Remote working is on the rise, thanks in no small part to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which caused businesses globally to facilitate employees working from home. Hopefully, companies will begin to pick up again, though it is logical to assume that remote working will be around for the long haul. If you were new to working remotely, it was likely a significant adjustment for you. You may not have been ready to turn your sitting room, spare room, or kitchen into your workspace for the foreseeable future. However, given that this is the new normal, we have prepared five tips for working remotely that will make your new normal a bit more manageable.
1. Get Permanently Set Up
One key to being the best remote employee you can be is making sure you have adequate space to work in. More accurately, it would help if you designated a permanent physical workspace in your home where only work occurs. This enables you to turn your brain into work mode properly. Although it is not always possible to have a permanent full office, try designating one desk or chair to help with productivity and use this only for work. Also, consider ergonomics when setting up your workspace; choose your chair correctly, prop up your laptop, etc.
2. Designate Hours
While remote work may allow you to set your hours, a lack of structure can be detrimental to your workflow. Therefore, determining what hours you plan to work at the start of the week and holding to them will benefit you immensely. Schedule your hours around meetings, lunch, and other activities just as you would at the office.
3. Set boundaries
Now, more than ever, it is necessary to set boundaries when working remotely. This is because you may have family members/housemates and/or pets all in close quarters. Determining signals that you can give those sharing your home when you need to be alone will allow you to work undisrupted. For example, when the door is shut that means that you are on a call and should not be disturbed.
4. Take Breaks
Try your best to simulate from home the same habits you would as if you were in the office, such as taking a moment to chat with co-workers or grabbing a cup of coffee. Failing to step away from your desk can lead to feeling isolated and ultimately burning out. Get creative with your breaks, go for a walk/run at lunch, get a coffee at your local cafe. Anything you can do to give your brain and body a break will benefit your overall experience and productivity while working remotely.
5. Use Reliable Software
Because of the great distance between team members, remote employees rely on the right software to productively get their work completed. Therefore, hosted payroll is a smarter way to work for Payroll Teams. As payroll teams can access their hosted desktop 24 hours a day, from any location. With lightning-quick payroll speeds, remote working becomes more straightforward and seamless. After all, constancy in payroll delivery is crucial for both the payroll team and individual employees of a business. So, facilitating that from afar can be made much more comfortable with the use of reliable hosted software.
Remote working is a workplace trend that will undoubtedly continue to grow, and when done the right way, it will remain a standard work practice post-COVID-19. Using these five tips above can serve as a guide for how to ensure remote working works for you, now and in the future.
Intelligo Software are an exhibitor on the HRTech247 Payroll, Time & Attendance floor. You can visit their HRTech247 exhibition stand here.
