Unblending: Working From Home - Design, Management & Productivity Tips

Donna Johnston
Apr 21, 2020
11 min read

Updated: Apr 22, 2020

The luxury of spending more time at home to enjoy being with those we love while working.

Well, well, the future is here. Our world has been turned upside down and inside out, forcing many to reconsider their future, about who they work for, where and for how long. The transition for a huge sector of the workforce to work from home, while societies across the globe grapple with managing the restructure caused from the COVID-19 crisis, provides new perspectives of how we want to work. Businesses small and large will be affected by the new attitudes formed during this period, from those who are now working from home full time especially. This is not a new concept, but it has never been implemented on such a large scale before. Entrepreneurship will take on new meaning, as people consider starting their own business and current business owners who survive the 2020 reshuffle realise new horizons on how they can manage staff from afar and utilise the digital age to its fullest. It will be a welcome change for many and one that is well overdue, but for others it will come as a shock and what might have been thought of as an ideal situation, could cause stresses not previously considered.

Redesigning offerings to suit the shift of those who will continue to work from home, after all the drama, will change the way we live, not just work. Communities will develop differently, as the usual commuter no longer collects their coffee enroute to their usual work zone and public transport demands reduce, traffic is less, the air will become less polluted and suburbia will have a new buzz. There will be more time to renovate homes, connect with family, get to know your neighbours, share quality time and quantity time with our children, enjoy leisure activites, and best of all will be more time for self, in theory anyway.

Home and work can be unblended

Future

In June, 2015 The Smart Workplace 2040 report by Director of GWS Global WorkPlace Innovation, Dr. Marie Puybaraud, indicated the new workplace will have no set hours, where work outcomes will be the priority, and workers’ wellness will have greater emphasis. “Flexwork” contracts will become the norm, where there is no limit to how little or how much work occurs, as long as agreed goals are achieved. The home will be a hyper-connected, adaptive environment which caters for the family’s bio-health indicators, while complex software applications exist to maximise performance. Entrepreneurship will be the norm, thanks to technological advances, while collaboration will be a major influencer of enterprise outcomes. Human services will become the pinnacle offering. Add on services will promote experience enhancement by users interacting more with their surroundings. Dependency on networks and “crowdsourcing” to co-create product ideas will be second to none. How these remote teams work together will consistently evolve with integration of "'shy' technologies tracking activity, recording experiences and responding to user demand."

History

None of this movement to working from home/remote is that new or uncommon. Way back in 1994 some 32,000 AT&T workers in the United States took place in a trial to work from home. During this era IBM conducted a survey of employees, in what was referred to as the Mobility Initiative, revealing 87% of those who worked from home felt their personal productivity and efficiencies increased greatly for their job. American Express trialled the process of remote and home workers also. When Dun and Bradstreet first rolled out the process, the management originally believed 5% of their workforce around the world would be able to participate, but discovered two-fifths of the company's activities, which engaged half their staff, could adjust with only a few changes in work functions. Even way back then, nearly 3 decades ago, an average of 30 to 40 million people in the United States became either telecommuters or became home based employees. The rate of growth in remote working has gone from 0.7% of full time workers in 1980 to 3% in 2017, being greater for those in sales and finance, so where the percentage shift will move to after this virtually forced trialled period will be more than interesting regarding the change in society values and development. A third of New Zealanders offer a little glimpse, as this many were already reported as working from home in 2018, according to Statistics New Zealand, where the numbers were higher in those in their mid-career and with young families.

To succeed at home work practices require a lot more focus on results rather than effort. To manage this information-age literacy, a culture for flexibility, informality, respect for personal time and priorities, and a commitment to using technology to improve performance all need to occur, instead of just meeting fixed schedules, paying for expensive real estate space and managing with a top down approach.

Flexible working hours can mean more time for you to focus on better health

Accountability

To create the best outcomes, it is suggested an understanding of job parameters are set out in detail, with clarity reached of the function each job serves. This includes assessing how the work will be performed, whether over the phone, the computer or both. Plus consideration for how much time does the employee need to spend in direct contact with other employees, customers, and business contacts. Will the office location be necessary for performance and does it matter if the work is conducted within certain time frames? In particular, how much emphasis needs to be placed on how contactable yourself or the employee will need to be and at what times? Let's face it, if you didn't set down the guidelines then trying to reach a staffer when they are surfing at the beach could be complicated. Alternatively, if the goals are too unrealistically then Johnny Do Good could be hard at work around the clock and burn out, with too much work and not enough play. It wouldn't be the first time this has occurred. Maximum output occurs from open communication, respectful feedback from all parties involved and enabling each team member to feel regenerated and relaxed enough from balanced down time to be able to innovate and participate with peak performance.

