EvolutionIQ HOWTO: Best Practices for Working Remotely / Working From Home (WFH)

author: Tomas Vykruta

Advantages of Remote Work

Working remotely benefits us individually, and benefits the company too. However, as is the case with all great things in life, it requires learning a set of new skills. Read this document carefully.

The benefits are very real and measurable:

 

However, as superheroes have taught us throughout the years:

With great power comes great responsibility.

Transparency

When you are working from home, you will need to maintain a higher level of transparency. 

The quality bar for the above should be higher when you are working remotely compared to when you’re in the office. You’ll really appreciate this when your coworkers do it correctly.

Communication Skills

Related to transparency, aim to achieve a higher level of communication when working remotely.

 

Make Your Presence Felt. Be Extra Social. 

Give people kudos on slack often. When your team mates shares a cool tip, writes a document or submits a change you care about, let  them know. Emojis on slack are just fine! Each interaction strengthens your relationships. We all want to be loved.

Dedicated, Quiet Work Physical and Digital Space

When working remotely, set yourself up for success.

Have a Plan

Understand what you want to achieve, what you need to accomplish and how it fits into a larger business model. 

Time Commitment

It’s easy when you are operating remotely to completely lose track of time. It’s much harder to be self disciplined. Do the right thing. Don’t let your teammates down.

Set Expectations with your Loved Ones

Set expectations with your roommates / spouse / kids about your working hours and distractions. Setting expectations early on is much easier on everyone, and you’ll earn extra respect you for taking your career seriously.

Share your agenda and calendar so they know when not to interrupt you.

Take Advantage of the Freedom

If you’re feeling burned out, take advantage of your remote location. Go outside for a solo walk, breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the sunshine and quiet time to think. 

Improve and Give Feedback

Like any skill in life, working remotely requires practice and discipline. There’s always room for improvement. Keep improving, and help your teammates improve too by giving them (sometimes critical) feedback.

Avoid Personal Slack Conversations

Prefer to use public channels, not personal conversations on Slack. If a conversation starts in a personal chat, don’t be afraid to copy and paste it and move it into a public channel.