Tag Archives: Work From Home

Mar23

Coronavirus Quarantine Preparations Part 2: What You Need To Know To Start Working From Home

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Coronavirus Quarantine Preparations Part 2: What You Need To Know To Start Working From Home

The global pandemic has now affected the way we work. Since major cities encourage self-quarantine, many employees have, by now, been given the go signal by their employers to start working from home in order to practice social distancing. 

Now, a lot of on-site workers are very excited to experience the comforts of working from home and the schedule flexibility that comes with it. Little do they know that it takes more than bringing home a laptop to get the hang of working from home. You are going to need self-discipline and laser focus to stay away from the 3 WFH temptations: the fridge, the bed, and the tv.

Kidding aside, on-site workers are going to have to get used to a few changes in their daily routine. While a work from home set up offers more time since daily prep and commute are taken out of the equation, remote workers might just find themselves trying to fill that void with activities to keep them “busy for the sake of being busy”.

If you’re new to working from home, here are a few things you should know:

You have to get into the right mindset 

Many people have this idea that remote workers lounge all day in their pajamas and work off of their kitchen tables. This is not true. When you work from home, you have to make the mental shift from personal time, to work time. That means dressing up for work and having a designated workspace. 

Create a workspace

As mentioned, a dedicated workspace is important for you to be able to get into a productive and focused mindset. That means not working from your bed or off the kitchen table. If you have the space, plan to set up a home office. If not, designate a quiet and clutter-free space away from distractions.

Have a core schedule

The topmost complaint of remote workers is that they have a hard time unplugging from work. This is because when you work where you live, it’s hard to know when your shift ends and your personal time starts. Those lines blur at times when you’re too busy to notice. This is why it is important to stick to a routine and assign start and stop times for yourself. Set an alarm for a hard-stop and walk away from work. It can wait for another day.

Stay connected

Use technology to your advantage and stay connected with co-workers. Take note that chat and instant messages need an extra layer of clarity as people won’t be able to see your body language and hear your tone of voice. 

Have you just recently started working from home? How are you finding it so far? What tips can you give employees who are new to remote working? Let us know in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Jun24

How to Set Up a Home Office without Breaking the Bank

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How to Set Up a Home Office without Breaking the Bank

Most of today’s companies offer their employees the ability to telecommute or work from home for a few days a week. This has been a recent trend in multinational companies and is offered as one of the perks depending on your position in the company. Companies like Oracle, Deloitte, IBM, CBS Interactive, and Viacom are some of the companies that have flexible work from home policies.

This is why more and more people are carving out spaces in their homes to serve as their mini home offices. It’s no fun and it’s not very professional to work off of the dining table or on a laptop on your bed. So a lot of work from home professionals have opted to create a dedicated space at home for a mini office.

You don’t have to completely renovate your house to include a home office. You don’t even have to add another room. You can work with what you have to create a great space for working from home without having to spend a lot of money. Here are a few tips on how to set up a home office without breaking the bank.

Look for unused space
Do you have a guest room? Is there a walk-in closet roomy enough to fit a chair? Is the space underneath the stairs usable? What about the huge landing between the first and second floor, can you use that?

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a spare room so we have to use our creativity and look for areas in the house where we can fit a desk and an office chair in. It has to be a dedicated workspace though. It’s hard to concentrate on work when you work off the kitchen table and the kids are eating. Carve out space where you don’t have to move your stuff for around, like when baby needs a diaper change and you have to use the same table you work on.

Minimalist requirements
Think about what you need. Do you need a desk? How about a chair? Does it have to be big and bulky? Will a simple chair do or do you need an ergonomic chair? Do you need file cabinets or display cabinets?

Pare down your requirements to just the basics so that you can fit them into the spaces in your home. For example, my setup is just a simple desk with a 2 layer side shelf and an ergonomic chair that isn’t very big and imposing. It is in a small quiet corner of the living room, next to the sliding doors that lead to the garden. It’s a small space that has natural lighting and a great view of plants and pets.

Be a DIY fan
You don’t have to hire a contractor for things you can do yourself. If you want to have an accent wall for a beautiful background during video conference calls you can probably get away with painting the wall yourself. You can also hang a pretty framed photo or some artworks in the background. You can even put decals or wallpaper to define the space as a workspace.

You can also build your own desk. Take 3 side cabinets of the same height and connect them by putting a board across. Be sure to measure your space first so that you know that the desk will fit. You can paint or stain them to be a uniform color and look like 1 desk instead of 3 different furniture pieces.

What about you? What are your DIY home office tips? Share them with us in the comments Stay humble and hustle hard!

