With transport bosses saying a third of Londoners will have to work from home during this year’s summer of sport, to avoid chronic overcrowding on the capital’s tubes, buses and roads, workers in all industries will have to gear themselves up for working from home. Nowadays many businesses have flexible working policies which allow employees to work from home but many others, particularly in the public sector, won’t have the provisions in place for home working and their employees will be unused to the environment. If your company’s thinking of putting a home working policy in place, because of the summer of sport or not, here’s a few tips for getting the most out of home working.
- Find the right place to work: Find somewhere quiet to work where you won’t be disturbed by noise. You don’t want your dog barking or a neighbour doing DIY when you’re in the middle of an important conference call.
- Structure your day: Make sure that you take proper breaks, have lunch and finish on time. There is a great temptation to extend your working day and use the “commute hours” to work.
- Set the ground rules: If you have family at home with you make sure they understand what working from home is about and that they appreciate that you’re not available for running errands all day. On the flip side taking the kids to school or going to the gym can all be accommodated in the right context.
- Have a back-up plan: If your company’s put an effective home working policy in place your secure and resilient business IT systems should be available at home. But if this isn’t the case make sure you have a back-up plan if your home broadband connection or power fails e.g. Using a smartphone or tablet for calls and accessing the internet.
- Stay involved: Maintain your office contacts and ensure that you stay on the invite list for office functions and other social activities so that you still feel part of the company culture.
If you take into account all of these things you’ll be as, if not more productive working from home.
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