Working From Home (WFH) Tips During the Covid-19 Pandemic - Part 2

......continued from Working From Home (WFH) Tips During the Covid-19 Pandemic - Part 1

2.  Manage relationship with colleagues, supervisors and other stakeholders 

They are facing similar challenges as you in working from home. For some it could be much worse. Imagine having to live quarantined in a small apartment with a spouse you are divorcing from or one who is abusive or a violent alcoholic. This crisis is a great opportunity to see your own position from another person’s point of view. Then, you can take some practical steps to help your interaction with your colleagues.

a.   Dress professionally for your WFH role (at least from the waist-up)

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• People who dress up differently for WFH compared to their free time report that doing so makes it easier for them to transition from free time to work and the other way. Liane Cassavoy's excellent post about giving the professional background impression shows how bathrobe and to-do-laundry in the picture frame doesn't give a professional image.

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• People with school-aged kids have reported that the whole family dressing up for going to school and work, then going for a quick walk around the block and coming back home to settle in their study or work spots have been more effective than just starting the day without this ritual. 

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b.    Make and follow your daily to-do-list

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• Putting clear time limits gives your mind a strong signal that this is the time you’ve got, and this is what you need to achieve (the to-do-list) in that time. It also signals intent to colleagues: 

“Yes, we’ve bonded, complained how our national health authorities should handle the Corona crisis better, but this is our to-do-list and we’re going to do it in this time limit.” 

• You are trying to locate your mental arousal level in the optimal zone (Yerkes-Dodson law of human arousal and performance, 1908). Too little stress and you get bored, lonely, and too much stress gives you burnout and breakdown. Remember, boredom and loneliness are consistently the biggest complaint about working from home according to research.  
• At the end of the work day, cross out all you’ve done from your to-do-list. Place your exercises (last week’s tips) also in this to-do-agenda. What does the Christian/Jewish/Islamic God do at the end of the sixth day of creation? 

“Saw everything he had made, and behold it was very good!” 

• Acknowledging achievement helps you discover meaning, and your chances of getting happiness as its by-product becomes much higher. 

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c.   Communicate more clearly

• If you’re the team leader, address every team member by their name. 
• Ask each person how they’re coping. Listen actively but keep it compact.
• Signpost the virtual meeting: “We have four topics on our 1-hour meeting agenda. We’re still in topic 2. Topic 3 will need a lot of discussion. Let’s speed up.”
• Say out clearly what you expect from each person, by when. 
• Make everyone’s work visible. Many shy persons don’t speak up on virtual meetings, especially with sketchy internet connections. It could make some others think that this shy person may not have anything to contribute. Making everyone’s work visible will help everyone feel motivated and valuable.
• Say clearly what challenges you’re having and what are your expectations about the team, each person and yourself as the team leader.
• It’s ok to say in advance “My kid can suddenly walk in. If she does, I’ll handle it and get right back.” This honesty will make you more human and approachable. 

d.    Double check all commitments

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• In face-to-face interactions we get visual cues, which may be missing in online meetings. 
• Some persons may have “Bad hair day” and choose not to have the video on. So, to compensate for the visual cues, double check by asking: 

“Am I right in understanding that you’ll deliver me this report by tomorrow 14:30?”

• Always thank people in meetings and wish them a good day when you sing-off. This creates a pleasant association about you and makes cooperation smoother.
• Be honest to your boss and colleagues about what you’re doing. Say clearly if you need to go for a short jog in the middle of the day (unless there is a crisis deadline).
• Focus on what you have produced at the end of the day. Can you show clearly what has been your contribution?  

e.   Discover something interesting – learning points

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• Have something to contribute – Avoid getting sucked up by the news and find something interesting you’ve heard, read or seen that would be of interest to others. Gossiping about others is banal, anyone can do that. But only great minds talk about ideas. 
• Try to search for some meaning – why are some processes followed. What is the etymology of this professional term? Doing this will give you a new inquisitive approach to life, and make you a far more interesting person. Remember: As Viktor Frankl said 

“success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.”