Healthy Transition

Milennials beginning work haven't generally experienced working in a formal office setting, so for them it will be a relatively easy transition, but for many others the change can be traumatic, yep, traumatic - this is definately a situation you want to avoid by picking up the cues earlier rather than later when someone is showing signs of struggling with this new model of working. Transitioning from a conventional to an alternative workplace is not always as seemless as it may initially be presumed to be. Adjusting to a mostly self-directed schedule and working away from colleagues can create loneliness. Managers who do not have visual and verbal proximity have to vary the way they relate to their employees. For success, each involved must be armed with a complete set of tools; appropriate training; and fair and flexible administrative and tech support.

When implementing such practices, three perspectives need to be considered in the design— the business, the worker, and the customer — weighing the tangible and intangible costs against the anticipated benefits. Tangible business setup expenditure encompass hardware, software, training, and any equipment or furniture the employer decides to offer; ongoing expenses can include allowances, phone charges, and technical support. It can be deemed reasonable in most cases to deem in home offices to be where an employee provides their own space and most, if not all, of the furnishings and equipment. Intangible costs for both the business and worker include the time spent learning new work habits and best processes for communicating with colleagues and customers.

Remaining focused while working from home can be easier with the right strategies

Productivity

A work from home participant, who generally spends nearly one hour a day commuting normally can gain approximately five weeks per year back in personal time. Other efficiencies can include less distractions and less down time. There are usually three target employee groups - those who are office bound, travel driven, and independent. Figuring out the logistics of how employees will work and collaborate together is easier if you have a clear idea of what their roles are currently and how and when they do it. Setting clear goals from the outset—and agreeing on a way to monitor progress and measure performance—is critical for preferred outcomes. Assess the purpose and results of each job. You should aim to keep workers informed and up to date with informal chats about new customers, product ideas, job transitions and office policies. Training for working at home needs to include: simple tasks as recording to-do lists via a shared calendar, and daily rituals such as being encouraged to dress for work, giving loved ones a good-bye kiss when “leaving” for the office at the beginning of the workday, keeping the desk tidy, forwarding calls, and shutting down the computer, and doing a preferred activity to wind down at the end of each work day, signalling the shift from work to home, providing some balance. These rituals replace standard office practices like morning conversations, coffee breaks, even the commute itself.

Mindset

It is necessary for anyone working from home to be able to draw the line between work and home and to be confident that the line is marked correctly. Realistically though, it is about a change of mindset. Some will be liberated at the added level of flexibility to attend their child's school sports carnival in the middle of a work day, or being able to have time to enjoy breakfast with the family for the first time, without having to rush out the door to catch the bus/train. Others could experience a feeling of overwhelm, where they instead feel like they are always at work and feel continuously chained to the computer. Therefore, as Tim Herrera, from 2nd Degree Connection highlights, it is necessary to know when to shut down the emails and walk away from the computer.

With almost 5 weeks extra a year gained from not having to commute 50 minutes a day, leisurely pursuits can be added to with greater ease, to relax more and become more creative for the health of your mind, body and work.

Inclusion

There are lots of benefits documented where people work in zones making them "feel accepted, supported and connected". However, working remotely can place an over demand onto work tasks and this can contribute to break down in family relationships. It is not uncommon for people to suffer anxiety from feeling like they are “out of sight, out of mind”. In a large survey, workers often noted they felt "left out, overlooked and that others were talking about them negatively". Such workers also reported "complex or difficult relationships and interactions, such as office politics or conflict, were harder to navigate and ended up being more protracted than they needed to be."

Culture begins with inclusion. To deliberately build a shared connection within the team they must all feel like they belong, irrelevant of where they work from for the business.

