Working from Home: A Survival Guide

Depending on individual preferences, employee circumstances and the structure of your business model, working from home can either be the best thing or worst thing for your organisation. If you feel you’re struggling with remote working and are eager to get back into a sophisticated office environment, here are our top tips.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Working from Home

Working from home has proven to benefit some employees and businesses with more flexible working, more focus and less expenses. However, for many businesses, remote working can put a heavy strain on teams and operations. Since the pandemic, under working-from-home restrictions, organisations have experienced limited face-to-face communication and company unity. Many teams have begun to feel rather isolated with deflated team spirit while away from the office environment.

Advantages of Working from Home

Working from home eliminates some of the stresses of office working including the daily commute, getting dressed in smarter business attire and preparing food, and instead replaces these things with a more flexible way of work. Some people thrive with this way of working and see a boost in productivity, focus, drive and more. We’ve listed the top pros of working from home you may agree/disagree with:

·      Reduced expenses

·      More independence

·      Increased productivity

·      More work flexibility

·      No commute

·      Physical health benefits including better diet and more time for exercise

Disadvantages of Working from Home

If you’re reading this blog it’s more likely than not that you are seeing a lot more of the negatives in working from home; including less focus due to home distractions, less team communication and more. Do you relate to some of these issues?

·      Increased home expenses

·      Risk of overworking & burnout

·      Home distractions

·      No direct team communication

·      Increased isolation

·      Worsened Work-Life separation

·      Poor Internet connections!

Ways to Cope with Working from Home

Internet dropouts? Cramped working space? Kids running through the background during an important call? While there are advantages and disadvantages of working from home, here’s some advice on getting your business through the frustrations of a forced working-from-home set-up.

Optimise Your Working Environment for Maximum Productivity

Optimising your home working environment should be a #1 priority. Don’t let the added stress of a messy workstation ruin your ability to focus. Whether you have a dedicated small home office space or a ‘makeshift’ area in the dining room, there’s certain arrangements or items worth investing in that can transform your desk space for productivity and reduced stress. Not only can this improve your wellness and help boost productivity levels, your home working space visually represents your business to clients and prospects even if it’s only over a zoom call.

An attractive workstation is just one way to present yourself personally to co-workers and clients, read our blog to read the many other ways you can optimise your desk space – a tidy desk equals tidy mind!

Prioritise Your Physical and Mental Health

Working from home can definitely cause employees to feel disconnected and isolated which can have huge adverse effects on mental health. Be sure to keep employee wellness up, reach out to others, offer support, ensure your team are coping sufficiently with the tools they need. This can be something as small as a team drinks gathering over zoom on Fridays or weekly wellbeing check-ins to ensure everyone’s feeling well in their home and professional lives.

Mental wellbeing is also heavily associated with physical wellbeing, make sure your employees get out for daily bouts of fresh air taking part in some form of physical exercise. This can hugely benefit team productivity, motivation and wellness as a whole. With the weather getting colder and the sun drawing in earlier, it can be significantly harder however it’s vital for overall physical and mental health.

Focus on Boosting Employee Morale Within Your Team

Employee morale is the sense of satisfaction, success and attitude an employee feels towards their job and company. Make your team feel worthy, valued and cherished. Managers need to start focusing on becoming coaches to their team helping to develop people personally as well as professionally. This could include out of work hours zoom socials, team meetings or even more in-depth 1-to-1’s. Make an effort to enrich your employees to help sustain company culture whilst your team are physically a part.

Preparing for a Transition Back into the Office

Whilst working from home may be difficult for some, the good news is that in a post-pandemic world, there are opportunities for offices to reopen, ready to welcome you back with open arms.

However, humans are creatures of habit and dislike change; regardless of how challenging working from home may have been, returning back into the office means more change. Now more than ever your employees need support and guidance through this time to ensure a smooth and seamless transition back into the office environment to allow your business to hit the ground running again.

Tanshire Business Park Is Patiently Awaiting Your Return

We believe every organisation requires a healthy and hygienic working environment to enable staff to feel safe, perform at their best and to move business forward. We’re proud to supply Grade A office facilities out of the city, in the midst of Surrey’s stunning countryside setting.

Get in Touch with Tanshire Business Park

If you’re not sure that your office is the best environment for your business to return to, call +44 (0)1483 572999  to take a look at what Tanshire Business Park could offer your team. Arrange a secure viewing today or get in contact for any questions – we’re always happy to help!