Learning to Work from Home Optimally Will Remain Crucial After the Pandemic, says Joey Armstrong
It has been over a year since many companies that were able facilitated a move to remote work. While the process has been successful for plenty of businesses and sources predict that it will be here to stay, industry experts have noticed that there have been a few notable gripes with how their companies have handled the move. Working from home likely is not going anywhere, and marketing experts like Joey Armstrong believe that this necessitates that we continue to learn ways to work from home as optimally as possible. Here, he answers a couple questions regarding issues employees have had while working from home to explain how we can be a part of remote work’s evolution.
Handling Pressures to Work 24/7
“Since my company implemented remote work, I have found it difficult to draw the line between work time and off time. On average I have been starting work earlier and ending later. Has anyone else had a similar issue?” — Ranjit
When we sent this question over to Joey Armstrong, he immediately conceded that this is a common issue with remote work in his own industry. After all, when your office is at your own house, it can be truly difficult to separate your working hours from your free time. This is particularly true if your place of employment takes advantage of your ability to quickly handle tasks off the clock. Fortunately, Joey Armstrong maintains that there are a few simple ways to uphold boundaries while working remotely. For example, keeping a schedule of the tasks that you plan to complete independently in addition to your meetings that include others is a great first step. Doing so will provide a visual for how much time you have for clerical task during the day, and it gives you the ability to slide things around to account for what may come up.
“Remote employees can also help maintain their boundaries between work and off time by actually taking their time off” says Armstrong. Since the onset of the pandemic, numerous sources have maintained that taking time off is important for a variety of reasons, yet many employees have taken less time off since they began working from home. If you are someone that naturally feels a bit guilty for utilizing PTO while working from home, try to take the steps necessary to enjoy a stress-free day. For example, many employees may feel uncomfortable utilizing PTO because it can leave their coworkers treading water on busy workdays. Take measures against this feeling by setting your team up for success in your absence.
Dealing with Feelings of Isolation
“My company has been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic and, since, I have felt pretty isolated while performing my duties. It feels as though everyone has their routine, and the ability to catch up with coworkers without feeling as though you are wasting their time is limited.
Has your company had any success with keeping employees feeling connected?” — Joan
For Joan’s extremely pertinent question surrounding isolation while working from home, Joey Armstrong calls upon his experience teaching business communication. Back then, companies were clamoring for ways to keep their employees feeling connected and having fruitful engagements, and this was long before COVID-19 even further emphasized its importance.
“Both employees and administration are going to play a crucial role in helping everyone stay connected through the future of remote work” upholds Armstrong. “Administration is going to want to keep a close eye on how their employees are feeling. Occasional meetings for catching up and getting the team up to speed on work happenings go a long way for keeping everyone in the fold.” Joey Armstrong knows that it can be hard to truthfully know how everyone is feeling in the confines of these types of meetings, however, and he stresses that anonymous polls regarding work connectivity can go a long way for rectifying feelings of isolation.
For employees, Joey Armstrong maintains that there are several effective ways to try to stave off feelings of isolation. While it seems simple, one of which is to connect with coworkers more in a way that is productive for all parties. “If your place of employment empowers you to have meetings with members of your team, doing so can be an excellent way to connect while on the clock”, says Armstrong. Brainstorm meetings can give the team ideas that clear up difficulties employees may have, helping them complete tasks while remaining connected.
Looking to the Future
The simple fact that many companies will continue to provide work from home options for employees necessitates that all involved find ways to continue to do so as optimally as possible. Joey Armstrong recognizes that this will not just involve evaluating from a productivity standpoint, but by how employees feel about our processes as well. To this point, Armstrong hopes that he can provide further insight into the thoughts and feelings of remote workers as working from home as a practice evolves.
