Remote working and what it takes

Steel Contributor

After many years of working from home for different employers and in different countries. It still amazes me is how many employers still refuse to let people work away from the office. 

 

The number one reason I have found for this is not technology, just simply trust or lack of it. 

 

Generally an employer has

  • No remote working policy
  • Had a bad experience with people taking the wrong attitude towards remote working
  • Management who just prefer to have their employees where they can see them. (Yes, I have had people tell me that was the reason they were denied to work remotely.) 

There will be organizations who have

  • A total ban on working remotely
  • A limit it to a number of days per week
  • Fully embraced remote working.

Which type do you work for?

Remember trust is an easy thing to break and hard to rebuild. 

 

There are jobs not suited for remote working and of course regulatory compliance conditions which make it impossible, but those are becoming less over time. 

 

First Time Remote Working

The first time I was a remote worker my new manager sat me down and actually explained how uncomfortable she was with having someone work for her that was remote. It was a first for her and the team. I really appreciated her telling me that as it was something I had not thought of before. As in how does it impact the rest of the rest of the team. 

 

We came to some general communication guidelines which we adjusted over time to suit the team and the role. We had time zones and cultures to traverse. With my Team being East Coast US based and myself in the UK at the time. It worked out very well for 5 years.  Primarily through having such a great team and flexibility.  

 

It felt strange to work remotely at first because I had to manage my own time and find my way around what worked through trial and error.

 

So how can we build trust?

Like anything it comes down to good communication. Working remotely means you have to work that bit harder on your communication skills. 

Ensuring those people you are working with are continuing to include you. Being out of sight should not mean out of mind! 

 

Make sure you keep close contact with your manager or team colleagues on a regular basis. It is essential to making remote working essential. How you do that is up to you and your Team, you have lots of options. 

 

Find opportunities to shine and stand out too. It maybe being flexible with your hours to accommodate some project work or calls. Remember you have a bit of extra time if you are not commuting every day. So occasionally use it to everyone's advantage.

 

Time Boundaries

That said when it comes to your work hours set boundaries for yourself. If you do extra make sure you balance it out.  Always take your breaks and lunch and make sure you make time for yourself. Get up and move around and don't be tied to your computer. (A good wireless headset is good for that)  

 

Sometimes it is easy to get on a roll and not want to stop. If you need to set yourself an alarm to clock off for the day. 

 

Your Workspace and Headspace

If you are going to be working remotely on a regular basis make sure to setup some dedicated space at home for it. That area needs only to be small, but comfortable and well lit.

 

You also need to make that space in your mind as a place you work. That way when you are in that space your mind is on work and not your home. Conversely when you are not in that space you are at home and not work. If you can hide your work space away all the better.  When working remote I had a desk which was a cabinet with doors on it. So at the end of the day I closed the cabinet and work vanished! 

 

Minimize distractions 

TV, Radio, Phone and even outside noises can stop you from focusing. Switch non work devices off, close the windows and doors. Put your phone somewhere you have to get out of your seat to reach it and avoid temptation. 

 

Family will initially treat you as if you are on vacation when working from home. You will have to remind them numerous times that you are working. Give them some kind of signal as to when you are and are not available. It will take a long time and persistence to get that boundary in place. 

 

Similar thing with any pets, especially cats. They love to wander over the keyboard when you least expect it. 

 

Introvert / Extrovert

If you identify as one or the other remote working will be a different experience for you.

 

Introverts like me tend to thrive with remote working from home. The lack of interruptions, noise and yes people make remote working easier. 

 

Extroverts, however have a harder time as they need people and the noise to thrive. Some of the better options for these people is to limit your remote working time away from the office or if you can work from an external location, though keep to your organizations security policy.  At least get out an have lunch around people.  

 

Summary

  • Remote working is still a privilege and shows your organization has trust in you. Don't break it as you could break it for everyone else. 
  • Work harder on communications, It will be trial and error to get things just right. 
  • Have boundaries and remove distractions.
  • See people when you need to.
  • Use all the tools at your disposal
22 Replies

You raise some very good points @Philip Worrell particularly that you need to set boundaries with your family - that this isn't a holiday! I also liked your very first point about transparency with your colleagues and employer about how everyone feels about working from home. For some it really is uncomfortable, even turning on that pesky webcam. All good points that bear reminding. 

