercises. Maybe a short meditation or yoga session can help you with this. Thus, you can deal with difficulties more easily and work more efficiently with a fresher mind.

A similar situation is also valid for your body. When you start working from home, you will be moving less. You will be in your office a few steps after you leave your bedroom. As you spend more time in a small area, you are also exposed to negative effects caused by the decrease of your physical activities. Therefore, it will be better to pay attention to your physical health as well as mental health.

Make changes

Although you insist on creating and maintaining a routine, by making small changes from time to time, do not let this routine becomes boring. When the meeting you attend allows, it will be good for you to join the meeting from a different environment. For example, you might consider attending a meeting that you will not talk about, usually just listen, from a place outside the home "if possible" (a coffee chain maybe), or in a different corner of the house (a different room, garden, balcony, etc.).

Social Topics

Communicate openly

We have mentioned that the new period you are in will affect everyone around you. It is very important that you keep an open communication with the people around you so that this change does not affect your relationships in your business and private life.

It is imperative that your family knows the features, rules and needs of this new business life. In this way, they can help you. If they know when you are focusing and working, when you are in a meeting, and what your expectations are in these processes, they can help you more.

Likewise, you may need to pay more attention to communication with your colleague. One of the most important elements of human communication is non-verbal communication. When we tell something by talking, we convey a certain part of the information we want to give with our words, while we transfer a large part with our tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. It is very important to make sure that your communication with your colleagues is clear and understandable in order to prevent misunderstandings when you try to communicate remotely while you do not share the same office.

Attend meetings on time

The most important tools used during remote work are teleconferencing, videoconferencing and similar remote meeting technologies. Remote meetings will naturally have different dynamics than face-to-face meetings in the same office. It is very important that the meetings start at the scheduled time so that these dynamics do not affect you and the others attending the meeting negatively. You may not know what negative impact it will have on the others, when a remote meeting does not start at the scheduled time. So, make sure you do your best to get the meetings started on time.

Determine the meeting details

Like starting, it is very important that the meeting ends on time as well. Therefore, try to ensure that the duration, agenda and purpose of the meetings you will attend or organize, are known in advance and communicated to all participants. This will both ensure that the meeting reaches its purpose and contributes to its more efficient transition.

Certainly, knowing the details of the meeting is of course not only a case specific to working remotely. However, it is good to know that paying attention to these details in remote meetings will have a greater impact than it will do in face-to-face meetings.

It is also necessary to add that knowing who is the moderator, is beneficial in terms of meeting efficiency. A meeting in which everyone tries to talk at the same time or expects the meeting to be directed by another will be useless.

Introduce yourself to new people

Introducing yourself to people you meet for the first time in teleconferences or videoconferences will both highlight your personal image and increase the meeting efficiency. Therefore, it is very useful to have a short introduction section at the beginning of the meetings where some people meet for the first time.

Try to use video call

As mentioned above, it will be useful to organize a video meeting if possible. So that communication is more efficient and the message you want to convey can be transmitted to the other side through richer channels.

Dress appropriately

Just like face-to-face meetings, it is very important to care for how to dress up in video calls.

Make sure your voice is heard correctly

One of the biggest problems experienced in meetings held using technological infrastructures is sound related problems. It is very important to ensure that the sound reaches all participants correctly. In addition to the technological restrictions, the way of speaking may cause issues on the transferring the message completely. Therefore, it would be good to check that the voice communication is correct at the beginning of the meeting and everyone tries to speak in a clear and understandable way throughout the meeting.

Mute while not talking

In teleconferences and videoconferences, rather than trying to remain silent when you are not speaking, muting your mic will both provide a more accurate meeting environment and reduce the impact of unexpected sounds from your side.

Let others speak too

Since the meeting is not face-to-face, it is useful to make sure that everyone is given opportunity to speak and enough time that they speak adequately of what they want to say.

Be socialize

Increasing communication and finding new communication channels with the people you are connected with is not only important during meetings, but also on the outside meetings. “Working together without being together” causes decreased or monotonous communication among colleagues over time. Finding new methods to prevent this situation and the damages it may cause, and also striving for communication and socialization will contribute significantly to this process.

Also, remember that you, as a human, need to socialize. It is very important that you socialize not only in terms of work efficiency and relationships with others, but also to improving your own psychological state.

I can easily state that, being together with the community and socialization are two topics I was missing during my remote working years.

Be flexible

Please be careful that the other people might have the similar problems you experience in the remote working model. No matter how much you pay attention, an unexpected situation can always occur. Therefore, try to be flexible for the problems which may be caused by the other persons. A similar situation can happen to you tomorrow.

Technical topics

Have a private office space

One of the most important issues to be considered in the remote working model is the environment that you work. Even if you work from home, it is very important to create an environment where you are in a state of mind that you are doing business, you're in your office, and you're working. An environment where the door can be closed when needed, whether the household is not constantly passing, and where you can stay by yourself, will be very important to work focused and attend on meetings such as teleconferences.

Quiet environment and time

Separate workspace may not be sufficient for an efficient meeting. It is also very important to be quiet. When you attend a meeting, a quiet environment will benefit you and all meeting participants. It is really important that you can create this quiet time, at least during the meeting. The same is true when you are working alone and focused.

Blur the background

In video interviews and video conferences, to avoid distractions, you can blur the background where possible. It is also helpful for the unexpected movements in your environment.

Technological infrastructure

"Technology" is probably the sine qua non of "working remotely". We are not only in the times when we work with paper and pen and communication is via letter and telegraph. It is not possible to talk about the concept of working remotely without an internet connection, phone, computer, etc. Therefore, the technological possibilities and equipment in your working environment are very important for you to work more accurately and efficiently. Here is a summary list of the items to be considered:

- A solid electrical infrastructure (a UPS would be beneficial if possible)

- A good internet connection (both fast and uninterrupted connection)

- A reliable computer

- Headphones, camera, etc.

- Correct remote access, teleconference, videoconference applications

These are items come to mind in the first place. It is really important to have suitable equipment so that you can work without interruption and efficiently.

It may also be useful to identify backup methods in advance, when key elements may have some problem. For example, when your internet connection is lost during a meeting, it may be good to plan ahead so that you can connect quickly via your mobile phone and continue where you left off.

In the light of all these, it is possible to say that you have to create your own method with a special mixture of mental, physical, environmental and social needs in order to get used to the teleworking model. To have a better method, you will develop your own system and improve it as you use.

You now have a new system now. So, let's kick off.