No. But it’s not impossible, or at least not if you follow these steps. These four practices, for example, may have been central to your employees’ success in the office, but now, they’re only holding you back. If you’re less than pleased with your company’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, you’re not alone. First, set the tone for a culture of trust and empowerment. If the answer is more than a few, you’re not alone: According to a study by researchers at Ohio State University, during the Zika virus outbreak of 2015 and 2016, the more people learned about the epidemic, the more they felt they needed to learn. By making. Coronavirus may have disrupted your business, but it’s done the same to the lives of those who keep it running. But studies have shown that optimistic employees are more likely to feel inspired to give their best effort at work than their pessimistic counterparts. Thankfully, there are a few things every team can do to keep the lines of communication open. Think you have remote management all figured out? 1: If you don’t need your phone for work, put it on silent. Editor's Note: The author and Dr. Eric Bravo, a source named in this article, are married. No. Can you imagine what that percentage must be today? Think about how to use this time to your advantage. We put together a checklist of all the things you should consider as you transition. Take care to practice some mental distancing, too. Take a moment and. But have you actually run one? Whether you’re a first-time telecommuter struggling to be as productive from your couch as you are from your cube, or a manager looking for ways to keep your newly remote team engaged, here’s everything you need to know about working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. No. Conversely, consistent exercise and activity maintain and overall sense of motivation. Chances are, these are the same rationalizations that are noticeable before working from home. of late, you’re not alone. ), you know that more often than not, the quality of a call has nothing to do with tools or tech and everything to do with meeting management. Start by seeking out opportunities for collaboration. Avoid isolation and make it a priority to reach out to your social network. No. According to a study from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, people tend to become more introspective in tough times, which can lead to revelations about what’s most important in life. The COVID-19 pandemic is, in many ways, an unprecedented situation. that can help you create some boundaries. Balancing the personal and the professional was challenging enough before the pandemic, but now that your home, office and daycare are one and the same, it may be starting to feel downright impossible. Just focus on your poise, pitch and pace, plus this proven advice. Even the simplest of touches (think, a small plant or a framed photograph) can go a long way toward keeping you grounded and focused. Managers of the most successful remote teams all have one characteristic in common: They are effective communicators. Think about all the personalities that make up your team: You’ve got early birds and night owls, east and west coasters. 1: Make your outreach as “rich” as possible. By welcoming your colleagues into your home each day, you’re allowing them to get to know you in an unfiltered way, and in the long run, that will allow you all to connect on a more human level. Anxiety stems from a desire to be in control. This is your guide to overcoming them. If you’ve been struggling to embrace your remote work arrangement, here are three ways to start shifting your mindset today. If a telephone call will suffice for work or social purposes, it is a much better option. According to a study from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, people tend to become more introspective in tough times, which can lead to revelations about what’s most important in life. Doing so will only help your team thrive. Bloom advises using online video chats instead of phone calls whenever possible. You may be out of your manager’s sight, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of his or her mind. If done well, remote meetings can be just as, if not more, effective than those done in person. you can take to reduce videoconference exhaustion. There are a few steps you can take to create opportunities for human connection, no matter how far apart you and your colleagues are. There may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to remote management, but there are a few steps you can take to ensure you’re supporting your entire team. If you live in a studio or one-bedroom apartment with family or friends, chances are your “home office” is really just a coffee table. 1: Be of service. If working from home has you so consumed by work that you’ve let self-care fall by the wayside, take these seven steps, guaranteed to help you feel like yourself again. When you’re working in an office, impromptu connections around the watercooler and in the elevator can let you build a personal brand naturally over time. When you and your team transitioned to remote work, it’s likely you were in somewhat of a state of shock. Change is never easy, especially when it comes to routines like your workday. It doesn’t matter how well-versed you are in the art of remote work: Telecommuting alongside a significant other or spouse is bound to complicate things. Slack messages and Zoom videoconferences can be just as effective as all those face-to-face interactions, that is, as long as you take the time to establish three things. As much as possible, have a dedicated work space free from distractions, leisurely activities, and household responsibilities. "Talk about things other than work. We’ve all learned a thing or two about telecommuting over the past few months. We’re all doing a balancing act right now, and your colleagues will understand. