Working Remotely: What does it truly entail?

The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced many employees to work from home – many for the first time. Some will return to the physical office; others will not and will need to adjust several circumstances to work from home long term. Frequently, the focus is on setting up a workspace, selecting the right background for virtual meetings, and being monitored remotely. Often overlooked are the intrinsic qualities that are valuable to working in a remote environment. Having worked remotely for eight years as a full-time employee and now as a full-time independent consultant for the past four years, I have found that being successful and progressing in my career went beyond a cool workspace and top technologies.

If working from home is new to you, you will find that, while remaining part of a team with a reporting structure, you will also rely on yourself in some respects. Therefore, my tips pertain to self and your part of the equation. Below are some attributes that help make the work from home experience a positive one.

Self-discipline

Working from home demands that you control your time and productivity. It requires you to manage your daily activities within the guidelines and policies of your employer and meet individual, team, and company goals, just as you did when you went to the physical office. To help master the situation, consider bringing order to your days with the following recommendations:

• Work in the same location as much as possible. This helps enhance focus, prevents risks, and establishes a distinction between work and home. In addition, stick to the routine you had when you worked in the office. The only difference is that you are skipping the commute.
• Work in the way your employer expects. This means being available when required, adhering to security protocols, using the devices and technologies assigned to you, and keeping any other agreement (verbal or written) you have for working remotely. For example, you would not want to be the person who puts the company’s data at risk because you did not securely access the network via a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which was a requisite for working from home.
• Perform your job during your regular work hours when clients, managers, and team members are available. Your manager probably would not accept that you were stuck (yet again!) on a task because you did not hear back from the project manager when you sent the email after regular work hours.
• Resist the urge to do household chores, run errands, or entertain during the workday. An occasional errand – the type that you would do if you worked in the office – should be fine. It is okay to say “no” to the good neighbor or family member who thinks you have more time to socialize or help them out during the day. Running to the laundry room between meetings or taking half of the day to plant annuals because it is the loveliest Spring day will likely not benefit you or your team members when deadlines are missed.

If you are new to remote working and find it a bit frustrating, it will require a fair amount of stick-to-itiveness to ensure you have given your all before contemplating if it is really for you. You might be able to achieve work-life balance and work-life integration simultaneously or consecutively by meeting your deadlines while taking care of personal responsibilities. However, not applying self-discipline can lead to chaos and burnout and you might end up disliking the job you once loved. Self-discipline helps provide harmony and stability in a work-from-home situation.

Self-motivation

Although you no longer have a daily commute, you need the drive to get your day going on time, get a project started, or prepare for a meeting. To help overcome any lack of motivation while working from home, consider the following:

• Maintain the passion that you have for your job. If you were not very passionate about your job prior to working from home, find ways to become more involved, seek projects that you could get excited about, and think about the things you love about your job and your employer.
• Be optimistic. Maintain a cheerful demeanor while you work and especially when communicating with clients and coworkers. If your mood is low, act into the feeling and soon you will feel quite constructive.
• Understand your short-term and long-term goals and look toward fulfilling them. You can also take on a stretch project and learn something new.
• Keep in touch with your supportive co-workers via Teams, Zoom, Skype or whichever collaboration tool/s your employer approves for use. Inspire an intern or offer to mentor junior co-workers as well, which can be fulfilling.
• Reward yourself for your hard work. Consider a small treat after meeting each milestone, a Friday afternoon pizza and movie if all goals are met, a virtual happy hour with co-workers to celebrate a project completion, or get something new (it doesn’t have to be expensive) that you’ll enjoy seeing or using in your home office.

You may use the extra time that you now have from not commuting to exercise, meditate, spend more time with family (in-person or virtual), work on a hobby, or in any other way you see fit. So, get up, get dressed, and get to your office (workspace) at reporting time as you would when you drove to work. Even on days when you do not feel like logging on, just take the step to do so anyway and soon things will start flowing.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is crucial to remote workers, especially to those who were forced into this work arrangement without having a choice. Appreciate having the opportunity to test remote working and if it is not for you, acknowledge it. However, first, look at yourself objectively. This will require self-reflection and asking yourself questions, some of which are suggested below:

• Do you have the traits that are conducive to working remotely? For example: Are you organized? Are you open to using various productivity tools? (Working remotely usually calls for embracing advanced technologies and new processes.) Are you confident in your own reasoning? Are you able to communicate effectively in writing, over the phone, or in a virtual meeting? Or are you more comfortable in a face-to-face setting?
• What are your values and standards? What might impact them? For example, do you care how much and what type of monitoring your employer does with the use of technology (that you may or may not know about)? How much of your personal space and privacy are you willing to give up?
• What makes you perform at your peak? Do you rely on other people’s energy and need face-to-face motivation to be creative?
• What type of formal or informal feedback are you getting from work? What are you taking away from the feedback? How are you applying it?
• What do your close friends and family members think? Would they describe you as someone who would be successful in a remote role?
• How do your co-workers view you?
• What are you doing well – what is working? What are the barriers to your success?

There are many other questions that you could ask yourself or you could take personality or psychometric tests to help you recognize the traits you have and then map them to the characteristics for working remotely. It is important to be self-aware before deciding to stop or continue remote working. Taking the time to reflect deeply up front might save your career – or your sanity – ultimately.

Everyone is different and each company has its unique culture, so the suggestions above may not suit everyone’s specific situation. Nonetheless, they are worth considering as you navigate to a new way of work… and life.

Rosemarie Williams Harvey is Principal Talent Acquisition Advisor at RH Business Support focusing on helping employers find top talent to increase their competitiveness.