Working from home. You and your business.
I’ve just returned from a meeting this morning and for the first time ever I didn’t shake hands with my
customer. Not even a fist punch, just a welcoming hello and nod of the head.
It got us thinking about the current situation with Coronavirus and how it is/could affect businesses
and its staff.
It looks as though the latest government advice may be to encourage staff to work from home. But could
that work for you, your business and your staff?
Some businesses will already have working from home policies in place, whilst for others, this will
be a very new concept. It may not even be an option depending on your type of business.
Irrespective of the current health situation I thought it might be interesting to look at the
positives and negatives of working from home.
Positives:
- Flexibility on hours
- Cost saving
- Positive impact on the environment
- Save time
- Able to focus better – no people to distract you, especially the office gossips!
- Fit house admin around your working day!
Negatives:
- Isolation – we extroverts get energy from other people and may find working from home isolating
and demotivating
- Distractions – those household jobs might take over a little too much and before you know it,
you’ve spring cleaned the house and missed your 5pm deadline!
- You might work too much! The office environment can provide the right structure you need to
ensure you keep to working “office hours”
Top tips:
- Take at least a
10 minute walk every day. Fresh air & exercise are a perfect combination
for your wellbeing
- Stay in regular communication with your team
- Schedule one day a week/month to be in the office
- Set up a dedicated workspace in your home. This allows you to step away at “home” time
- Invest in the right furniture – staff go from lovely ergonomic workspaces to working from
home – on the sofa, on the floor or even in bed! Let’s make sure we position
ourselves in the right place
- Invest in technology – do the office and home workers have the right tools to do the job?
See below
- And finally, if you do need to jump on to a Microsoft Teams conference just make sure the top
half of your attire is work appropriate, no one wants to see your latest pjs or
lounge wear!
We think technology is key to the success. This ranges from mobiles, Wi-Fi, laptops, call conferencing,
printing, scanning etc.
You’re now possibly wondering what we can do to help, to be honest not a great deal.
We provide you with your office printers, your scan solutions, your print management, your digital
screens and your conferencing equipment.
But if you want any of this at home (tongue in cheek), give us a shout!