Contents
In modern realities, work has radically changed its “image”. Remote work, which until recently was the prerogative of a small number of professions, has penetrated almost every area. It seems that there can be nothing better than an office within the walls of your own home, but is it really so?
People are divided into two camps – lovers of home comfort and those who really miss the offices. We want to figure out what are the advantages and disadvantages of both types of activities, what to do if remote work causes discomfort, and how to set boundaries correctly so that communication is effective and we are happy.
Communication with colleagues
In the matter of communication, it all depends on what kind of person you are and what kind of team has formed. Teams are so different that sometimes it is even difficult to imagine the scale of the problem. In one, people are friendly, empathic, and willing to spend time together in an informal setting, while in the other, hostile competition and toxic communication reign supreme.
The remote work format allows you to distance yourself as much as possible from unpleasant colleagues and take a “pause” before responding to a passive-aggressive letter or message. But, on the other hand, if friendships are established in the office, then a person will have a lack of socialization (results of a buffer.com survey showed that 16% experienced such feelings1).
It can adversely affect not only emotional but also physical health – for example, provoke failures in the cardiovascular system, weight gain and weakened immunity. Could this be useful to someone?
Council
Agree to meet in a general chat once a week or two – this way you can keep the feeling of “office” and chatter near the cooler. Choose different locations and activities: dinner at a restaurant, board games, a movie trip, or joint yoga in the park. Of course, exclusively at will, and not voluntarily-compulsorily – this will not give results.
Way to work
For many, leaving the office was a breath of fresh air, and in the truest sense. Some have to spend several hours on the road and change 2-3 modes of transport, that is, they get to their destination already quite tired and exhausted. Plus, not all companies compensate for expenses on the road – you should not forget about this.
And thanks to parting with the walls of the office, many allowed themselves to relocate outside the city and fulfill the dream of living away from the bustle of the city, as well as save on the road. In this case, remote work at home wins in all respects.
Nevertheless, a long journey also has good sides, because there are people for whom such trips perform a meditative or educational function – parents definitely value time alone with themselves.
Council
If you’ve been transferred back to your open space, don’t waste your time and turn on psychological podcasts on parenting, asserting personal boundaries, and burnout along the way. This will act in a complex – it will help brighten up the clock and allow you to form useful skills.
And for those who do not have enough personal space at home, we recommend gradually introducing personal time into the family schedule. At first it will not be easy and the family may rebel, but over time they will understand that at a certain time you must be left alone.
Discipline
Office work involves constant rendezvous with management. Even if they do not wind kilometers around you, you subconsciously keep their presence in your head. Higher colleagues still somehow control your activities, productivity and compliance with deadlines – for some it is simply necessary.
And it seems that everyone at least once in their life dreamed of being without supervision, but when this happened, unexpected moments came out. For example, the lack of self-organization skills and discipline.
The “pajama format” can be relaxing and cause procrastination. It seems to a person that there is still a lot of time ahead, but he is distracted by various household chores and misses the deadlines for projects.
Council
Try to structure your day by hours, create to-do lists and keep time. It will also come in handy to change clothes from cozy and comfortable home pajamas into something more formal – this will help to mobilize. Jeans and a T-shirt are perfect!
Schedule
Since you don’t need to travel from point A to point B, you can sleep a little longer and finally enjoy breakfast slowly. But far from every company, people are immersed in work from 9 to 18 – remotely, the boundaries are blurred and an irregular schedule often turns into one big groundhog day.
Colleagues are bombarded with letters until the night, thinking that, being close to the computer, it is easy for you to finish or redo some moments when the clock is 22:00. Such a “merger” can lead to burnout, permanent stress and anxiety, because it is impossible to fully relax with the feeling that a new task is about to arrive.
Council
Do not be afraid to politely and environmentally refuse colleagues and explain your position. If you constantly agree to something that doesn’t suit you at all, there is a risk of stopping thinking about yourself altogether – you don’t need it!
It is important to give yourself a break and reboot so that your favorite business does not turn into torment. And it would be useful to mute mail notifications after a certain time.
Functional technology
Speaking of technology and a full-fledged workplace: the lucky ones are those whose employers moved their computers and desks. Offices are often well-equipped to keep functionality at a high level. But the house is not. Many people outside their office don’t need a powerful processor or a large monitor at all; a regular laptop is enough for them to watch movies and work during rare sick days. The office in this matter receives the palm.
But you can set everything up in such a way that you do not have to sit in one place on a remote control. Technology is advancing, and now it’s easy to go to the park, enjoy nature and do things on a convenient device, pedal in the gym while listening to YouTube videos and simultaneously answer emails or simultaneously make changes to spreadsheets and send them to colleagues in instant messengers.
One of such multifunctional solutions is the choice of convenient gadgets. For example, the flexible screen smartphones Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G are ideal for ever-changing schedules.
Is productivity important? Z Fold3 with a large screen and support for the S Pen is what you need. It is easy to take notes by hand, write “in the margins” and draw graphics. Thanks to the size of the display, you can be active in three applications at once – view content, video chat and send letters.
For content creators and active participants in online meetings, the sleek Z Flip3 is the perfect companion. By placing it on a flat surface in a position open at any angle, you can broadcast live without a tripod.
Galaxy Z series devices are equipped with Samsung’s proprietary Knox security platform to protect your data. You can be sure that all sensitive business information will remain secure.
There is no longer a need to separate work and personal – devices masterfully help to combine stylish design, productivity and entertainment. All that is needed from you is to learn how to independently delimit the areas of your life without distortions, so that every day is varied and exactly the way you want.
1 Survey results: https://buffer.com/2021-state-of-remote-work