Even if remote work is more popular than it once was, there are still difficulties associated with it, particularly if you are one of the few WFH employees at your firm and the rest of the team works in the office. The following list of typical remote work hazards includes advice on how to avoid them.
Problem #1: You Have Time Management Issues
It’s common for remote workers to work from home, which presents several distractions (the dishes, the laundry, the unmowed grass, maybe your children and spouse), making it all too simple to get distracted. Additionally, there is no over-the-shoulder responsibility to prevent you from using Social Media.
Think about utilizing time monitoring software, such as TimeCamp or Toggl, which enables you to document time spent on specific activities or categories of work. Simply keeping track of your time can increase your awareness of how your hours are spent, like keeping a food diary when dieting. If you’re truly interested in learning more, you may search the data for trends. Do you frequently lose track of time on Facebook just before a big deadline? Do conference calls around noon disturb your afternoon routine? —and modify your schedule appropriately.
Problem #2: You Can’t Stop Working
Separating your job and personal lives might be challenging if you don’t have a transit or a method to exit the office. Because of this, it’s simple to continue working way past your scheduled end time. Likewise, you can overcompensate to seem active out of concern that your supervisor would assume you are not working since you are off-site.
It’s essential to disengage at the end of the day to avoid feeling like you’re always on call. Get off Slack, close your work email, and allow yourself to stop working for the day.
Problem #3: Team Communication Appears to be Lacking
Unplanned lunches, coffee breaks, and deskside brainstorming sessions will be missed if you are not in the office traffic flow. As a result, you could occasionally feel as though you’re not getting the whole picture or that you’re learning about things last.
Some teams use cloud platforms for documents so that everyone can interact, or they embrace messaging services like Slack where everyone—in the office and on the go—can discuss about problems as they arise in real time. Another effective tactic is to make video calls; just remember to keep the camera on so the manager can see your face.
Problem #4: You’re Not Visible
Yes, you get to wear whatever you slept in at work, but you also aren’t always in view of your boss. That can entail being overlooked for advantageous projects or even promotions.
Go out there to increase direct interaction. If you can go in, try to attend conferences and work from home occasionally. Attend team gatherings even if you are not expected to, such as farewell parties, monthly status meetings, or the occasional lunch with your boss or coworkers.
