Every since the Covid Pandemic back in the tail end of 2019, millions of people have begun working from home. And according to statistics from the Pew Research Center, 61% of workers who now work at home continue to work at home as a personal preference, even if their office is open.
Couple this with the millions of part-time or full-time work-at-home fathers or mothers, and you have a ton of people working from home, many for the first time. Here are several tips to make working at home far more comfortable.
1. Be Sure your work-at-home environment is safe for the company
One of the problems with working at home is that workers continue to work with sensitive, proprietary information, but due to home WiFI networks, that information is significantly exposed compared to working in the office.
So talk to you your company IT folks, but the main idea here is to protect valuable and sensitive information via a Virtual Private Network. It’s the only way to go.
2. Find a quiet space
While it’s appealing to work in your living room with your favourite soap opera in the background and where you can keep an eye on the kids, remember that the idea of working at home is to be as productive as you are at work.
So find a quiet space in your house, even if you have to move some furniture or other things around to do so.
3. Acquire genuine office furniture
A card table nor a kitchen table won’t cut it. Buy a desk, some office desk organizers, and a good office chair to keep yourself at maximum efficiency.
4. Research work-at-home jobs
If you are wanting to set up a side hustle, or are flat unemployed, then you’ll need to find work.
There are many entry level work at home jobs such as:
- Becoming a virtual customer service assistant
- Being a billing assistant
- Being an account executive remotely
- Performing data entry
- Being a remote tutor, in particular, an English Instructor
You may think many at-home jobs are scams, but the fact is that many companies have learned they can drastically cut their operating expenses while operating their business by hiring a ton of at-home workers.
To ensure productivity and effective time management in remote work setups, consider implementing a task timer to help employees stay focused and organized.
5. Be sure you have the necessary equipment
Besides a computer, many at-home jobs such as customer service jobs or sales jobs require you to answer inquiries on a landline phone. In addition, the company may specify how modern your computer is, and how fast your internet connection is.
Since these functions are often the essentials of obtaining the job, make sure you meet all the requirements such as having a landline phone available before you apply.
6. Have good lighting
Besides getting a good office chair, a good desk, and office organizers, be sure you pay attention to your lighting.
You will often need considerably more lighting in the home office that you carved out of your spare bedroom, so be prepared to buy a good, overhead lighting source so that you can read papers and type on your computer without being in semi-darkness.
