TIPS & LESSONS FOR 2022: REMOTE WORK IS TO STAY

[Anita Kalmane]

Remote work and WFH isn't going away. If you haven't adapted, now it's the right time to do it! Act now!

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For years I've been a big fan of co-located teams and loved going to the office. I'm an introvert, so I did it not for socialising, but for believing that it's the fastest and most efficient way how to work together. You solve issues faster, you brainstorm in an easy way and you can easily approach colleagues for a question or tip.

So when Covid pandemic and WFH started, I was one of the first to deal with it as a temporary thing and even worked from my bedroom from the first days. Literally, in my bed. In denial.

We're now almost 2 years further, and I still haven't got a proper home office. I've got an allocated desk, monitors etc., but no whiteboards, bookshelves or anything else.

In the weekend I finally got an ergonomic chair which works great! (so far using other less optimal chairs) And there are many more things I could invest in to make WFH better (e.g., a standing dask)

So my advice for you - please, don't be me. If you're in denial or miss going to the office, let's face the reality. We might get a chance to do it for a few weeks, until the next pandemic wave where we'll be staying at home for months again.

So get those extra monitors. Keyboard. Good furniture. The right place in your house/apartment. Make it a real office. Dedicate a day for it.

If you're a leader, get your team to do it. Give them time to prioritise it. Promote it. In one of my previous teams, we made a contest on showing your home office and sending tips & tricks to each other, followed by prizes for the most creative solutions - thanks to management for giving us budget to do it.

[Christine P_ Dela Rosa]

Yes! For those who have not accepted at least some element of remote work (if that makes sense for their company), they won't be adjusting their practices (and to your point, @Anita Kalmane, even things like physical environments). And not adjusting practices, even if only for a finite period of time, is going to slow momentum.

[Vero Rivas]

Hi @Anita Kalmane 

   Really, in the first month of being confined at home, I did everything to be comfortable, but above all for a health issue, my back and eyesight were above everything

   Thank God I have returned to the office but my office is still at home for those days that I cannot go, or be prepared in case it is necessary to be confined again (hopefully not)

Cheers

[Fabio Genovese]

Staying at home during the quarantine certainly caused a number of problems and worries, but it also helped the inventiveness and adaptation that distinguishes the Latins, but especially us Sicilians.

We Sicilians are strange people. For years I have had to adapt to very strange and abnormal situations, but I never thought I would have to face a situation like this. Yet my relatives have faced much worse situations and come out alive and well-determined.

During this period I have refined working remotely, trying to turn it into an art. As a modern craftsman, I created my workshop in the most inhospitable place in the world: my home.
Now I wouldn't trade this way and this versatility of working for anything in the world.