work from home tools | Telecommute Job Online

Assembling your post-pandemic work from home team, you can take steps to increase your team’s ability to succeed and shine by proactively taking steps that will enhance your connection and productivity.

Use Common Tools

Remote working is different from working in the office but you can help to create cohesiveness among your members by using common tools to tie them together.

For instance, you will need common communication tools, like WhatsApp, Messenger, or Google Chat.
You will need a common area to share files, such as Google Drive or Dropbox
Decide to agree to use a common video conferencing platform, like Zoom or Skype
Shareable whiteboard, something like Miro or Stormboard
Project management tools, like Trello or Asana
And something to accumulate poll data, like SurveyMonkey.

It is up to you, as the team leader, to set up an effective telecommuting environment that will ensure your team’s success. Focus on results and do not let your attention be sidetracked by obsessing about what your team members might be doing while they are reportedly on-the-clock. For all you know, they could be naked or getting drunk while off-camera. You must let go of worrying about what is happening while they are working from home and focus on the results. But do

Set Boundaries

It is reasonable to set boundaries and expectations. As the leader you can establish what you would like the work from home environment will look like. Make it clear what you expect, and the results that you expect from the remote working staff. Then, just assume that compliance is taking place unless you notice someone’s performance numbers declining, then you can address the situation and see if you and your team can help the faltering team member to increase their performance.

Do Not Spy on Your Employees

These days, we have all the tracking and surveillance software and hardware that we could ever need to monitor employees’ activities while on-the-clock. Just because we can, does not mean we should. Plus, making your employees feel like they are being spied on does not build employee confidence or a sense of loyalty, which reduces Human Resource expenses by increasing employee retention in the long run.

Get Regular Reports

Only you can know what type and frequency of reports would be appropriate for your remote staff. Try not to make it too complicated or drawn-out, and possibly allow for each team member to find their own style of reporting and use whatever is comfortable for them.

Create Your Remote Team Culture

Create online experiences that bring your team members together. Host competitions, virtual talent shows, celebrate birthdays and special occasions, just like you might in the office to build relationships among your team members. Be supportive, and fun. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Additional Support

Think about providing resources for your telecommuters, such as coaching and mental health services. Consider adding a Life Coach to your team who can help support and invigorate the lives of other team members and watch your performance numbers increase with each passing day.

When people are working from home for extended periods of time, it causes stress-related issues they would not otherwise be exposed to. A regular mental health check-in may be appropriate to help avoid complications or loss of performance due to any lurking mental health issues.

Connectivity is the key ingredient in telecommuting and moving your job online, which is not a problem for most metro areas, but for under-developed or outlying rural areas, this might be problematic. You may have the desire to work from home, but do you have the ability?

First, there are equipment requirements. If your employer does not supply you with the necessary equipment, you must have at least a phone, computer, and an Internet connection. Not having the tools necessary to telecommute will exclude you from the ability to work from home in the new world.

As this new home working environment emerges from the rubble of the COVID-19 pandemic, concessions may be made and subsidies offered by government agencies to expand service areas to include those hard-to-reach areas where little or no connectivity is problematic.

In metro areas and many communities, coworking establishments are springing up to enable those without adequate resources to share office space and equipment. This is a more than reasonable solution for expanding the abilities of those who do not have access to the minimum requirements for telecommuting.

Transportation to and from the co-working space is the next issue, but these coworking spaces will greatly reduce commute times and expenses for those who utilize these services which can act as a bridge for telecommuters with limited resources.

It will take time and effort to change the way we do business in the United States. While many Americans embrace the idea of working from home, there are others who are well adapted and prefer to conduct work from a corporate office. Some people prefer to keep a clear demarcation between work life and private life. Then there are workers who have become dependent on face to face interaction amidst the work environment and they find solace in this break away from home. These are the people who will find it less easy to convert to video chat and adapt to the telework environment.

As the world of work transforms, will staying at home cause more psychological stress on those who depend on corroborating and commiserating with coworkers for social stability and mental health support?

In our pre-pandemic society, dysfunctional families are rescued and are allowed to sustain themselves longer as family units because the family members are able to seek social interaction outside the home. This is important to maintain mental health and sanity in an otherwise difficult living situation.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, we have already seen the impact that basically being imprisoned or celled-in with at-risk family members has not fared well, as domestic abuse rates have skyrocketed. Increased rates of depression and suicide have indicated there is great concern with not being allowed to access what we have come to rely on as “normal” social interaction.

But keep in mind, that this is only temporary. Once the restrictions are lifted, the public will be able to resume all their normal social activities. The only difference being that telecommuting and working from home will become more of a valid option when looking to return to work if you’re not already telecommuting.