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Take these eight steps to do just that. Thankfully, there are four techniques you can try today to instantly improve your virtual meetings. Here are nine ways to stay productive. We asked the heads of tech at Facebook, Iron Mountain and Waste Management how they’re navigating the challenges of adapting work for a remote world. 1: What would you say are your team’s top three priorities for achieving success? You don’t need face time to make a great first impression, not with these three strategies, guaranteed to help you become an essential part of your new team. Take these six steps to ensure your telecommuters don’t succumb to the summer slump. Over the past few weeks, it’s likely you’ve had to have more difficult conversations than usual. During your next videoconference, make your physical presence felt by maintaining steady eye contact. Here are six ways to ensure your virtual meeting is a success. Here are three ways to engage your telecommuters. That’s why we put together this guide to remote recruiting. Before the coronavirus changed life as we know it, it’s likely you worked from home every once in a while. As it turns out, there’s a term for what you’re feeling: “Zoom fatigue.” And there’s science to back it up. You just became a teacher. Offer substitute work solutions, maybe a work from home arrangement, alternative hours, or intermittent leave. Like millions of Americans, Laura Hamill, chief people officer and chief science officer at software company Limeade, has been forced to work from home since early March in … The COVID-19 pandemic is, among other things, a massive experiment in telecommuting. . There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to telecommuting, you have to take the time to understand how you work best in your new environment. Now brace yourself, because the onboarding process will likely be different from anything you’ve ever experienced. When meeting face-to-face is no longer an option, this is your guide to finding the right talent. If telecommuting has you and your partner on each other’s last nerves, you’re not alone. As states across the country start reopening their economies and lifting stay-at-home orders, it’s likely your company’s leaders have been devising their own plan to get employees back to work. Here are six pitfalls worth considering. Gil Amador is an executive chef at a hotel in Menomonee Falls who has been out of work since March. What does that have to do with your career? When all of your interactions happen virtually, it takes extra effort to meaningfully connect with your colleagues. Working from home doesn’t have to be that hard, or at least not with the right tools and tech. This is your guide to adopting a more agile approach to work. Now more than ever, your team needs a leader, someone to provide both structure and support. From practicing active listening to setting stretch goals, there are countless ways to pursue professional development outside the office. If you’re living in a constant state of stress it can be hard to think clearly. As volatile as the employment market has been of late, companies are still hiring, and candidates are still landing jobs. But have you actually run one? What about employees without children? Develop these habits to start boosting your productivity today. And remember: By setting boundaries, you’re not only safeguarding your time—you’re empowering your colleagues to do the same. your employees may be feeling by sharing how you’re managing your own mental health. When delivering news to your team, try to share as much context as possible. While there’s no doubting just how devastating it can feel to be laid off, conversations like these are among the toughest any manager will have over the course of his or her career. to ensure they feel supported. Now that you’ve fallen into a rhythm, take advantage of the freedom and flexibility afforded by remote work to reinvent your career. When done right, networking offers an opportunity to create and cultivate meaningful connections, something we could all use right about now. Now that you’re working from home, make the most of this newfound time with, Over the past couple of months, how many quick Google searches for “coronavirus” have turned into hours-long investigations into the latest number of confirmed cases and treatment trials? We asked a few entrepreneurs how they’ve been maintaining their productivity. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to working from home. Boundaries are the psychological barriers between our life at work and life at home. You checked email, made a call or two and took stock of what could wait until your return to the office. A new phenomenon, Zoom Fatigue, is leading to higher levels of lethargy and exhaustion during the workday. No. Above all, avoid saying “You should have…”. This is your survival guide. You may not need to wear a suit, but dress to be active. That’s why we asked five leaders from various industries to share. There’s no better way to stay on message during a virtual meeting than by using a script as your guide. Where is the middle ground? At this point in your telecommuter tenure, it’s likely you’ve attended at least a dozen videoconferences. 