Remote work is a popular way for employees to work outside of an office setting. It is also a great way for businesses to hire and retain talent globally.
However, companies must take several steps to ensure their remote workers have a positive experience. They need to create a remote-first culture that prioritizes work life balance and provides employees with the tools they need to be successful at their job.
Creating a Workspace
In remote work, you need a workspace to organize your digital life and ensure productivity and collaboration. A workspace unifies all apps, tools, and resources for a seamless experience on any device. It secures access and protects sensitive data. It unites all teams in a single space, removing friction and context switching, and reinforcing human connections.
Creating a workspace is simple and straightforward in DR, as it can be managed through the Workspace Manager role. A user with this role can create, manage, and delete workspaces.
A workspace is a virtual space where you can collaborate on projects and projects-in-progress. It can be a shared workspace, or a workspace owned by one or more users.
You can also create a workspace that is only accessible by a specific group of people, such as your team or project managers. You can also create multiple workspaces, so you can have different groups of people working in different areas of the same workspace.
Your workspace should be a place where you can concentrate on the task at hand without distractions. For example, you may need to have a quiet space where you can conduct confidential conversations.
For example, if you work with sensitive customer information or deal with sensitive financial transactions, you need to have a space where you can safely discuss these issues. A private workspace, such as a home office, is ideal for this.
A workspace can be a desk or multiple desks. You can also use a workspace to host meetings with multiple people at once. This is particularly useful if you are managing a team or a project. You can book a workspace on your calendar and set its capacity, minimum booking duration, and other key requirements.
Creating Boundaries
If you work from home, it’s important to set boundaries for your remote time. Establishing these boundaries can help you stay productive and healthy.
One key way to establish boundaries is to set up a physical office space at your home. This helps to keep your work and personal life separate, especially when you live with family members or roommates.
For example, you could set up a table and chair in your living room or bedroom where you can set up your computer. This will help you keep work and personal lives separate and give you the privacy you need to do your best work.
Another way to create boundaries is to set a schedule for your work hours. You can set a certain time to check emails and social media and stick to it, so you’re not distracted from your daily tasks.
Then, you can use the rest of your time to practice self-care, whether that’s taking a yoga class or going for a walk. Having set boundaries will help you prioritize your health and prevent burnout.
Finally, you can use technology mindfully by turning off notifications when you’re not working and deleting applications like Slack and Teams from your personal devices. You can also silence notifications from your phone at the end of the day, so you don’t have to worry about work-related messages interrupting dinner with your family or other activities you have planned for yourself.
While these tips can help you set boundaries for remote work, it’s important to remember that people are human and will sometimes try to break your rules. However, it’s essential to address boundary violations quickly and respectfully, so you can maintain your personal and professional relationships with others.
Managing Your Time
One of the most important aspects of remote work is managing your time effectively. With so many different responsibilities and tasks, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed and run out of time.
Fortunately, there are many tools and resources available to help you manage your time efficiently so that you can meet your deadlines and complete projects on time. You may want to use a time management software like Time Doctor to keep track of your workflow and ensure that you are completing your assignments on time.
The first and most important step in managing your time is to create a work schedule. This includes when you will wake up, start work, take breaks and finish your day. It can also include details about when you will take care of errands or other personal obligations.
Another important component of managing your time is to create a healthy work-life balance. The more you can balance your time between work and other activities, the better able you are to enjoy your life.
As a remote worker, you need to be conscious of how much time you spend on personal or unimportant tasks during work hours. You should mute your phone notifications and avoid sending emails during work hours to reduce distractions.
You can also use a productivity technique such as the Pomodoro Technique to manage your time more effectively, which involves setting specific times for focused work and taking short, 5-minute ‘Micro-breaks’ in between sessions.
Creating an effective schedule is a must for any worker, but especially for remote workers. By following these tips for managing your time, you can make the most of your remote working experience and improve your overall productivity.
Collaborating
Teamwork and collaboration are important for any workplace, but they can take on new dimensions when teams work remotely. Whether your remote employees are spread out across the world or working on a single project, effective collaboration is critical to meeting deadlines and reaching business goals.
In order to collaborate effectively, you need a variety of skills and capabilities, including open-mindedness and flexibility. In addition, you need the ability to communicate efficiently and purposefully.
Open-mindedness is the ability to see different perspectives as valid, and to respect the ideas of others. This is an invaluable skill that will help you work with people from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives.
You also need the ability to manage your time effectively, which can be a challenge when you work remotely. If you are able to set priorities, create a schedule and stick to it, you can avoid distractions and ensure that you complete high-quality work on time.
Flexibility is another valuable collaborative skill that you need when working remotely. You need to be able to adapt quickly to changes in the environment. This can include changes in your workflow, the number of people working on a project or the schedule of events.
If you have the ability to remain positive, enthusiastic and passionate about your work, you’ll be able to make a difference for everyone on the team. A positive attitude can improve your coworkers’ moods, boost your productivity and increase job satisfaction.
A great way to foster collaboration among your remote team is to use a digital workplace platform that offers all the tools your team needs in one place. This will eliminate the confusion and hassle that comes from trying to navigate a plethora of tools on your own.
Communicating
Communication is an important part of any workplace, but it’s especially crucial when working remotely. Poor communication can lead to disengagement, low productivity, and employee turnover.
In remote work, there are a few strategies you can use to communicate with others more effectively. One way is to create an informal chat channel that your team can use for casual conversations. This can help you get to know each other more, and it may be a good place for you to share ideas with your colleagues.
Another strategy is to establish a communication norm that encourages clear, predictable interactions. Companies like Merck have created acronyms for their digital communications, such as “Four Hour Response (4HR)” and “No Need to Respond (NNTR). These norms bring predictability and certainty to virtual conversations.
Lastly, creating a system that allows your remote employees to access key tools and platforms as quickly as possible is also an effective communication strategy. It can ensure that everyone has access to the tools they need when they need them, and it will allow you to scale your workforce efficiently.
If you’re a manager, establishing a set time for your remote team to have a virtual coffee chat every week is an easy way to break the barriers of a remote workspace and communicate with your staff. This can be a great opportunity to build relationships with your team members and show them that you are there for them when they need you.
When it comes to communicating with your remote team, it’s best to keep things simple. Don’t let work-related communications take up too much of your day. This can prevent communication overload, which can kill productivity and drain your energy.