Before the pandemic and lockdowns in 2020, the concept of “Working From Home (WFH)” or remote working had actively been discussed and debated as an alternative way of working.
Although it is readily conceded that WFH model may not be suitable for all types of occupations (think waiter, fireman, doctor for example), however there are some occupations (mostly knowledge based) that could really benefit from remote working.
Just imagine having the freedom to work at anywhere you want, flexible working hours, more time with your friends and family, total elimination of the dreaded daily commute and being environmental friendly in the process. Who does not want that?
In fact, back in 2019, The Guardian had already warned that “Companies who do not offer a work from home policy could be missing out on prospective employees”. It was also estimated that by 2025, “some 70 percent of the workforce will work remotely at least five days a month”.
That was the time before Covid 19 where WFH remained a pipe dream for most employees.
But when lockdowns were imposed around the globe in early 2020, WFH was brought to the forefront out of necessity. Out of a sudden, the sight of employees having a Zoom meetings at a secluded corner in their bedroom or having to rush a report or spreadsheet at the dinner table became common place. Some of us like it, while others totally loathe it.
But whichever side you are in, there is one thing for certain, WFH is here to stay. The Covid 19 pandemic only expedite the process. Since this is the case, why not just adapt and adjust to the new norm.
Here are 5 tips that we hope it’s helpful in your WFH experience.
1) Create a Comfortable Working Environment
Let’s face it, your home was not designed to be a working place nor will be sufficiently equipped like a professional office. Distractions such as TV, game console and pets etc are abound. But this does not means that you could not improve it.
Firstly, invest on a solid desk and an ergonomic office chair. This is the least the you could do for your body and spine will thank you later for it. Proper lighting is also crucial, it helps to create a good impression when the person on the other side of video call could see you clearly.
Having a quiet space/corner at your home where you could focus would also help tremendously. Lying on your sofa with your laptop may sound cosy, but it would not be long before your neck strains or worse, doze off.
Converting your home into a quasi workspace does not means that it should another boring and sterile version of your office. Take some time to add some personal touch like flora or painting at the wall. Setting shop near the window would also help.
2) Focus on task, not time
Apart from making small modifications on our home workspace. We also need to make some changes to our mindset if we are to WFH in a sustainable manner.
In a “traditional” workday at the office where one would usually toil from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. It is an open secret that all those hours don’t really correlate with higher productivity. Because some of us just spent our time sitting at the desk doing nothing while waiting to clock out at 5pm.
Back in my working days in Kuala Lumpur, there were colleagues who were purposely doing “overtime” because it is still a taboo in Asia to leave work before your boss. They ended up sitting at the desks scrolling social media or reading the news.
So how do we remain productive when WFH? Stop using the traditional 9 to 5 time-based model. It will never work because it will be almost impossible for the employer to keep track on its employees during remote working.
Instead, try concentrate on completing tasks for the coming days or weeks. List down all the tasks that needed to be accomplished and focus on striking them out one by one on the next working day. It is a win-win situation for both the employer and employee.
For the employer, it would be much easier to keep tab of the employees performance because the lists of goals and objectives had been clearly defined. This also helps build trust and accountability in the company. It goes without saying that it should not matter when the employee finishes the task provided that the employee accomplished it before the required deadline.
For the employee, it simply translate to being able to not feel ashamed for picking up you children after school or doing errands in the afternoon once they had met your goals early for the day.
3) Foster a close relationship with your colleagues even when working remotely
Remote working is by no means perfect, one aspect which WFH lacks is the face to face interaction amongst the employees. You know, the short tea time at the pantry or simply someone making a stupid joke in the middle of a meeting. So for some, WFH would feel isolating and lonely.
But it does not have to be this way. We just need a bit of planning and effort.
For instance, before any remote video call with the team, try allocate about 10 to 15 mins dedicated to just chit chat, start with a couple of jokes or maybe open ended (not so intrusive) personal questions. It makes people laugh and boast the morale of the team.
With lockdowns easing at the time of the writing, employers could also arrange for some team bonding activities like simply going out for dinner or movies after work hours.
4) Keep your schedule stable
While WFH let us abandon the rigid schedule of the office, it is still be sensible for us structure our time efficiently.
While working remotely may feel liberating as you now have the control to fill in your days schedule as you see fit, but this wide-open schedule, without any form of organisation can leads to stress, distractions and backlog of works.
Although most of us hate the daily rush hour traffic commute to the core, the routine of travelling to and from office actually set a clear boundaries between work and personal life.
Therefore, starts your works with a simple routine that signify your transition into a professional mindset. It could be anything: a short walk, workout, a cup of coffee or even journaling. Then have another routine at the end of the day to transition out of the professional mindset.
The keyword here is discipline and self-control, there is time to play and there is also time to work.
Of course, being part of an organisation also means that your daily schedule should be in sync with the rest of your colleagues.
5) Respect your colleague’s private time
With remote working, the boundaries between private and professional life are now much blurred if not absent entirely.
We all read or heard of the horrible story where bosses still sent emails and messages to employees late at night and expect immediate response. This problem is not unique to remote working of course. In fact back in 2017, France enacted a law that barred work related emails after working hours (also known as the “Right to disconnect”).
The rationale for the right to disconnect was bluntly spelled out by the French Socialist MP, Benoit Hamon:
I do not see Malaysian Government enacting similar law anytime soon especially when the nation is just about to emerge out of the Covid 19 pandemic.
But regardless of the above, I would advocate that it does not require law but simply decency, empathy and common sense for employer to respect their employee’s private time after work. Having burnout employees or high turnover rate is a recipe for disaster for any organisation.
6) Bonus Fun Facts: Did you know that block office topping Disney animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon” was made mostly from home
If you think that your company is too big or too complex to allow a remote working, think again.
Production for animated film Raya and the Last Dragon was about to get started in March 2020 when everyone was forced to work from home due to lockdown. Does it stop the crews from pursuing their passion?
Absolutely not! It was of course not easy and involved hours and hours of Zoom meetings in different time zones. Some of the casts actually recorded their voice acting in their home closets. Where there is a will, there is a way.
The essence here is that remote working could be done, we just need to put in some effort, creativity and trust to your colleagues that they will pull this off.
7) Closing
We hope that the this article will inspire you to have a more productive and fulfilling WFH experience.
If you are an employer and is still skeptical about the feasibility of a WFH policy in your office, consider the survey conducted recently (July 2021) by the World Economic Forum. It was found that:
- (a) Two-thirds of people around the world want to work flexibly when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
- (b) And almost a third are prepared to quit their job if the boss makes them go back to the office full time.
- (c) The survey of workers in 29 nations also shows people have coped better with homeworking than some feared.
So, if you are serious in the well being of your employees which translate to the wellbeing of your company, please give “remote working” or “WFH” a chance.