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Sep17

A Story of Remote Work

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A Story of Remote Work

A survey done by Gallup in 2015, reports that 37% of the US labor force is working remotely…and that number is rising. The option to do remote work is one of the perks that is being made available to employees today. It certainly is one of the perks that millennials look for when job hunting. Offices are now equipped to provide a remote work option to their employees. And there are many tools to enable this: powerful laptops, video conferencing software, collaboration tools, instant messaging, and cloud syncing to enable employees to work from anywhere. These are just a few of the tools. But many myths and misconceptions surround this way of working.

Why aren’t we all still adopting this way of working when technology has enabled an easier way to do remote work. This is probably due to the stigma surrounding remote work – with remote work meaning you can work from anywhere outside the office setting (co-working spaces, coffee shops, work from home, etc.).

One prevailing myth is that productivity decreases when you work from home. This is because of the three temptations: the fridge, the bed, and the TV. But one study from Harvard Business Review notes that a worker’s productivity increases by 13.5% if he/she is permitted to do remote work. This could be due having fewer distractions like office chatter, white noise, pointless meetings, and the infamous breakroom effect where you get pulled away to socialize, have coffee, or eat cake with co-workers.

Some office traditionalists wonder if remote workers are as committed to their work as workers in an office setting. One question is if they even get out of their pajamas for work. The underlying fear is that if they don’t even bother to get dressed, they can’t care that much. But many remote workers do get dressed – they go through the morning routines of taking a shower, preparing breakfast, and seeing the kids off to school before hunkering down to work. The only difference is that they avoid the long commute/drive through horrible traffic. That is a major win for everyone if you ask me. More remote workers mean fewer vehicles on the street.

And then there’s the myth about poor communication – that somehow remote workers are harder to get a hold of than office workers. This belief can easily be addressed by communication software. Meetings via teleconferencing through Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, or other tech is just as or dare I say, even more, effective than face to face office meetings. It eliminates delays because there’s no need for running around to find a meeting room, invitees can join in at any time, and participants can join in from anywhere in the world and at any time zone.

A remote workers workload doesn’t change, they still have to finish the task that they have to attend to even if they’re outside of the office setting. This means they tend to overcompensate by having more structure in place since they more time and more autonomy over their schedules.

Are you a remote worker? How is it working for you so far? Share your experiences with us in the comments. Stay humble, hustle hard.

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help

Aug6

Hidden Costs of Working from Home

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Hidden Costs of Working from Home

The freedom and flexibility of being able to work from home is something that many people are discovering. Having complete control over your workspace and (most times) your working hours is one of the many benefits of working from home. But while it is a joy to be earning money from the comforts of your home, you might also want to think about hidden costs and how to work that into your budget.

Tech
This is probably the most expensive hidden cost of all. A traditional workplace would have desktop PCs at every workstation. Some managers may even get a work laptop and a mobile phone (and line) assigned to them.

However, when you work from home, you need to have your own machine. If you’re a freelancer or you work from home exclusively, a desktop PC that is solely used for work purposes is a must. If you telecommute or work from home a few times a week, a laptop will help you with telecommuting.

These powerful machines (laptop and PC) generally have a 5-year lifespan, so practice good computer hygiene and get a good antivirus software. Sure, a good antivirus is another hidden cost, but it will help you keep your tech running for as long as possible AND also keep your all-important work files safe.

As for mobile phones, you can get a cheap phone that can be used exclusively for taking and making work calls and sending out work messages. Or you can get a phone that has a dual sim function if you want to keep your personal and business contacts separate

Internet
High-speed internet is not cheap BUT it gives you peace of mind. Upgrading to a high-speed internet will ensure that you can join those client video calls without worrying that you will drop out of the call.

A plan without a download cap is also worth considering, especially if you have large files being exchanged.

Office supplies
You can probably scrounge up the basics from around the house: a small desk to place your work items on, a trash bin to throw your rubbish into, some paper and pens. So those need not be additional costs.

At a traditional workplace you have access to a copier with unlimited copy paper as well as the little things like paper clips, markers, highlighters, post its, folders, and file boxes. While you can just buy these things on an as-needed basis, these are also hidden costs.

Overhead
When you work at a traditional workplace, the company pays for electricity and space. However, if you work from home, you have to shoulder those costs.

Telecommuters may opt to pay for membership at co-working spaces. This is an option for collaborative events or for ad-hoc teams and startups.

Holidays and sick leaves
Freelancers usually work on a per project basis or a no-work, no-pay arrangement. Therefore paid vacation leaves and sick leaves are not factored into your net pay. Vacations are usually out of pocket and illnesses and hospital visits are as well. You need to factor these into your budget as they are among hidden costs.

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments. Stay humble and hustle hard.

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help