Love your workplace – from the comfort of your own home
With social distancing becoming an important part of keeping our communities healthy, many businesses are taking steps to work remotely, often from home. While the comfort of an office environment and colleagues may be missed, Powerhouse Group have put together some simple tips to help you make your ‘work from home’ experience as positive as possible.
LOVE YOUR WORK
With the endless distractions of the fridge, Netflix, Instagram or even just the window it’s difficult, but important, to make sure you are as efficient and focused as possible when away from your usual desk. Here are a couple of useful tips:
Keep your routines
Stop for regular breaks to grab a coffee, move around or make a call to a colleague. But make sure you also maintain a regular lunch break. These things are built into your workplace routine for a reason – they’re good for you and help you work well.
Keep yourself accountable by confronting these confronting questions
Do you find it hard to get started when you’re “working from home?” Are you easily distracted? Find yourself standing in front of the fridge at regular intervals, door open wondering why that take away food is still there? The answer – set meetings with your team that keep you accountable and help kick-off your day of work.
LOVE YOUR SPACE
It’s hard to work if your space is not properly set up, but not everyone has the luxury of a home office. Here are some useful tips that anyone can take on board to create a better workspace at home:
Create a dedicated space
Whether it’s the dining table or a home office. Somewhere that tells your brain this is your workspace and sitting here means it’s time for work.
Check your lighting
We have strict rules in workplace design on the level of light required in an office. That’s because it causes significant strain to your eyesight if it’s too dull or too bright. Make sure you are sitting in a well-lit space or somewhere with plenty of natural light. Remember optimal light is not an option if you want to maintain optimal eye health and productivity at home.
Keep it green
Surround yourself with a bit of greenery or choose a space near a window with a green outlook. Plants create a feeling of relaxation and positivity – they make us feel good. If you feel good in your home-work environment, you’ll enjoy working there.
LOVE YOUR TEAM
It can be hard to work alone, and you may find yourself missing your colleagues or regular conversations, so be sure to stay in touch during your work day:
Stay Connected
It can feel like you aren’t being productive if you call colleagues for a quick chat, but it’s the human interactions that form a vital part of making our workplaces enjoyable. Be sure to schedule calls during breaks or to keep regular meetings going.
it’s a slippery slope – use your devices for work not social media
Unless your business specifically requires it, we recommend you avoid social media contact if you can. While it is a great way to stay social, it is just as likely to distract you for extended periods. Keep to phone calls, Skype/Zoom/Hangout conferencing or use your businesses work platforms (e.g. Slack) to stay in touch.
If you have any great tips you would like to share or if you have any questions about how we can help you during this difficult and uncertain time, please we are all ears because we’re all in this together.
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