Lessons learned in remote working so far from sheltering in place

It’s the end of week 5 of full time staying at home due to the shelter-in-place order. I’ve worked from home occasionally (about once a week) for several years, but working from home full time, and add into it my son doing school from home full time, it’s completely different. 

Aside from the other more common lessons like “keep a routine,” “stay connected with your team,” etc. – here are a few other totally unexpected things I’ve learned so far in this crazy experiment –

The stigma is gone from parents needing to balance child/pet care and work. 

I remember early on in my career being told that it was okay to work from home occasionally provided it wasn’t obvious to anyone else. In other words, no children or pets allowed in the background. Now, with all of us forced to be home from work and school too, my son pops in to virtually every video call and it’s not only okay but it’s kind of a nice break and reminder to all of us that we are real life people, not only employees.

Not every ping is urgent. 

In the office, people can pop-in on you with a “quick” question (that is rarely ever quick). In a remote environment, that’s been replaced by constant IM’s and texts. Getting literal pings every few minutes can be incredibly distracting and I’ve learned to tune them out after a quick glance to be sure it’s not a real emergency. I’ve also learned not to return the favor by pinging others just because I have a “quick” question. Instead, I am logging my questions or ideas or needs for someone on a list and then when I have dedicated time with them, I can go over them. 

Breaks are critical. 

Without my son here, I may not have learned this lesson so I credit him! Working remotely, I find it super easy to sit all day, focus in on video calls, building decks, and answering emails and in the process, forget about eating and moving around. But with my son needing help with school assignments, or lunch, or just begging to please go with me outside mom, it’s forcing me to take screen breaks, sitting breaks, and sunshine breaks. And wow have I noticed a difference. For one, my level of focus goes up when I do get back to work. And two, it’s better for my mental and physical health. 

Ways of working are changing right in front of us and that’s not a bad thing. What have you learned?

#shelterinplace #coronavirus #covid19 #remoteworking #workingmom #workingparents #newwaysofworking

***

Angela Heyroth’s 20-year career has spanned several Fortune 500 firms, in leadership roles across the full lifecycle of talent management and employee experience, delivering results and guiding teams in talent attraction, acquisition, retention, development, performance, planning, and engagement. This breadth of experience has resulted in a unique understanding of how to build and deliver lasting legacy through a focus on talent. As a systems thinker, change agent, and ardent learner, she has various musings about the employee experience (and random other topics), and enjoys sharing her insights, opinions, observations, and ideas.