There is a new way of working, and it’s terrifying everyone – employers and employees. But what if we were to focus on the benefits, instead of the total mayhem and disadvantages we believe to be true.
What if we are letting our anxieties of the current world climate, shade the possibilities that could be opening up to us as a workforce moving forward.
Let’s change our focus and look at some of the best perks about working from home.
Flexibility
Number one on the list of advantages must be the greater flexibility working from home affords. Remote workers can take advantage of this by creating a schedule to fit in both work and personal responsibilities.
Flexibility equals happy and productive workers.
Particularly if you have been temporarily neglecting the family while taking a climb up the ladder. ‘Fess up, you know who you are……we have all done it at some time in our lives.
Your Office Can Be Anywhere
Your office can literally be anywhere you want. In the basement, standing up at the breakfast bar – hello healthy living without the massive cost of a standing desk. You can even hide your office in a closet – open up for business, then shut it away at the end of the day.
Save Money
You will see an immediate difference in your bank balance if you had to spend money on transport, whether it’s running a car or taking public transportation. You will notice other savings as well. You will be less likely to grab that extra coffee or takeaway lunch. What about those gym fees? Homemade food and a walk in the park are far less expensive.
Skills Development
The tech department isn’t ‘just’ downstairs when things go haywire. There are no colleagues close at hand to call on when projects upend because someone didn’t come through with the goods. You will need to develop the skill of looking for answers and becoming proactive in finding what you need and how to get the job done. And learning new skills is excellent for the brain and helps you to become more creative.
Other skills – you will likely be more sensitive to others’ time schedules – developing your empathy. Get your writing honed down to a precise art form – because you now appreciate information without the fluff due to the increased email correspondence you receive.
Fun Keeping in Touch
For all the extroverts out there are concerned about feeling lonely or left out when working remotely. You don’t have too. Focus on becoming an artistic genius with the range of communication tools at your disposal.
Having competitions to see who can get the best background on the video chats. Using bots and silly effects in your video chats to take it up a notch (Warning – don’t do this when chatting with the CEO). Organise a lunch date with your co-workers and eat online. Your communication is only limited by your imagination.
You Develop Laser Focus
With willpower and a steady routine, you’ll learn to not get distracted by your phone, the dirty plates in the sink or getting the next load of washing done.
In fact, you may find that you can develop laser focus because you aren’t getting interrupted by co-worker’s requests. Or blown off course by the regular chit chat that happens when walking between workstations.
When you need to focus, change your status to ‘do not disturb’ on your chat, put a timer on and get it done.
Avoid Office Politics
Unless you are the one that is fuelling the fire – in which case working remotely will be driving you bonkers – how does it feel not to be immersed in it!
You might be friends with everyone in the office, still, there is always an element of nasty in every work environment. When you work at home, you don’t get exposed to the gossip and ill will, unless you seek it out of course.
So, embrace the change. This may be your new standard for a while. Instead of focusing on the tragedy of this situation, find the positives and make the new and improved way of showing up in the world a part of your wellbeing.
Let us know what you think the benefits are when working from home.
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