Working From Home Doesn’t Have to be Hell

As the spread of coronavirus continues globally, business continuity questions begin to surge in our minds. How will moving my operations to remote affect my business? Will productivity begin to dwindle? What is the business impact to my clients? Adstream will address three myths about working from home and some tips and tricks to make the most out of the situation.

As the spread of coronavirus continues globally, business continuity questions begin to surge in our minds. How will moving my operations to remote affect my business? Will productivity begin to dwindle? What is the business impact to my clients?

Fear not, working from home doesn’t have to be hell.

From small businesses to global organisations, business contingency plans must be reviewed with all staff to ensure a speedy transition and to mitigate any potential business risk. Having these conversations and maintaining transparency with your teams is vital during times like these.

If you’re still skeptical, check out some myths below to the whole 'working from home' debates:

1) “I won’t have to work as much or as hard if I’m remote” – From both the business side and personal side of things, this is by far not accurate. Most employees actually rise to the challenge and work as hard if not harder while working from home. Just because you’re remote doesn’t mean business stops – we pick up where we left on and continue pushing forward.

2) “The workload will be easier working from home” – As in the statement above, business doesn’t stop when moving to a remote workforce. In fact, your business contingency plans would address this well. Whatever your business objectives or expectations are you still need to work hard to address them. Just because you might be in your pj’s (which we don’t recommend by the way) doesn’t mean we get to slack.

3) “I’m not convinced my team will continue to run smoothly” – While a valid concern for most managers, there’s also the level of trust that must be instilled in the employees. If given the chance employees will rise to the challenge working from home may bring. Ensure you have a solid communication plan put in place and still work hard towards deadlines to keep business moving.

Okay now you’ve made the choice to move to a remote working environment, great! You still have some obstacles ahead of you, but they’re good obstacles I assure you. Here’s some tips and tricks for making the most out of working remote:

1) Get your technology in order – Ensure before you leave the office you have all of your tech with you. This includes laptops, work cells, charges, mice, keyboards, etc. Make sure you have everything with you that will make the working from home transition easier. This piece also includes any software or platforms you will need to succeed. Make sure you have asset management solutions in place, any web conferencing tools have been setup and disseminated to the entire workforce, and security measures are in place to protect your company’s assets.

2) Stay connected and manage expectations – During times like these you’ll be spending a lot more time at home with family close by, so family obligations will come about. Make sure to stay connected with your team and manage expectations on deliverables. A slight delay in productivity is expected in the beginning stages of the transition, but studies actually show that most employees rise to the challenge and work as hard or harder when working remote.

3) Avoid cabin fever – If you find yourself under quarantine during these unsettling times, keeping a sound mind and spirit is crucial to working from home. Just like you would at work, make sure you get up from time to time to stretch out and look away from work. Take a coffee break in the kitchen while catching up on your favourite tweets. Make your lunch instead of ordering out. Make sure you follow as close to the same routine as you’ve done in the past; this will help with readjusting again in the future.

This can still sound a little unsettling but we’re here to help should you have any questions. Brands and agencies must keep a solid head on their shoulders when navigating this complex environment. There’s not need to fear the unknown, but rather rise to the challenge.

Agencies take heart! Use this as a time for your workforce to rejuvenate their minds. If you’re a creative, go into that special place we all have at home and think of new, fresh, exciting ideas for your clients. If you’re in finance, sleep! You all work long hours and tremendously hard to ensure the business is working towards is fiscal objectives. To all, enjoy the comfort of home, work hard and make sure productivity stays high.

Brands stay relevant. This is the time to reshape your future as a business. Revisit any campaigns you were questioning, reshoot photos and videos so they are perfect for you, catch up on administrative tasks. This is not a time to go stale, but rather a time to show the global community what you’re doing to help.

But above all – stay safe. Practice social distancing. Move business operations remote. We all need to do our part in slowing down this virus.

If you’re a brand or agency facing complexities in creative logistics when working remote, give us a call. We’re here to help anyone we can to ensure business continues moving forward. We’re a trusted partner for you to leverage when you need us, 24/7.