According to a study, around 55% of adults in the United States now believe that they can manage their work from home. This is a majority, which means that most people will now work from their home for a long time. COVID isn’t going away soon so it’s best to get used to working from your home and while you’re at it, adopt work from home best practices.

What Is Working From Home?

To put it simply, working from home is doing the same tasks/jobs that you did in an office setting in the comfort of your home. Some businesses like to replicate their office atmosphere so they ask their employees to join Zoom sessions or Google Meet meetings. This imitates their usual office setting and allows for them to work in a professional and coherent manner.

However, some businesses have now adopted relaxed policies. They now like designating work to their employees, and don’t keep a watch on them. Obviously, if something important needs to be discussed, then the employees have a Zoom call, otherwise things are pretty calm.

Basic Groundwork

When we talk about work from home, there are numerous benefits that come to mind. Businesses now say that even if COVID ends in the foreseeable future they may continue with work from home instead of working in office settings.

Work from home is flexible, it allows for more work to be done in a less amount of time. People spend a lot of time travelling and this also strains their mental health, and this can impact work.

It cannot be said that work from home only has its advantages. Everything has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. However, the disadvantages of work from home can be countered by adopting the best work from home practices out there.

Work from home sounds like a newfound practice but it’s been there for a very long time. It may not have been as popular back then, but helpful practices and habits have already been in place and people have been benefiting from them. Let’s talk about them.

Good Communication

Most employees who work from home report that the biggest challenge they faced while working from their home is communication. Even when people are just a call or a meeting away, communication can become a problem.

First things first, not many people are still familiar with technology. They barely know how to make Zoom work, let alone host meetings themselves. Plus, there is always the factor of poor Internet connection. You must have seen or heard people with distorted, unclear voices speak without stopping on Zoom. Unfortunately, this is very common among employees as well.

Not to mention that some people have to be reminded that their mic is muted. Jokes apart, improper communication is actually a big issue. When the job/task is not clear, then the output will be directly affected. This will prevent the company from running smoothly. A good practice, therefore, is to learn how to run applications such as Zoom/Google Meet.

It is also advisable to install a better Internet connection that supports you when you need it.

Organizing

Another big problem that employees usually complain about when it comes to work from home is organizing. Since the place where they work, eat, and sleep is usually the same, workflow can be hindered by a messy environment.

Imagine waking up in a pile of office files. When work shifts from an office to a home, it is likely that the home will become messy. Fortunately, we have really amazing advice for you.

If it is possible and feasible, then assigning one separate room for your work is highly necessary. Not only will it isolate all of your work in one room, it will keep things organized. Organization will allow you to work better. When things aren’t cluttered everywhere, employees will also be motivated to provide a steady amount of work.

Distractions

Employees report that since work is being done from home, it is very easy to get lost in distractions. This can affect work a lot. To avoid this, companies usually end up holding live meetings and calls so that employees don’t get distracted. Like we suggested above, assigning a work room is highly ideal to keep your family members out of your room. If an employee tries to work in the living room with the pets and the kids running around, it is highly unlikely that any amount of work will be done.

Getting rid of distractions is easy when a separate room is assigned where you work. This way, you won’t disturb your family as well.

Prioritizing Work

Another complaint that comes from employees is prioritizing work. Since work is being given on a day-to-day basis, it is easy to delay tasks at the end of the day and do them at the last hours of the day. But, this can become a big problem when this becomes a routine. Procrastination is a big hurdle that comes in when we talk about work from home. It affects almost everyone out there, from students to employees to even teachers.

Employees need to strike a balance. The most useful tip is to start working at the start of the day, instead of prioritizing other house-related stuff such as walking the pet, playing with the kids, or giving time to your significant other. Doing all the work at the start of the day is necessary because that is when we have the most energy. More energy means more creative ideas will come to mind, which will help with the work. At the start of each day, we usually have a better mood than compared with the end of the day.

It is true that work from home has its fair share of advantages but it wouldn’t be right to say that it is impeccable. Yes, it is true that work from home is flexible and it offers numerous advantages that working from an office cannot. But employees also need to make some changes in their house. The best advice is to assign a room in your house for only work. This will allow employees to feel a sense of professionalism as well, not to mention that it would be easier to keep distractions and family out of that single room instead of telling them to go elsewhere.