1: Don’t waste time taking attendance. You may not be able to anticipate every obstacle you’ll face as a remote-work newbie, but you can take care to avoid, Staying productive as a team of telecommuters is no easy task—it requires deliberate changes to policies and processes that have to come from the top down. Laptops are convenient, but there’s a big difference between having the option to use one occasionally and having to rely on one all day, every day. to designing engaging trainings for your team of telecommuters. Calling all working parents: We checked in with a few female founders to find out how they’re balancing running a remote business while raising a family. Such technology has become a lifeline for American workers, many of whom had never even heard of Zoom or Google Meet just a few weeks ago—and it shows. While keeping a high profile may not seem all that important right now, trust me—when it comes time for management to make decisions about pay raises and promotions, you’ll want to be top of mind. Managers, how is your team holding up? Don’t forget to turn on your camera. With entire organizations working from home, employees have been forced to rely on impersonal modes of communication to stay in touch. We asked a few veterans of the remote workforce to share their secrets for staying focused. Nearly three months into your tenure as a telecommuter, and it’s likely your new normal is starting to feel, well, normal. No matter how strong your public speaking skills, chances are virtual presentations have given you a run for your money. Getting in the habit of being sedentary will slow your mind, body, and energy. Here’s how to cope. If nothing else, the past couple of months have put your team’s resilience to the test, and as a manager, you’ve likely seen some employees bounce back, and some stay stuck. A team’s true colors are revealed in a crisis. Don’t let the transition to telecommuting take a toll on collaboration. Thinking of furnishing your remote workspace with a comfy leather office chair? Managers, it’s time to ditch the bodies-in-seats mentality. Here’s their advice. , though, and you can design a work life that benefits both you and your employer. If individuals volunteer to a private, not-for-profit organization, are they entitled to compensation? Don’t let the workday expand just because there is so much to do. Consider this your guide. If working from home has found you distracted and struggling to meet your goals, consider breaking big targets into bite-size tasks. Corporate culture doesn’t cease to exist outside the confines of an office. Vices are more accessible than ever. Sleep helps in … When work and home become one and the same, the lines between the professional and the personal blur, and before long, any semblance of balance begins to fade. Managers, for every employee who is counting down the days until your office reopens, there is another who would love nothing more than to continue working from home. “The longer and longer a person spends in that kind of environment, there is a potential for bigger and bigger problems.” Over the course the past few decades, NASA has learned a thing or two about surviving in isolation, so, If you thrive on the camaraderie of your colleagues, working alone at home may have you experiencing a sense of loss. When you started working from home and found yourself sitting all day, every day, without a commute or meeting on the opposite side of the office to help you get steps, chances are you discovered just how exhausting sedentary life can be. When you’re working from home, it isn’t so simple. Online teaching ensures that the academic year isn’t lost. When millions of Americans are living in a constant state of stress, exacerbated by isolation, it’s never been more important that leaders demonstrate humanity. Take these three steps to conduct a constructive remote review. At a time when millions of Americans are losing their jobs every week, the desire to find fulfillment in your work may feel frivolous. that are effective for all parties involved. Virtual meetings have become more common in recent years, but when high-stakes or complex issues are up for discussion, many still believe that in-person conversations are more effective. Struggling to embrace your new remote-work arrangement? Have the light bulbs in your office been carefully selected to be a specific wattage? 