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3.   Negotiate with family members about sharing space, home office resources, internet connection and undisturbed working time

Previous experiences of working from home might be very different from the current one. Earlier you could go to the gym, local pub or out with friends to let off some steam. This is not possible now. So, you need new approaches.

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a)   Clarify ground rules

• When you or your partner/spouse are on a video conference and cannot be disturbed. 
• If there are small kids, can the other adult make sure that small kids will not be too noisy and barge in on mummy’s or daddy’s video conference? This is the classic viral video of kids barging in as they do in this hilarious BBC viral video.   
• If you are online conferencing, should others avoid playing online or watching movies using the same internet connection that would make your conference quality sketchy?
• When is the shared lunch or dinner time? When is the coffee break?

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b)   Discuss how each family member is coping and letting off steam

Families discussing this regularly are reporting lesser conflicts and frustrations than families who are not discussing these issues.

• What are the shared activities that you’ll be doing together now that going to the gym, shopping mall, movies together are not feasible?
• How is each family member doing their part to support the others?
• Set targets - How do we celebrate week 3, 4, 5, 6 etc., of quarantine?

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4.   Manage your own feelings, attitude and optimism more skilfully

This is the most important part of everything. 

If you can’t manage yourself, you will quickly ruin the atmosphere of your home, and then also your colleagues will react negatively to you.

a)   Health - Stay fit and maintain your energy level

• You are only 5-15 steps from the fridge – how to stay fit when you can’t go to the gym or play tennis regularly?
• Micro-exercise regularly. Do some push-ups. Doing something physical will let the steam off. That really helps. Stretch regularly. Walk around your home, or do some push-ups every two hours. If you live in a two-storey house and are working in the ground floor, use the upstairs bathroom every time you need to use one. This way you get some exercise.

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• Sore elbows are a big problem. Use the spring-finger-grip exerciser. These cheap exercising tools help prevent painful tennis-elbow, joint pains.

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b)    Keep clearly defined work hours and a to-do-list for each day

• Having clear limits helps better maintain your work-life balance! Primarily it gives your conscious and unconscious minds a strong signal that this is the time I’ve got, and this is what I need to achieve (the to-do-list) in that time.
• Make a to-do list – even a few errands. At the end of the work day, cross out all you’ve done. This gives a feeling that you have achieved what you should. Place your exercises (last week’s tips) also in this to-do-list. Remember: You are trying to locate your stress level in the optimal zone (Yerkes-Dodson law of human arousal and performance, 1908). Too little stress and you get bored, lonely, and too much stress gives you burnout and breakdown. Stay productive and nor bored.  

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c)     Pay attention to nutrition and immunity boosting 

• What are the foods, drinks and supplements that boost your immunity and keep your energy level high? There is a lot of individual differences here. Discussing this issue with family members will create a we-are-in-this-together feeling, which means less conflict and more synergy. Besides, this discussion will help you see family members as unique persons. 

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d)    Check your attitude and motivation 

• Sometimes you will feel that you can’t get anything done. Stop working at once and do something physical, clean the office and home. Go out for a spin if you can. Then sit down (in some other place than the work spot), close your eyes, breathe deeply in and out and calm yourself. You can also listen to some relaxing music and lie down. 
• Find learning points in the whole WFH situation. How have others responded to this crisis? What are the funny anecdotes and experiences you have heard? Any tips you could share? Any tips you could apply and experiment?
• Reach out to other people and discuss with them. This will help you loosen the power grip of the constant stream of complaints and negative thoughts from bad news going round and round in your own head.
• Be grateful – lots and lots of people do not have the work that you are complaining about. Cultivating daily a sense of gratefulness creates more space in you for positive feelings and optimism. It takes only a little bit of light to remove the darkness. When people around you see how you have brought more light in yourself, they respond in kind and soon you all feel much stronger optimism, positive feelings about WFH and then you get more work done.

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Source: 

• Yerkes R M, Dodson J D. (1908) Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 18 (5): pp. 459–482.
• Thompson, Derek. The Coronavirus Is Creating a Huge, Stressful Experiment in Working From Home. The Atlantic. March 13, 2020