Working from home has become commonplace due to the COVID pandemic. Furthermore, many are finding they can work from anywhere– not just home.
That might mean taking off to Australia for some fun while keeping your job — what could be better?
For all of the good working remotely offers, there are several myths that surround this current trend. Let’s take a look:
Working At Home Makes You Unproductive
So, you’re working out of your bedroom, which means you’re sleeping until noon, playing video games, and chatting with friends on Facebook, right? Not so.
Studies show that remote workers can be as productive, or more, than workers based in the office. Who would have thought that NOT having a demanding boss hovering over you can make you more productive? It’s true, though.
When workers have specific tasks they have been given to accomplish at home, they usually feel at ease and empowered to do their best work.
You Can Work In Your Underwear
When you work from your house, you can dress more casually. But working in your underwear, pajamas, or workout clothes can be problematic. Just because you’re in your home office doesn’t mean you will never see or interact with your fellow humans.
Many people who work at home may not leave the house during the workday, but they still have several Zoom meetings every day where they need to look professional.
Also, don’t neglect the psychological aspect of dressing for work. When you are ready to sit down at your computer at 9 am, experts say you should be dressed for work. This means getting up on time, taking a shower, and putting on business casual clothes. Doing everything that you would do if you were leaving the house to go to work will make you more professional and productive in your career.
You Can’t Develop Work Relationships At Home
Many companies are concerned that working from home will damage their company’s culture. They are worried that workers cannot develop effective professional relationships with co-workers because they don’t see them in the office.
This isn’t necessarily true, but working from home can definitely be lonely sometimes. But there are ways that remote workers can still develop strong work relationships with their office counterparts.
Managers should establish guidelines around communicating effectively with workers out of the office. For example, suppose the business uses Slack to communicate with team members. In that case, managers can set up non-work-related channels where workers can talk about their hobbies, social events, and other topics that can help co-workers get to know each other.
You Lose Collaboration
The fear is people who work remotely will be cut off from essential communications from the home office. But as long as managers make a solid commitment to daily meetings and effective communications, collaboration should continue as strong as ever.
Every team member needs to stay in contact online and up to date on every project. And all team members, whether at home or in the office, must respond promptly to emails and telephone calls.
The Harvard Business Review also recommends that people working at home have in-person meetups with in-office employees every few weeks to keep up relationships.
If these things are done, collaboration should continue to be robust among all team members.
For people who have been thinking about taking the plunge and working from home, you should find that you will still be highly productive and can stay in touch with all of your office-based colleagues.
Just make sure that you and your managers have a firm commitment to maintaining communications with regular meetings, emails, chats, and phone calls to maintain work continuity.