There is less chance to build an implicit understanding of team communication patterns, expectations and goals, so be more deliberate and formal about these at the outset of the arrangement, and follow up about these at set intervals. Further, ensure to encourage connections amongst the team, instead of only the team leader, ultimately enhancing collaboration, shared identity and promoting added team contact. Make wellbeing and life events a focus point and promote conversations about such.

This type of “chit-chat” helps build a sense of connection, helping to provide a baseline for the employee's well being, by simply understanding what is going on in their life better. Spaces for socialising generally, both online and in meetings, should be set by positive example with participation of management too. Especially be available and attempt to respond quickly to employee's communications, even if it is just with a confirmed response you will get back to them as early as possible. Keep people informed and updated about work, progress, team and social occasions. It is wise to use technology to increase the frequency and quality of interactions. Videoconference if you can, using email as a last resort because it is the least personal.

Remaining connected to your colleagues is fundamental to remain mentally healthy and achieve greater productivity for self and your work goals.

Workplace Health and Safety Tips

Be aware this form of working from home employment is governed by Workplace Health and Safety just as any working environment is. Australia's WHS legislation reflects an employer's responsibility to reduce risks at a worker's home and how it will be different to what they can do at the usual workplace. On 17 April, 2020 Safe Work Australia listed the following guidelines for employers on their website at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces/working-home:

A few of those included in the list are:

provide guidance on what is a safe home office environment, including what a good work station set up looks like and how to keep physically active
require workers to familiarise themselves and comply with good ergonomic practices, for example by referring to a self-assessment checklist
maintain daily communication with workers
provide continued access to an employee assistance program, and
appoint a contact person in the business that workers can talk to about any concerns.

You should also think about how your existing policies and procedures apply when working from home, including: notification of incidents, injuries hazards and changes in circumstances; consultation and review of work health and safety processes, and

attendance, timesheets, leave and other entitlements and arrangements.

Creating the right space to operate business from home is necessary for improved health and safety outcomes. Think about the processes of your working day and how you can reduce risk of injury.

This site provides an understanding of what some of the risks from working at home can involve. "Working from home may change, increase or create work health or safety risks. To understand these risks, you must consult with workers."

Possible new risks include:

physical risks from poor work environment, such as workstation set up, heat, cold, lighting, electrical safety, home hygiene and home renovations, and
psychosocial risks such as isolation, high or low job demands, reduced social support from managers and colleagues, fatigue, online harassment and family and domestic violence.

Ergonomics

Lastly, an emphasis should also be placed on ergonomics effects in the home workplace, as much as any other environment, to balance prevention of injury as well as healthy mental wellbeing. As a basic introduction consideration is given to yourself and your employees being mindful of and practicing:

• Feet flat on ground

• Elbows just above or level with desk height

• If chair/desk not adjustable use items to adjust your position e.g. phone book, box

under feet

• Ensure lumbar support e.g. rolled up towel

• Screen height – eye level should be top 3rd of screen, adjust height with items such as

paper ream

• Screen should be 1 arm’s length away from you

• Minimise clutter on the desk, only have items you will be using in the near future (avoid

reaching over things)

• If using documents, try to have at eye height (document stand or blue tac) then take

down to avoid clutter

• Keyboard positioned close to the edge of the desk

• Mouse should be forearm’s length away, relaxed wrist and shoulder position

• If possible use earphones when making phone calls

• Posture – no single posture will be comfortable for extended periods of time

• Take regular breaks from the workstation (every 30 mins) and do some stretches

• Find creative ways to stay active - stand up to make phone calls, fill up your water bottle • Physical activity helps with fatigue levels and productivity

• Lighting – reduce or eliminate glare where possible, try to get some natural light if

possible, ensure appropriate levels of light (documents require brighter light than computer screen)

• Temperature – ensure is appropriate

Make time for you, breathe deeper, stretch more, eat healthier and enjoy a more balanced life....because you can when you work from home. It is all about the right mindset and planning appropriately.

Prevention is always better then the cure, so map out how your workplace of the future will look and what policies you wish to have in place, because whether we are ready or not, the future is already upon us and we can embrace all it has to offer our entrepreneurial endeavours if we choose.

Eltringham, M., 1 June, 2015 'New Report Lays Out its 2040 Vision of the Workplace of the Future', Briefing,Facilities management,News,Workplace design, Insight