Whatever you’re doing right now it’s not “working from home”

I’ve been working from home regularly for the last few years, and it’s great. When I do it I’ve got all the right things in place, including IT that works, a separate and comfortable work-place, a solid routine that helps me manage my work-life balance appropriately, and regular formal and informal contact with my team – supplemented with regular in-person meetings. It’s ace.

What’s happening for most people now though, isn’t that.

In case you (or your boss) is now thinking “hey, this isn’t so bad, maybe when this is all over we can have everyone work from home!” – take a minute to check that what you and your colleagues are doing right now really is working from home, or something much worse.

For a lot of us, working from home has been a hastily put-together thing, done through necessity, and that’s fine. But as the current situation progresses, the things we needed to do quickly, just to make things work, don’t need to be how we work for the next few months.

It might feel like a luxury now, but plan some time in to reflect over the next few weeks on how the “new normal” working environment is working for you and your staff. We could be doing this for quite a lot longer, and what’s got us through the first few weeks might not be what we need to work effectively together for the next three months (or longer).

Check out our guidance on using Microsoft Teams here.

Check out our guidance on working from home (properly!) here.