Remember the days when we thought WFH would be temporary? Haha, funny times. 

Obviously, the whole pandemic thing stuck around a lot longer than any of us ever thought it would, and it led to tons of changes. Some of those biggest changes have to do with the way we work, and the prevalence of remote working.

So while it may be a shocking number to hear, it’s now been 30 months since everything changed, and since the massive and abrupt shift to remote working.

At the beginning of 2020, there were very different views and ideas as to what makes remote working really work. Now, 2.5 years later, we can say there have definitely been improvements to the “work-from-anywhere” mentality. 

Whether you’re a manager or an employee, if you’re looking to improve your remote work game, we’ve got you covered.

 

Out With The Old: Remote Working Upgrades

When the world grinded to a halt, it’s safe to say everyone was caught off-guard, and most people had almost no time to prepare for the switch to work-from-home. That goes for companies and their employees.

Because of that, many remote working practices were adopted in a hurry, and many systems were quickly put in place. While it’s very likely that some small improvements and adjustments were made over time, it’s also very likely that some of your remote work practices could use an upgrade. 

Here are some ways you can improve remote working (whether you’re a leader or an employee)

1. Invest in your set up

While you might not miss the dreaded rush hour morning commute, you might miss your big standing desk with double monitors. While it might be suitable to work from a laptop in bed when working from home temporarily, it’s definitely not a comfortable (or productive) long-term work set up.

Instead of working from a haphazardly put together workspace (that might or might not include your bed sometimes), invest in an incredible workspace that makes you excited to be there. A good desk and a chair is a must, and maybe 2-3 monitors. 

You can also add little touches that make your workspace uniquely yours. Who doesn’t love a great desk plant?

If you’re in management or leadership, make sure there’s a stipend for your team members to set up their office or workspace in the way that best serves them.

 

2. Have a “hard out” time

At this point, we all know that working from home has tons of benefits (employees are more productive, for example), but it can also have many downsides. One of them is that instead of heading home for the day and putting down our work, it’s all too easy to keep going and going.

A few more minutes, just one more email, a last-minute call, you know the deal. But all of a sudden, it’s way past your out time.

Instead of being loose with your stop time, have a hard out time that is your definitive sign-off for the day.

 

3. Take screen breaks

Working from home means one thing is for sure: we’re all getting a lot of screen time, even if we’re just chatting with another coworker for fun. And studies show us that extra tech usage can potentially lead to some issues, such as insomnia and neck pain.  

While it’s likely that you used to work in front of a computer all day, now we don’t get in-person watercooler breaks, or face-to-face meetings to break things up.

To compensate, you should look for ways to minimize screen time as much as possible. 

Instead of taking everything as a Zoom meeting, take one meeting as a phone call, and walk around the block while you’re speaking. You can also set limits to the length of calls (don’t let something run for an hour that could be for 30 minutes), and try to control compulsive tech use (like reaching for your phone while you’re watching TV at night).

 

4. Come up with WFH policies 

If there’s one thing we learned from all of this working from home, it’s that it’s anything but straightforward. Can you move to a new city and still keep the same job? Can you work while on vacation on a tropical island?

Every company is different, but every company should set remote work policies. And if possible, those remote work policies should be as flexible as possible. If your team can successfully work from a beachside villa, why shouldn’t they be allowed to? 

Now, there are plenty of legitimate reasons why that might not be feasible or possible (time differences or security concerns, for example). But it’s not enough to just refer to your old work-from-home policy. There need to be new, robust policies in place, which cover these modern-day dilemmas. 

 

5. Schedule blocks for meetings and heads-down work

Remote working can be great for things like productivity, with studies showing that remote workers are up to 40% more productive than their in-person counterparts. But that being said, we all know that feeling of non-stop tech distractions. 

Ping from a friend? Sure. Non-stop email chains? Of course. Last-minute meeting requests? We’ve all been there.

While it can be a fun distraction, these little interruptions really pull us out of what we’re doing, can hinder productivity, and make it so that we’re used to tons of non-stop messages. 

Instead of letting these little things interrupt your flow, set some clear boundaries. Put up a “do not disturb” message when you’re in the zone, set aside time for your meetings and communication, and use time-blocking techniques to get stuff done. 

 

6. Make sure there are fun virtual events on the calendar

Gone are the days when we had lunch breaks together and after-work happy hours. But despite these changes, your team is still craving personal time, and everyone definitely still wants to have fun together. 

The best way to bring everyone together in the WFH era? Make sure there are awesome virtual events on the calendar, like virtual team building activities. 

Virtual team building activities don’t have to be uuughhh. We’re talking about a virtual wellness retreat, graffiti workshop, or DIY cocktail class.

Sounds pretty great, right? Well, we can confirm that it is. Hi, we’re Kabloom ?  and we’re experts when it comes to virtual team building events. Trust us, your team is going to love what we have to offer.   

 

Interested in learning more? Set up a call today to schedule a demo, and to learn more.