Many organisations have been swift to respond to the
COVID-19 crisis to set their employees up working from home. The purpose behind
this move is to ensure employees observe safe self-distancing from others to
slow the spread of the virus. Although the move to working safely from home is
supported by many, it does come with it a number of challenges.
This blog discusses the issues of working at home including home office set-up,
loneliness and isolation, maintaining connectedness with others, keeping
productivity up, managing employees at a distance and separating work from
general home life.
Safe Home Office Set Up
You need to ensure that you have an ergonomically sound set up, with a chair
and desk that feels right at the height that suits you best. The chair should
be adjustable to height and back angle and provide lumbar support. Where
possible, you should use a foot-rest.
Your desk should be large enough so that you can work at your computer and have
space to write and read materials. The desk should be between 680mm and 735mm
high. You should position your computer monitor at an arms distance from when
you are seated upright at your desk.
If you use a laptop, it should be positioned at height or on a docking station
to avoid neck strain. Note any glare on the screen and move to position monitor
and laptop screens away from direct light sources.
Your mouse should be at the same level as your keyboard. Your elbows should
remain close to the side of your body when using the mouse and keyboard.
You need a well-lit, ventilated space and an area that is free from
distractions while working from home.
Feeling Isolated and Lonely
Working from home can place employees into lonely and isolated environments.
They are in fact “lone workers”, and there are several studies that show
this group to be at high-risk. Lone worker situations are challenging because
no one else is readily available to conduct observations and provide real-time
feedback about safe and at-risk behaviours.
Lone workers are prone to loneliness and reduced social connectedness.
Loneliness and isolation can have negative impacts while working from home, and
you must pay extra attention to the social aspect of work. You need to be
proactive and frequently communicate through chat forums, phone calls, and
video conferences.
Try to commit to reaching out to 3-4 workmates per week, just like they would
have had a conversation if they had run into someone in the office kitchen. If
you are struggling, it’s important that you reach out to a colleague and make
contact.
How Do We Keep Productivity Up?
A further issue from working from home is around productivity. It is here that
it is critical to have a dedicated office space at home with the right equipment
to allow you to conduct work.
Set up a daily routine to structure your workday at home. Start and finish each
day at a set time. Make sure you dress for the day and get out of your pyjamas.
Work to a plan and prioritise tasks and tick them off as you complete them.
Managers have a crucial role here in that they need to provide their employees
with the autonomy to get on and get the work done without keeping constant
tabs. A quick daily check-in should be enough together with weekly planning
sessions.
Managers should set clear objectives from the outset and address any issues or
concerns early and before they escalate.
Separating Work from Home Time
Having a healthy work-life balance while working from home can be challenging,
especially if you live with children. Remote working has the potential to upset
both your work life and your home life, so you should consider critical issues
before they become a problem.
An advantage of this working arrangement can be that you are more flexible with
your family, but it is essential to set boundaries with the people who live
with you. Interruptions can interfere with your concentration and performance,
so make it clear when you are and are not available for conversations.
Discuss with the other people in your home, explain how you generally like to
work and agree on some ground rules regarding space and noise levels and
general expectations.
Not going into the office means that you gain the time you would usually spend
on the commute to work. Try to use this time on self-care and to spending time
outside – the fresh air will help your mood.
To Conclude
To reduce the spread of COVID-19, many organisations have set up their
employees to work from home. However, working from home comes with it some
significant issues for safety, injuries and mental health.
It’s critical that the home office is organised with chair, desk, monitor,
keyboard and mouse ergonomics in mind to avoid back, neck and elbow injuries.
The last thing we need are strain injuries to develop while working at home.
We need to develop routines to remain productive and establish regular
check-ins with others to ease the loneliness and isolation. It is critical that
we separate work from general home life to avoid the trap of being ‘on’ 24/7,
but also to avoid distractions and interruptions so we can get our job done.
Managers need to allow worker autonomy and trust their employees will be
productive. Setting up expectations from the beginning and weekly planning
helps to keep everyone on track.
For many employees, working from home arrangements are new and can be
problematic. In the first few days, working efficiently may not be achievable,
but over time with set routines and planning working from home can be highly
productive. In this COVID-19 crisis, working from home is likely to be
with us for many months to come. Who knows, when the emergency passes, many of
us may wish to continue in our home offices and only occasionally visit the
office.
