Work is a process not a place!
Covid-19 has challenged many companies working practices as we see that Work from Home is now accepted practices for employees. While some of us might have found the adjustment easy, it is difficult for others to adjust to this lifestyle. Some of us just love the idea of working from home, others hate it. There are many preconceptions from both management and staff regarding this working style. What we must understand that work is a process and not a place.
Even if one is familiar with and had experienced Work from Home, it may have been for just a short period, which would not have prepared you for the recent period of enforced months due to a pandemic. In some countries, this might extend more widely and longer than expected.
For both employee and employer, working from home sounds like a win-win situation, with overheads spared and employee commuting costs eliminated. One can enjoy a more start leisurely start to the day and delicious homemade food if you are a foodie😉. We at Hyde Park Solutions have deployed Work from Home since 2007, so we are well versed in the practice and have the IT systems set up to manage client interactions. Each new starter needs to ensure their work from home plan includes the same ways of working as if you’re in an office i.e. making sure you take breaks regularly, getting exercise and setting boundaries within your home environment so work does not take over after working hours. It’s also important to ensure your home environment enables you to be productive during workings hours.
This lifestyle can be an alluring move as it removes most of the downside of “going” to work, the commute, etc. However, the downside of working from home is that it reduces the social interaction we all so enjoy. We in Hyde Park Solutions have for many years have held a team meeting every Tuesday called Tuesday Talking Together (TTT). Recently, because of no face to face interaction, we have used Video calls more and more. And to have a bit of fun and banter, we have run a quiz at the end of our Tuesday meetings. Depending on one’s favoured working style and cultural opinions, working from home can be the best thing or the worst, either way for the foreseeable future in 2020 it’s here to stay.
Self-Discipline is important during this time, and it challenges us to think about preparing for work. Getting dressed for work, even when you feel working in your pyjamas is an important choice.
At Hyde Park Solutions, we have, like many others been adapting our working from home practices, both for productivity and social reasons… Despite being stuck in this pandemic, our team is constantly focused on delivering support to our valued clients globally. Since being quarantined in our respective households, we conduct regular interactions with each other to keep our team spirit high. We recently surprised and celebrated a landmark birthday of one of our colleagues with everyone joining a video call. We even made him a cake!