@Philip Worrell I wholeheartedly agree about the need to establish trust through good communication. 

Frequent communication is important. Let people know what you're working on. Ask questions of your team. Answer their questions. Have a bit of fun too. 

This is why chat-based communication is a great medium for working from home. Conversations don't need to be a long, composed email. They can be fluid and open.

I loved the point on boundaries as well @Anna Chu. :) 

 

They can even be important on the flip side of that coin. With the "office" just a few feet away from the "family room", when I'm not working, it can be all too easy to say, "I'm just going to do like 10 minutes worth of work....."

 

TwoHoursLater.gif

 

:xd:...You will then find the family staring at you or beginning to feel like you are never "off work".

 

Being disciplined with ourselves to ensure we are "off work" can be a hard balance to find, but one that is equally important. :smile:

 

 

It just makes you think about reconfiguring your home to be a WFH friendly environment @David Warner II! For me it's always been a big part of the way I work, not so much WFH 5 days a week but having a space to do that voluntarily. I'm just wired that way, but I wonder how people are adapting their space and just making do with what they have? 

@Anna Chu We do have a challenge that if my husband and I both have a wfh day and both have calls, it quickly can irritate each other. While we do have a home office, it was designed to both have a space to be comfortable rather than sit at a dining table on a wfh day. Our desks are in the same room. This space feels small when suddenly one of you is leading a meeting and 1-2m from you!
So recently, with the increase in wfh for both of us, we have setup a break out space. A spare desk, or being able to use one of the kids desks for times when we both are on calls. That keeps the marriage nice :)
Otherwise I rely heavily on music and noise cancelling headphones to keep his voice out of my head when I am doing heavy focused work time.
It is key to have boundaries with family and also with work. So often while I am making dinner or in family time he will say "I just have to go write something down" or reply to something. His boundaries are more fluid than mine and I see work slip into family and he is in and out of the home office. I am stronger and drawing a line and ending my work thoughts once the kids are home. It is key to have balance.

Is your response adding to the conversation, or just an opportunity to vent @MStrant?

I feel like some dirty laundry has been aired... :unamused::unamused::unamused::xd:

@Loryan Strant These are true challenges. And with current issues, there may be many couples in corporate roles who can wfh and do occasionally, but suddenly have to share a closer working space for much more time. It is a realistic problem to have to consider and ensure the work space for both people is comfortable, productive and allows them to continue working with minimal disruption.

That's good, I'm sure your husband can take solace in the innocuous nature of the experiences you shared then. :)

@MStrant OMG. I haven't even thought of what would happen if my husband has to stay home and we have to shock, horror, SHARE the space.  (I think it's only a matter of time. He's already telling me that they've co-ordinated his entire team to spread across regional sites - and some from home - so he doesn't have all the people in the one office).  It's a matter of time before he gets ask to stay at home...I think it's time we started to have "a plan"...

I have a no too dissimilar problem here. My 14 year old son and I share a space where we have two desks next to each other. My son is of course not working, but rather playing online games with friend or watching videos. Which can get pretty loud at times.

Normally it is not an issue, yet my son does not go to school on Wednesdays. So if like at the moment I am working from home do I work in that room or move out of it for the day?

Yesterday for example I did not have any meeting scheduled, but I would have moved if I had.

Noise cancelling headphones only go so far but at least make working tolerable.
That is a really good point. I did not think about that scenario about multiple people in the same space. I already have that worked out. Our home has a work space for each individual. Though my son and I share a space with two desks. My wife has a desk setup in the lounge (my old closing cabinet I mentioned in the post)

Just think about flexibility and if each of you can move quickly and easily when appropriate.
It is a bit of challenge for sure.
Our organization tends to have an inconsistent policy around working from home that seems to be on a per-manager basis. We have a lot of managers who feel you have to dress a certain way or be present to be productive. They also are unfortunately often the ones who micromanage their teams.

Meanwhile, others allow it, but the effort to include those WFH can be a challenge since you are not as visible and meetings often forget about those not there.

These are some great tips overall. I think what I would include in that list is that leaders need to remain mindful that all of their team is included when some are in the office, and others are not and that decisions that were once group exercises don't accidently become silo's.

