Working from home has become a sudden reality for a huge number of us in the last week. I imagine that for many of you it’s a shock that comes with a lot of challenge and uncertainty. I worked from home for about 8 of my 12.5 years as a consultant, and while it had it’s pitfalls, I generally really loved it.
There are some interesting thought pieces out there about working from home, and even some studies that prove it is an advantage for both productivity and cost savings. I think working from home is an interesting work arrangement, and one that could benefit a lot of people and companies. I find that much of the work out there about working from home centers on the pitfalls for the employees (feeling like a hermit, working 20 hours a day) and the advantages for the company (lower overhead, increased productivity). But I’d like to focus on the benefits to the employee, and do away with the idea that working from home is a privilege.
While I didn’t love everything about working from home, and I dealt with some of the typical consequences (financial, perceived disconnection, technical difficulties), overall I found it to be a positive and empowering experinece.
One of the things I loved most about working from home was that I got to control my environment. I got to have a window with a view of – you guessed it – trees, and for a long time the post office, not that exciting but surprisingly engaging at times.
I also got to spend no time commuting (before daycare drop-off entered my life anyway), and I could make myself interesting lunches without having to spend all of my morning doing it. As an introvert, I had no problem sitting in a room by myself, and when I really needed to be around people, I could go to a coffee shop or call a colleague. Overall, I found it hugely satisfying to work from home, and managed it really successfully more of the time than not.
But probably my favorite part of working from home was how easy it was to get outside, even for a few minutes, when I needed to. I would walk out my door to my yard and the running trail, or sit by the water (a delightful irrigation ditch) and watch my dog hunt flies. For a long time, this was a huge life-saver, I could get outside to unwind and connect with the non-human, non-digital world for a while and be back in my office, refreshed and satisfied without much interruption to my day.
And that, my friends, is what this blog is all about: having the time and opportunity to be human in the way that you need to be. For me, that’s being outside, for you it might be something else, but working from home is one piece of the puzzle that allows us to find our humanity and live a full life.
Lessons for Success
I knew when I started working from home that it would be easy to lose focus and fall into some time-sucking traps. Think college studying. So for those of you new to working from home, here are a few things that helped me succeed.
- Create a dedicated space: when we first moved, I knew I’d need to have a dedicated office room. I still have one, and it’s really helpful. I’ve been in situations where my dedicated space wasn’t available (new carpet installation, house-sitting), and I found that creating at least my computer space, with my usual monitor, keyboard, mouse, and a little space for paper, my phone, etc., was really effective. Designating a space for work also helps keep some separation between work and home life, and for me makes it a bit easier to avoid the “working from home means you just work all the time” trap.
- Use your technology: when I first started working from home we had pretty old systems and I had to rely on email and phone calls to connect. This worked fine, especially with my close team members. But as we advanced and people started using text and IM more, I felt so much more connected to my colleagues. It may sound obvious, but use it! If you can’t have an actual water cooler chat, you can have an IM chat, and sometimes they’re way more fun.
- Take breaks: it’s really easy to feel like you need to over-compensate and stay at your desk without moving for 8 straight hours. Ask yourself how you work in the office. Is this reasonable, realistic, or expected? No, you walk around, talk to people, use the bathroom, eat lunch, get water, have a meeting, run an errand, etc. At home, your routine may be different, and under quarantine we probably aren’t running out for many quick errands. But whatever the circumstances, this is an area where you have a prime opportunity to step outside for a few minutes, do a 10-minute exercise routine, or have a gourmet snack. Do the things that make you you, make you human, make you fulfilled, even if it’s only a few minutes at a time.
- Make your space comfortable: if you’re going to be working from home for an extended period of time, it’s also important that your space is physically conducive to your work. Depending on your situation, that may present a real challenge, but I encourage you to have a good chair, a desk or table that’s an appropriate height, and space for your legs. If you’re cramped and uncomfortable, working from home is going to feel completely terrible. If you can be physically comfortable or in similar circumstances to your usual office, it will feel more familiar and be easier to focus.
Getting Out
I’ve touched on it a few times here, but really, my goal, my vision, my dream, is that we all get outside more. That we find ways to detach from work and news to remember what it is to be a person, to remember that we are part of something much more basic than the economy, or the global pandemic, or our corporation.
In my experience, and in my opinion, one of the most effective ways to find space for living in the midst of work is to have an opportunity to work from home. Without the demands of commuting, office politics, and casual conversations that derail an entire day, we can be more productive and also have more time for our non-work activities.
So often, working from home is treated as a privilege. In the article linked above – which discusses an actual study on the quantified benefits (to the company) of employees working from home – one of the suggestions is that working from home could be granted in lieu of a raise. I hate this idea. After talking about how much more efficient workers are, how much employers save on office space, why is this still considered a privilege and a favor? An employee who increased productivity and saved the company money in an office setting would get a raise and a promotion. So a remote worker should receive the same.
This great experiment precipitated by COVID-19 could be a huge turning point in office and work culture for the information industry. Likely people will find that they only need to work in an office part of the time or not at all, and that they prefer the freedom and productivity afforded by working from home regularly.
I envision a new world, where staff who live near the main office spend a few days per week there, meeting in person and working shoulder-to-shoulder, while also taking a few quieter days at home, with fewer distractions, no commuting, and some time for pursuing individual interests.
However this plays out, we have a golden opportunity right now to slow down, breathe, and get out there with the trees (or the cows, fish, or lizards if that’s your bag), at a proper distance from others of course.
Out There With the Trees 