1: Demonstrate your soft skills. Now more than ever, you have to integrate the professional and the personal. And with many children homebound due to coronavirus closures, parents have found themselves with a seemingly impossible task: serve as a full-time caregiver and educator, all while attempting to work from home. That’s why we put together this guide to. was designed to help newly remote workers develop the skills to become ace telecommuters, no tuition required. But by setting aside some time to intentionally focus on something—anything—else, you’ll be more likely to feel refreshed for the week ahead. If you want to ensure your employees are as connected and engaged as ever, you have to keep an open mind. Whether the return date is days, weeks or months away, when you’ve spent the past two months social distancing, it can be challenging to imagine returning to your old routine. Virtual meetings are particularly difficult: In addition to playing the role of on-air talent, you also have to be a camera operator, set designer and sound engineer, all while attempting to make an authentic connection with your colleagues. Maybe you rinsed out your coffee mug before tidying up your workspace, or maybe you simply shut down your computer, grabbed your coat and headed for the door. For comparison, 35% of Gen-Xers and 36% of Baby Boomers say the same. Working from home is not ideal, but it's safe and manageable... As you probably already found out because of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, working from home on a long-term basis is quite a different experience from doing just once in a while. There are. What about employees without children? Where are you sitting, what do you hear and how high is the thermostat set? Before you know it, you’re racing from room to room hoping to find a signal, one that always seems to be hiding in the most inconvenient corner (who else has had to call into a meeting from the floor outside the bathroom—anyone?). Instead of calling each of your colleagues to ask if they’re free. Lister sees the pandemic as a “game changer” for remote work for several reasons, including increased demand from employees, decreased … Remind yourself of the reason that you do what you do. At times as stressful as these, you have to take care of yourself, but the occasional face mask or virtual yoga class just isn’t going to cut it. These days, there’s no such thing as having too much grit, or the perseverance and passion to achieve long-term goals amid adversity. Here are. ? The question of how best to support the millions of Americans working from home is top of mind for C-suite executives, especially CIOs. From standing office hours to virtual coffee breaks, we asked year-round remote workers to share their top telecommuting tips. When it comes to cultivating a sense of community, in-person meetings will always be the gold standard. No. Telecommuting is challenging enough without your boss requesting status updates on the hour and help scheduling videoconferences in between. The swift shift to remote work has proved challenging for many, especially dual-career couples. During times as uncertain as these, it’s of the utmost importance that leaders ensure employees feel psychologically safe, as though they can contribute, learn and challenge the status quo without fear of embarrassment, marginalization or punishment. Here’s how to get started. For starters, you have to look professional (at least from the waist up), as does your environment. Whether you’re working alone in a studio apartment or alongside another telecommuter in a three-bedroom house, it’s unlikely that your setup is devoid of distractions. No. If you want to succeed as a telecommuter, you’d do well to schedule your time, and that includes breaks for rewards. , you’ll be better equipped to guide your team. "Maintaining face-to-face interaction with your colleagues is important, especially when isolated at home," he says. But with. Start by taking your company’s cultural temperature—then, During times as uncertain as these, it’s of the utmost importance that leaders ensure employees feel. It’s the deepest driver of well-being there is.”, At times as stressful as these, you have to take care of yourself, but the occasional face mask or virtual yoga class just isn’t going to cut it. Meetings tend to multiply when you’re not talking shop around the watercooler and brainstorming ideas over lunch. It may sound like overkill, but taking a few minutes to write down what you want to say will help you hit all of your points within the allotted time. It’s only a matter of time before you find yourself longing for the desk-side updates and in-person meetings that once kept your team humming along like a well-oiled machine. Leaders who embrace an agile mindset are better equipped to cultivate high-performing teams. When you started working from home two months ago, it’s likely you embraced videoconferencing with open arms, no questions asked. It doesn’t matter if you live in a studio apartment or a four-bedroom house—your home wasn’t built with your job in mind, and so creating the space you need to be productive may not be as simple as cozying up on your couch with a laptop. How much time are you spending responding to instant messages and emails every day? If working from home has taught leaders anything about employee engagement, it’s that mindset is more important than management. As COVID-19 forces employers to embrace remote work, leaders have found themselves faced with a unique challenge: engaging employees from afar. An agile mindset can give you a leg up in your career under normal circumstances, but it can be especially helpful during periods of great uncertainty. It can be difficult to work from home for long periods of time. Has temporarily telecommuting inspired you to permanently join the ranks of the remote workforce? