What’s so hard about working from home?

Increasingly many people are working away from traditional office environments: working from home or the local café. There are many benefits to this. Organisations save on the cost of office space and often see increased productivity from their employees. And those employees in turn frequently experience greater job satisfaction.

But there are also many challenges associated with remote working that must be overcome:

Issues for workers

Distractions: it’s easy to get distracted in the office, but perhaps you have developed some strategies to deal with unwanted interruptions. At home there are a big set of different distractions that may be harder to manage, especially if you are not feeling motivated: food, the TV, the washing – anything instead of getting down to writing that report! And distractions take on an additional strength when you are engaged in routine or boring tasks.

Lack of support. When you are away from the office you may not have access to immediate help such as advice from a colleague or IT and HR support. And you have to be your own office manager as well ensuring the printer had ink and paper in it and your internet connection is up and running.

Being out of touch. Out of site and out of mind. If you are not able to see your managers and get feedback from them you may well feel (and be) out of the loop when important decisions are made. In addition, not seeing fellow workers most days can lead to feelings of loneliness.

Tiredness. Working from home can be surprisingly tiring. Staring at a screen all day is hard on the eyes. And if you can only see the face of the people you are talking to, you have to concentrate extra hard on what they mean to make up for the lack of body language.

Lack of direction. Most people rely to some degree on receiving instructions from a manager. If your manager is absent because you are physically distant, you may get fewer instructions from them leading to confusion.

Issues for managers

Lack of oversight: If you can’t see someone, they might be struggling and in need of help. Or they might be going about a task in the wrong way, If they are not in the same room as you how can you control what they do and ensure high quality outputs?

Lack of trust: It can be hard for some managers to trust people if they can’t check up on what they are doing. In most cases you should be able to trust people. If you can’t you need to ask yourself why you are still employing them. What is certain is that they will find your lack of trust very demotivating.

Working efficiently

Sitting at your desk in an office signals to your brain that it is time to work. Sitting at the kitchen table doesn’t really do this. That can reduce the motivation to work hard. Motivate yourself to work by creating work “cues”. Use a space in your home that can be dedicated for work. Or reconfigure an existing space for work during your office hours. This could be as simple as putting your laptop on the kitchen table when you start working and always packing it away when you finish.

Another handy cue is to dress a little more formally during the working week, rather than staying dressed in your pyjamas (useful advice if you are going to be on a conference call!).

When you are at a place of work, your manager may be able to see how hard you are working. At home there is no such pressure so self-discipline can suffer.Every day create a plan of what you are going to do and schedule the time each task should take you. Create a list of tasks that you can tick off one by one so you can monitor progress.

When you are working from home it’s easy to be disturbed by the people you live with. Try to set down some rules so that children and partners know when they shouldn’t disturb you. Some form of “I am working” sign may help. To avoid stress and conflict, make time for co-residents during the day and ensure that managers and colleagues know that you are off duty during these times.

Keeping well and managing stress

Without the formality of arriving and leaving a place of work, there can be a temptation to allow working hours creep into leisure hours often because of pressure from managers. Over-long hours cause tiredness and lower productivity. And a lack of social interactions can cause loneliness and stress.

Overwork

Because your home (or your phone) is now your office you are feel that you are always at work, always on call. And because you can’t show your boss how hard you are working, you put in extra hours to compensate. If you don’t give yourself enough rest, your decision making will be poor and your creativity will drop. In addition, you will inevitably become less engaged with your work which will lead to lower productivity.

It’s crucial to set boundaries so that your colleagues, including your boss, know when it is appropriate to be in touch. That way you can ensure that you keep the right balance between work life and home life. Avoid being pressured into working unreasonable hours: agree in writing boundaries with managers and colleagues that identify when it is appropriate to contact you or to expect a reply.

Always on

In a work environment it is common to take short breaks – for a coffee perhaps, or simply a chat with a colleague. Away from the office taking a break can make some people feel guilty and so they work uninterrupted for long hours. No one can concentrate for hours on end without taking a break. And it’s bad for mental health and eyesight.

Being “always on” is an unhealthy attitude at work because it means you are constantly interrupted by phone calls, email alerts and reminders. Switch those alerts off and instead designate one or two times a day when you will check up on what’s new. And plan to take a 5-minute break away from work screens every hour or so.

Email overload

Email is the curse of the modern office. Office workers receive around 120 emails a day and spend 20 seconds dealing with each one. That’s 40 minutes a day just on email!

Managing email overload will reduce your stress levels. So set a regular time aside each day to read and respond to emails: don't leave your email program on all day long. And if something needs attention take action immediately: don’t let things mount up (and get forgotten) in your inbox. And if an email doesn’t need action, delete it or, if you really must, file it.

Unsubscribe from unwanted marketing emails. And if some people always copy you into emails that you don’t need to receive set up a rule that diverts their emails into a folder that you can happily ignore.

Poor health

Sitting down by a keyboard all day isn’t just bad for your eyesight. It is bad for posture, fitness and mental health. And plan at least one 30-minute break outside every day.

Take regular breaks away from your screen. Get up and make yourself a cup of coffee. Talk to someone, face to face or on the phone.

Keep fit by taking some physical exercise before you start work in the morning. Make sure that at least once a day you get up and go outside, preferably to a green space for half an hour or so. And switch off work screens and phones well before you head off for bed.