Keep spirits up

• Though employees are happy to see the demise of daily commutes and parking hassles, they are finding out that there is no work-life balance at home.
• Most workers live in apartments that aren’t suitable for 8 to 10 hours of work every day, as it was never designed to be a full-fledged office.
• Many employees would want to get back to offices as soon as possible due to social and mental issues, like the feeling of loneliness at home.

Monitoring software that checks time spent on different applications, chat response time, and keystroke recording is now in great demand.

HR departments worldwide are fueling the use of technology to have a way to control the employees that are now no longer in the office.

• Angry outbursts, irritability, or frustration, even with unimportant matters.
• Loss of interest or happiness in activities such as sex or hobbies.
• Sleep disturbances, including insomnia and sleeping too much.
• Tiredness and lack of energy for even the smallest activities.
• Increased cravings for food.
• Anxiety, agitation, and restlessness.
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions, and remembering things
• Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
• Avoiding people.

...while working from home:

• Create a schedule and stick to it. Scheduling your tasks (and breaks) will help you to mentally prepare for the day.
• Have a dedicated comfortable workspace, with a door that closes, preferably.
• Fight the urge to stay sedentary and schedule active time to get your heart pumping.
• Foster social connections (on the phone or via the internet, if physical contact is not possible).
• Learn to say no. Know your limitations, set boundaries based on your schedule and workload, and don’t extend yourself beyond them.

A remote worker has a constant blind-spot and is not able to use their full senses to gauge and tweak their work. This also makes them anxious and feel disconnected from the office proceedings. If handling a team remotely, ensure that the reporting/tracking of their work is transparent.

It helps to come prepared in meetings and answer questions in writing while providing a trace of context in your email/chat. Having a preset plan covering a couple of days helps reduce the constant interactions. 

Transparency of communication ensures minimum ambiguity. 

Use video communication as it provides an emotional connection with the team, ensuring that the equipment is working properly and there is no echo on the microphone/headphone.

Have at least two modes of internet connections available, broadband/fiber along with wi-fi.

Even high-performing employees can face a decline in job performance and engagement when working remotely. This can be due to:

• Lack of face-to-face supervision, which leads to a two-way communication gap and even mistrust.
• There is a delay in the procurement of information as remote workers aren’t able to sense the atmosphere and real-time events at the workplace, leading to a lack of ‘mutual knowledge’.
• A sense of isolation among remote workers, leading to a feeling of less belongingness within the organization.
• Distractions at home due to unplanned work-from-home transition, with employees balancing childcare and many other responsibilities along with work.

A few specific, research-backed steps that can be taken to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees:

• Establishing Structured Daily check-ins, by establishing a daily call or touchpoint.
• Providing several different communication technology options, using virtual communication tools like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams etc., and making use of video conferencing.
• Establishing clear rules of engagement for communicating with the coworkers or the managers, according to the levels of urgency.
• Providing opportunities for remote social interaction by talking about non-work activities, thereby reducing the feeling of isolation among remote workers.
• Offering encouragement and emotional support by listening to the workers, acknowledging their stress, and keeping their needs and issues in focus.

Pick a place for your office away from distraction.
Boundaries also apply to other people who may be sharing the same space. Children can work alongside you as if they were coming to the office.

You won't have the same cues as you do from your workplace to remind you to get up or get lunch. When you lose the pace of your day, everything can start to blend together.

Treat your exercise, meals and stretch breaks as you would any other meeting. Put it on your calendar, at least to start.

Studies on long term work-from-home workers found that lack of interaction with colleagues and the lack of an office vibe can result in a disconnection from the outer world, leading to isolation.

Pitfalls of working from home: 

• Mental health disorders like anxiety, stress, and depression
• Feeling isolated
• Less self-discipline
• Lack of exercise
• Unable to keep the boundaries between work and life.

WFH (Work From Home) eventually means you are working from coffee shops, parking lots, from your car while driving, and almost anywhere you can log in to your laptop or communicate on your phone.

No one knows where you are and what you are doing, and that can be an advantage, but also can be misused. 

The schedule that makes you start early, and mimic the office hours works best, as you end up being free earlier too. However, night owls may find working at night to be more productive or comfortable for them.

Maintaining a schedule in a routine, while incorporating regular exercise with it, works best.

• Employees can still offer a good service if they're at home for a day.
• Employees have access to their phone and email and can even attend a few meetings, but they put off most things until they're back in the office.

Most organizations are at level 2. This is where employees have access to videoconferencing and instant messaging software as well as email, and they try to recreate online, how they work in the office. Examples include:

• A 10-person video-call where two people would suffice.
• 60+ interruptions a day via Slack and phone calls.
• Sporadic checking and responding to email many times a day.
• Hyper-responsiveness that is expected of all employees.
• People are still expected to be online from 9 to 5.
• Screen-logging software on employees' machines to play the role of Big Brother.

• If you know you’re more likely to work from home, invest in comfortable furniture; you feel good it will inspire you to get work done.
• If you want to join a local co-working space but are intimidated by the price point, ask about smaller memberships to start.

Don’t let your skepticism about productivity hacks get in the way of finding a technique that suits you and helps you get things done.
If you’re still having a hard time identifying priorities, try working backward by identifying work that’s definitely not a priority. Eliminate those items and assess what’s left.

• Set clear expectations and make an effort to be a good listener.
• Set clear boundaries. Establish a preferred time for communications so you feel respected and acknowledged.
• Get to know others. Remote workers often have purely transactional interactions. Listen to people and get to know them.
• Update people on what you’re working on and your availability. 

A co-located office develops its own personality through inside jokes, shared experiences, and a collaborative environment. A remote team needs to develop something similar.

Creating specific Slack channels based on interests and book clubs where the company funds the books are the easiest ways to do this for remote workers.