Home working for dummies
For many of us we are now approaching the 2nd year of mandatory home working and while this offers many benefits to employees and employers alike, there are some pitfalls to avoid, as well as some good practices to consider, when it comes to working from your home.
Structure
Keeping structure and routine in your day is really important to keep you from burning out or wasting time. Try to wake up at the same time each day and get out for your morning exercise, bowl of cereal or whatever works for you but, generally speaking, logging in straight after getting out of bed is not conducive to a positive and fruitful working day. It is also important to have a set lunchtime to take an hour out and switch off for a bit as it will improve your focus when you return. Whether that is making some lunch, running an errand, or just going for a walk it can help you reset and be ready to face an afternoon of work in a positive way. Reward yourself with regular short breaks away from your desk to refresh and to give your eyes a break.
Social
Just because you aren’t in the office doesn’t mean that you can't chat with your colleagues! The classic “water cooler chat” that would have happened organically in an office can re-energise you and prevent boredom and loneliness but it is not so easy to replicate in the virtual office. At Butterfly we tackle this using Gather Town; a web-conferencing software like Zoom, but with the added component of seeing the virtual “room” you and others are occupying, and with the ability to move around and interact with other participants based on your locations. This enables the whole team to meet every morning to chat about football results or the amazing cake we made yesterday evening, and then break out into our Scrum teams. At Butterfly we also have a fun Friday session where we all get together virtually on a Friday afternoon for a few games and maybe a drink too! It all helps you to feel part of a team despite not being located together.
Distractions
Working at home presents a whole new range of distractions that you don’t tend to find in the office - delivery drivers with a penchant for delivering parcels during meetings, dogs barking, children playing/fighting, or perhaps just your neighbours deciding to break out their beloved power drill and attacking your adjoining wall. These are scenarios that you may well encounter when working from home. The first thing I would recommend is a pair of noise cancelling headphones, they will stop the dog/children/neighbour disturbing your work; they don’t have to be too expensive and are also great to use outside of work which helps justify the initial outlay. Secondly, it can be worth catching your postman/delivery driver and seeing if they can leave parcels in your recycling bin or porch without having to disturb you by ringing the bell every time, else you could invest in a parcel box or arrange to collect parcels from a local pickup point when it is convenient for you.
Working environment
Hopefully after all this time working at home you are not still perched at the kitchen table sat on a stool hunched over your laptop! Considering how long we spend working each day it is really important that, wherever possible, you are in a comfortable working environment, having a dedicated desk with a monitor, keyboard, mouse and comfortable seat all set up correctly to relieve strain on your body and prevent injury. It is worth saying that most employers will supply you with these items if you ask, so it is always worth enquiring before rushing out and buying them all first. It is also worth considering where you work in your home. If possible a separate room away from the rest of the house is ideal as you can close the door on it at the end of the day and switch off, however this is not always possible so minimising the risk of distraction and impact on your home life is very important. If you can avoid having your working area in a communal area of your home then you could make life easier for yourself.
Butterfly was a distributed team before the pandemic and has since fully embraced the remote working culture. Looking forward Butterfly aims to remain remote but will create opportunities for colleagues to meet and work together frequently.
