Work from home- Challenges.

The pandemic of Covid-19 has forced us to work from home. There are- no social events, schools are closed, no gym and parks, a new working environment with plenty of time with home mates, pets and electronic screens. We have to adjust to this new normal along with- taking care of our and our family member’s health. We have to remain active and lead- a healthy life. Besides the above- work from home has its own challenges like- maintaining our productivity, fulfilling our career and financial goals, and minimizing our stress levels. The way we use to work has changed forever. With the repetition of pandemic waves- it seems that there is no going back. Work from home will be there- along with its challenges.

work from home- challenges

The world is passing through unprecedented times due to pandemic- Covid-19. New waves- due to virus mutations have forced the organizational challenges of work from home. For most people, it is a new experience and a lot of routine adjustment. Following are the six work from home- challenges:-

1. Getting distractions from other things
2. Communicating with your team mates
3. Dealing with home mates (babies, small children, pets, etc)
4. Staying motivated
5. Working more than normal working hours (overworking)
6. Feeling isolated

1 Getting distractions from other things

With a structured office environment that helps you with a feeling of working mode. Adjusting to a new workspace of home with distractions- which involves kids, pets, T.V., couches, snacks, etc is quite challenging. Distractions like watching a quick episode of your favorite serial, latest news, anxiety about the ongoing situations, concern about your loved ones, or working from the comfort of your bed may hamper your productivity and focus level. Here is what you can do to focus on your work.

What can be done.

It is quite natural to be distracted. By adopting the following measures you can focus on your work and maintain a positive work balance.

Set up a dedicated workspace

It will be ideal to fix a dedicated room for you for working from home. This will give a positive feeling of focused working and avoiding distractions. While the rest of your home can be utilized by other housemates for their activities. And you can join them after completing your working hours with a satisfying feeling of having completed your work.

If a dedicated room is not possible you can place a working table in a particular corner of your home for focusing on your work and have a fixed working routine.

Cut down the distacting noises

While working from home- consider that you are utilizing the space of your housemates. The noise of kids, T.V. neighbors, pets, etc. may create disturbances in your focusing on your important work. Utilize some good-quality headphones to block the noises.

Take short brakes

If you find yourself- not comfortable- sitting for long working hours and are unable to focus on your work- take small breaks at regular hours. Just having a walk for a few minutes or stretching yourself may give you a relaxing feeling and may help you to focus with a positive attitude. Plus it will reduce the adverse effects of electronic screens watching- on your eyes and health.

2 Communicating with your teammates.

Communicating with your teammates is one of the major work from home- challenges. While everyone is working remotely- regular communications to motivate your teammates- focusing on achieving organizational goals is a must.

Fix a daily meeting schedule

Fixing a daily meeting with your teammates enables you to set your daily goals and enables you to get the previous day’s working progress made. It also helps you to resolve the issues being faced by your teammates. Your teammates get the proper information about the priorities and projects being handled.

Virtual face to face meeting

Using video calls for meetings helps you to have a full conversation with your teammates. Being able to see each other helps to convince ( with facial expressions, tone, and gestures) about your ideas to boost productivity. Plus it also helps in creating better understanding and bringing your teammates on the same page. You can also share your screen with your team to get and give feedback on the work being done.

Making video calls helps to strengthen your personal relations by discussing with your team about their health and other issues apart from work. It enables to cut down stress levels.

3. Dealing with home mates.

Work from home possesses a major challenge- that your home mates have a feeling that since you are at home- you are available all the time. Which is not so. Everyone may not have the facility of fixing a separate room for working. They may need to compromise in order to find a way of working that suits all. Here is what you can do:-

Create understanding

Create understanding with your home mates that since you are at home – it does not mean that you are available all the time. Tell them in advance- when you will be working and when you will be available. Most of the time your home mates do not even realize that they are diverting your attention. Telling them in advance about your working schedule- will help you to concentrate on your work and create a better understanding.

Co- working

If your home mates are also working from home- consider a co-working space in your house. For virtual meetings, separate arrangements can be made.

4. Staying motivated

Staying motivated and keeping your team motivated is also one of the major work from home- challenges. Motivation can play a significant role in boosting your productivity in stressful conditions. Staying motivated is not merely- not being distracted. Distraction is short-termed. It is the loss of concentration – diverting your focus from work to be done.

Whereas motivation is a long-term- an ongoing thing. It imparts faith in you that whatever you are doing is worthwhile and important. But in the stressful and uncertain period, staying motivated is quite challenging. But keeping your and your teammates’ motivation level high- keep you busy and relieve stress. To maintain your motivation level following measures can be adopted.

Break up your target into smaller goals

Break up your targets into smaller achievable goals on daily basis. And concentrate on fulfilling your daily goals. Completing your goals on daily basis and marking them as completed – will keep your motivation level at optimum levels. And it will impart you a satisfying feeling and a sense of accomplishment.

Understanding how your work is helping your teammates in fulfilling their goals and ultimately the organizational goals- will keep you and your team motivated and will reduce work-related stress.

5.Working more than normal working hours

Generally, it is the thinking that working from home means- sitting at home, eating snacks, watching your favorite T.V. shows, and not doing much work. But on the contrary, people who work from home face one of the challenges of overworking and being unable to log out as per a fixed schedule. Sometimes distractions cause you to work- extra hours to complete your work.

Putting a few extra hours to complete the work or checking your mailbox before going to bed and spending the next 30- 40 minutes to replying that mail, which could have easily been done on the next working day- happens very frequently. It is due to not managing things in a proper way- resulting in a delay in logging out.

If you are finding yourself consistently overworking. Then it is time to manage your working hours properly and achieve your goals. Following may be helpful in keeping the pace of your work:

Fix your daily routine

Fix your daily working routine and avoid all distractions for focused working- concentrating on quality and quantity of working. It is a good practice to log in and log out at fixed hours and your teammates and clients also understand the same. Tomorrow will be another day- when you will be working- more energetically and maybe with a better understanding of the work-related issues.

Take breaks

Taking your usual breaks as were being taken during working from office like- lunch break, tea breaks help you to stay focused on your work, improves productivity and maintains a daily healthy working schedule.

Fix an evening activity

Fix an evening activity like- an evening walk or sitting with your family members and playing an indoor game etc can help you to complete your daily work on time and log off from your computer. This will help you maintain- your work-life balance and will help you stay motivated.

6. Feeling isolated

While working from home- people generally feel isolated. As there are no meetings with friends and teammates. On feeling isolated connect with your friends or teammates. learn how they are doing. Moreover, your can spend your spare time helping other people around you, while taking all the necessary precautions.

Besides work-from-home challenges, it seems that the majority of people are happy with the change and would prefer the new normal- work from home. It seems that the benefits of working from home outweigh the challenges for employees.

For awareness purposes only.