Top tips for working from home more effectively

At AXON Communications and Madano, we have a very flexible approach towards work and we try to empower our employees to manage their day in a way that works for them. For example, as well as flexible start/finish times around our core working hours of 10am – 4.30pm, a large number of our employees (at varying levels) work from home, either ad-hoc, or in a more structured pattern.

Whilst at the time of writing, Public Health England advises that there’s no need for workplaces to be closed due to Coronavirus, some employers are encouraging their employees not to come into the office. Last week, Google ordered 8,000 of their staff to work from home, rather than their Dublin Headquarters and given the unpredictability of the situation arising around Coronavirus, working from home may become reality for large numbers of the workforce very quickly. However, not all employers and not all employees will be equipped, or used to this working pattern and may struggle to effectively work from home. So, I thought I’d share three top tips, from my own experiences of what can help, and what can hinder effective home working.

1.Set clear boundaries

Working from home can create space to have periods of deep focus, without the distractions of a noisy office, or a day of back-to-back meetings. It can also provide time and flexibility to manage other aspects of your life without the commute (e.g. exercising before work, dropping the kids off at school, getting some life admin completed). However, it’s important to make sure you have clearly defined spaces and clearly defined times for your work and personal tasks, to make sure that the two don’t creep, blur lines and effect your overall productivity and wellbeing.

It sounds simple (and may sound a little silly), but making sure to do things like getting dressed for work helps make a mental shift from being at home, towards preparing you for work. Another way to create the right set-up is ensuring you have a dedicated space to work from home – working from bed or the sofa isn’t going to help your mind, (or your body!). Make sure you have all the equipment that is needed to work from home in your role – laptop, charger, head-set etc. Also make sure that you have completed an desk assessment and have read through your Company’s Home Working Policy (if they have one) so that you know which elements of set-up are your responsibility.

2.Know your technology

Whilst working from home provides space to work on tasks away from the office, it’s also important to keep in touch with your peers and teams. At AXON and Madano we have various different platforms for connecting with our teams remotely and our IT team have most recently rolled out Microsoft Teams, which is useful for quick updates, video calls and file sharing. Whatever internal communications platforms are used in your workplace (Slack, Google Hangouts, Teams, or even if it’s just good old email and phone) make sure you know how to use them and that you can log on from home.

3.Trust and communication

Trust is one of the single most important elements when it comes to effective flexible working. We are all adults and it is important to treat each other with the respect that whilst we may not be in the office, that doesn’t mean we are sitting on the sofa watching day-time TV. It is important for us all to focus on delivery and achievements, not on working patterns or visibility. By communicating effectively with your team, you can make sure everyone is clear on what role they are playing in the overall plan. Also make sure that everyone is clear on who is working when and where and if you are going to be offline for any reason (e.g. you need to focus on a task away from the distraction of email) make sure to communicate that in advance with your team and manager, so they know how else to contact you in an emergency.

Hopefully these are some good starting points for effectively managing both yourself and others remotely. However, I’d love to hear from others if they have additional tips to add to the list.