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American spends about 26 minutes commuting to work every morning—that’s nearly four-and-a-half hours spent traveling to and from the office each week. Over the past few weeks, you’ve likely read at least a dozen articles about staying productive during the pandemic. We know there’s a lot to think about—that’s why we put together this guide to better videoconferencing. Here’s how to get it right. When some 41% of American workers are afraid to return to their offices, employers can’t afford to leave human emotion out of their back-to-work plans. “Isolation and confinement is like being alone in a cramped space, and that feeling worsens over time,” says Bill Paloski, Ph.D., director of the Human Research Program at NASA. While telecommuting has become more mainstream in recent years—the remote workforce grew 159% between 2005 and 2017—when just 3.4% of Americans work from home at least half of the time, it’s not unreasonable to think that many of the employees who have been asked to work from home due to the coronavirus may have little to no experience doing so, or at least not for an extended period of time. Think about all the personalities that make up your team: You’ve got early birds and night owls, east and west coasters. If leaders take the time to observe and learn from their organizations’ experiences with remote work, they can use their findings to implement. Enjoy your newfound flexibility and freedom while avoiding these common missteps. You may know all about your employees’ professional lives, but how much do you know about their personal lives? Email me at vvalet@forbes.com. "Having a time when you can turn off the computer and stop work is important," she says. In other words, the 30-second detour you just took to respond to a colleague’s Slack message could cost you nearly a half hour of productivity. Will the coronavirus crisis make or break your team? That’s why we asked five leaders from various industries to share their best advice for encouraging remote workers. Some of America’s biggest businesses have gone all in on remote work, with Facebook announcing that half of its employees could be working from home by 2030. Because internet-induced stress should be the least of your worries right now, we asked a couple of IT experts for their top tips for ensuring your Wi-Fi is remote-work ready. No matter the case, it’s likely that social distancing has limited your options for finding relief. If you want to succeed as a telecommuter, you’d do well to schedule your time, and that includes breaks for rewards. Strong relationships are the foundation of any. When you’re working from home and out from under the watchful eye of a manager, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to get down to business—add the stress of living through a public health crisis, and it may feel downright impossible. Leaders, you don’t need a degree in microbiology to effectively communicate how your organization is handling the coronavirus crisis. , you’ll be better equipped to stay productive, not to mention keep your relationship intact. If employers focused a little less on where their employees work and a little more on how the work they’re doing is contributing to the organization at large, they might just see that kitchens can be as conducive to productivity as cubicles. When you’re working in an office, it doesn’t take much more than a quick scan of the room to get a sense of who’s heads down on an assignment and who’s available for a quick discussion. But did you consider how your new arrangement might complicate decision-making? Then, try these tips. Your mind relies on past experiences to inform decisions, and when everything you knew just a few months ago is now out of date, it has to work overtime to process all of the new information coming your way, making even the simplest of choices seemingly impossible. Who needs networking events when you have LinkedIn? The distance created by separating the space can let you focus on a productive workday and allow you to “leave” the office when needed. No. From internet access to virtual etiquette, here’s what managers should discuss with their newly remote teams. No. We asked an entrepreneur who has been managing 1,000 remote workers for more than a decade for. Figure in the distractions of home and your family and friends competing for your attention, and you may find yourself feeling that there simply are not enough hours in the day. Interestingly, similar fatigue can also occur during social videoconferencing. If your team was dysfunctional before you made the shift to remote work, telecommuting together can be a recipe for disaster. "One person can be 'all on' for work.". Even if your organization hasn’t been affected by layoffs, your employees have likely been experiencing more stress than usual. But low visibility can stunt your career growth, not to mention result in feelings of insecurity, imposter syndrome or worse, burnout. But it’s not productivity they should be worried about—it’s burnout. This is your guide to designing engaging trainings for your team of telecommuters. As a leader, it’s likely you have a birds-eye view of the obstacles facing your organization. When you’re not physically present in an office, maintaining visibility requires extra effort. No. 1: Lead with facts, not fear. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we work—and it will continue to do so for years to come.
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