Let’s consider the holy grail of work flexibility: working from home. It sounds like a miracle in itself… the fact people are allowed to work from their couch, in their pajamas, without anyone supervising them! Without having to commute long hours, you’re able to make more use of your time in a way that suits you, instead of being stuck in traffic.
With the ability to step out for quick appointments, or errands, the possibilities seem endless. However, have you taken time to consider how all of these perks could actually be hurting your career? Today we’re going to look into some things to reconsider before deciding to pack up your cubicle belongings completely after the pandemic subsides.
Things we Forget to Consider While Working From Home
- Discipline
- Office Chatter
- Blurry Working Hours
- Are you going to continue working remotely when the pandemic subsides?
✅Download your free time tracking template in excel
Discipline
The first thing we hear from veteran telecommuters is that “you have to have a lot of discipline”. This may seem like a questionable point, but we don’t realise how undisciplined we can be until we are in this position and find out how easy it is to get side tracked doing chores, errands, or straight up avoiding doing work. When working remotely, employees will need to be more disciplined, perhaps more than when they are in the office. The sheer freedom of having nobody watching you at work can be liberating, but also threatening to someone’s productivity.
Since the global crisis has changed our way of work, it is true that remote work will increase and employees will choose to carry on to work remotely after the pandemic subsides. It’s important to stay motivated at work so you remain productive and get the job done. Optimising your home office can really help keep you in ‘work mode’ so you don’t spend too much time lazing around or getting distracted.
Office Chatter
Another thing that we should consider is the type of work you do, and the type of person you are. If you are an extrovert who craves the constant chatter in the office, working from home may not be the right option for you to do permanently. Many people who are in roles that require a lot of collaboration, or positions that gain more ideas from being around their peers should also maybe reconsider the home office idea. Those who love conversations by the water station or whilst grabbing a cup of coffee, may feel lonely working at home.
If you decide to return to the office, it may take a while to adapt, especially if you’ve been in furlough or working from home for a while! We recommend you read these tips to boost motivation when you return to the normal work environment. Of course for some, there isn’t the choice (yet) to go back to the office, but that’s okay, you can still stay connected with your colleagues over zoom or google hangouts, or even organise virtual after work beers!
Blurry Working Hours
When working from home, employee’s time management and organisational skills are put to the test. People who work from home argue that they put in more hours from home than when in the office because they forget to clock in, or keep track of their time working. This can become a problem when working from home was supposed to provide more flexibility, but you feel like you have to put in more hours than required to prove that you’re working hard, or because you procrastinated.
Using a time tracker for remote workers can really help you keep track of hours and know how much time you spend working. This also allows your manager to view how much time you spend working easily without pestering you or having any concern about your work hours. Factorial offer a free time tracking software which is also available to access through our mobile time tracking app!
Are you going to carry on working remotely after the pandemic subsides?
In order for someone to be successful while working from home, we need to stop and consider all of the little things that we may have been avoiding. Even though working from home in your living room may sound like a great idea, take a second to reflect on the type of person you are and if this is the right fit for you. If you have difficulties trying to find out what kind of worker you are, maybe you could arrange to ease into working back at the office. Ask your supervisor if you can start by working back at the office 2 days a week and see how you feel, it depends what works for you individually!
Register with Factorial for free to increase productivity working remotely and to track your hours worked!