Keep us posted @Christopher Clai as I expect the current environment is shifting a lot of perception on what it takes to truly WFH. How will this impact company culture? 

 

@ShonaBang I think you'd like to hear some of these perspectives considering you are also 'roomies' with a fellow MSFT employee :xd:

Thanks Christopher,

I have seen it where remote working is left to manager discretion and that is what happens. It is like you are being punished because your manager is fearful. Some times discussing it with HR can help but not always.

I mentioned about having to improve your communication skills due to make sure you are included. There will be times when you as a remote worker do feel excluded. Things like office events and people birthdays. It is always worth making a business trip to the office if at all possible from time to time. When you do arrange time with colleagues and build that rapport.

Managers do feel bad about you missing out at least the ones I have had. So make up for it when you are there.

@David Warner II I find that challenging as well, but it was one of the first challenges I really worked to overcome, and where my wife really supported me. When I´m working, regardless from where, I´m at work. I dont do anything with the household at all, a part from during lunch breaks if needed. That means that I have more time, and that I also CANT put the blame on "private stuff" when I struggle with deadlines. That makes more more focused in general. 

When my daughter is at home, she is three, its more challenging since she of course wants to spend time with me, or at least look at me when working. However, we can usually come to some to some agreement :p

100% agree that setting boundaries with your co-WFH spouse is super critical. It takes a lot of patience, coordination and COMMUNICATION to ensure that you get a good setup going in your home.

Living in a small home (hey, housing prices are expensive in WA!) means you need to be really creative about the spaces you can carve out for these purposes. My husband and I set an agreement that whoever has a "big call" (i.e where one of us has to speak/present on it, lead etc) gets to have the home office while the other will have to use either the living room, or dining table or the kitchen counter as a working bar area. If you both need to have calls at the same time, then just be sure to set expectations about noise level (keeping tones down, opening/closing doors quietly etc). The last thing you want when you're working in the kitchen bar area for your spouse to come in and turn on the blender to make a smoothie etc :) Communication is everything.

For more tips on working remotely, I also recommend reading this post by our Humans of IT guest blogger and Microsoft WFH veteran April Spreight- a few years ago she transitioned to a fully remote role and called it "life-changing": https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/humans-of-it-blog/guest-blog-adjusting-to-a-fully-remote-work...

@ShonaBang we have such similar experiences in our house. We can both wfh in our setup area. If one is on a call, the other usually has music in noise cancelling headphones to help focus. There are times when there is a polite gesture meaning "can you talk a bit quieter"... its funny how the noise cancelling headphones result in it feeling like everyone is yelling!
We do both run workshops and formal sessions from home and have for a long time. Similar plan to you - the workshop requires the proper desk setup and tech so that gets priority. The other person often will take their internal less formal calls in another space.

I am careful not to run applicances that create noise if he is in that area on a call.

It's a balance and requires communication some days - a quick "do you have any formal meetings today"etc. And if one of us is wfh and the other does the school pickup, we also have educated the kids on when not to walk in and chat to mummy/ daddy, along with our desk placement being in a way that if the kids walk in they are not on camera... or if I am on a later evening call and they come in naked after bath which has happened before!

We also do alternate days. We coordinate shorter and longer cbd days. If I drop off kids I wfh and zoom to that desk by 9am. He does a city day, and this allows us both to have days with an empty house to have deeper focus and personal space.
The important thing with more and more couples potentially both being at home is that they will both need longer term comfort, ie. not a couch or bench for weeks of work. That is ok for an afternoon or a day.

 

@Simon Binder  can totally relate. A 3 year old can be hard to reason with and not understand work time and play.

When my kids were a bit younger, I trialled having a nanny at home instead of 2 kids in childcare as it was a better financial choice. It only lasted 3 months!

I couldn't duck out to meetings and then home and straight to my desk. If the kids new I was home they wanted me.

There were times I was on a call and I could tell the nanny was dealing with a tantrum outside the study door because my daughter wanted me and she was trying to give me work space. 

That balance of work time and family certainly can be difficult if there are children at home. I only work when the kids are in childcare/ school, and switch off from work mode from the moment I pick them up. But my job isn't reactive so it works.

I remember when my child was that young. It is impossible to reason with them as they just don't understand. Fortunately it doesn't last forever. Yet in the mean time it is emotionally draining on both sides.