Working at Home: How to Succeed and Enjoy the Process

Working at Home Isn’t a Trend Anymore

Remote and Hybrid Stats

By 2025, It’s estimated that 32.6 million will work remotely. Pew Research found that in 2023, 35% of workers who can work from home now do so all the time. Most of those workers say they prefer to keep it that way. Whether you own a small business or work for a large corporation, working at home has plenty of benefits and some downsides.

Teleworking As an Employee

Many, though not all, remote workers are contractors, aka 1099 workers. Unscrupulous employers sometimes misuse the contractor designation to save money, even though the legal definitions are clear. New legal issues like these are challenging the teleworking paradigm.

We’ve all heard stories of home workers being over-supervised by invasive electronic monitoring and tracking devices. Equifax recently fired 24 remote workers for “moonlighting” — holding another job while working for Equifax.

Some workers feel it’s none of their employer’s business how or when they work as long as they meet job requirements. The law seems to agree.

Employers should try to develop trust and set reasonable evaluation techniques for teleworkers. They might establish goals and performance indicators based on work product, not hours worked. They could set measurable outcome standards, stop worrying about hours on the time clock, and learn to love a sufficient, effective work product.

Remote Work Is Great, But It Isn’t Perfect

Teleworking reduces or eliminates commuting costs. In December 2023, Statista found that 28% of daily commutes were from 15 to 29 minutes, with 19% saying 30 to 59 minutes. Commuting costs money and hours of your life.

For some people, the traditional office is also a stressful environment. The reasons may be social, psychological, environmental, or disability-related. Working from home can relieve these or other stresses.

However, communication and social isolation can be challenging if you work from home. Busy co-workers may not always respond to your questions or comments as quickly as you would like.  Workers at home miss traditional socialization events like the popular cross-cubicle conference, break room policy discussion, lunchtime progress update, and George Costanza bringing in a tray of shrimp.

Remote Work and Productivity

Does working from home improve productivity? The studies say yes.

According to ergonomic office product producer Ergotron, 40% of office workers report working longer hours for a hybrid or remote job. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that working remotely a few times a month actually increased productivity.

However, going remote can be daunting. It requires motivation, organization, and self-discipline. So, working in the traditional office has its rewards — something to consider. However, teleworking may be the way to go for whatever reason, an entrepreneurial idea, family changes, or a sense of adventure, and these tips will help you be a successful telecommuter.

Navigating Remote and Hybrid Work Effectively

Being professional doesn’t mean being cold, rigid, or impersonal. It means presenting yourself professionally.

• Define work time. Make yourself unavailable to most distractions when you’re working. Schedule your start, stop, and break times. Sign in if it helps.
• Be respectful. You might be rushed and inclined to jump into a conversation or issue snappy directives, but that mass of pixels on the screen in front of you is a human being.
• Avoid micromanagement. Workers resent it, and their performance suffers. Or worse, they’ll quit. A set of well-defined tasks and goals with measurable outcomes prevents the need to micromanage.
• Keep employees in the loop. Imagine a team of a dozen remote workers in a small startup, with everyone working different hours. Michael and Dwight meet to plan website changes. Jim, the technical director, is not at the conference. Jim isn’t aware of the proposed changes. It isn’t hard to see what the outcome could be. Keeping employees appraised of projects that impact them is of the utmost importance.
• Meet regularly. The entire team has to meet regularly on a consistent day and time. Small group meetings support team-of-the-entirety meetings. Set a time limit for meetings and stick to it. Start on time, but allow up to five minutes for a social chat before each meeting.
• Find a communication method. Every successful work-at-home team decides together how to use each method. Designate one for urgent or time-sensitive matters. Choose which you’ll use for FYI communications that don’t need action. Pick one for non-time-sensitive action items. Don’t forget a greeting at the beginning of any message and a thank-you at the end.

Cyber Security with Remote and Hybrid Work

Living in the reality that hybrid and remote work are here to stay, it makes sense that cyber threats are increasing. There’s everything from malware, spyware, ransomware, trojans, and phishing. There are ways to protect yourself as a worker or as a business.

• Use a virtual private network (VPN). There are many available, so do your homework.
• Install high-quality security software.
• Use a password manager. Create ultra-strong passwords, too. Experts now say a strong, unique password should rarely need to be changed for security purposes.
• Grant as-needed access to your digital properties. Don’t give everyone wide-open access, but only what suits their role. If an associate leaves the team permanently, lock them out of all digital properties, such as social media or the CMS (content management system).
• Secure home Wi-Fi. Dump the default password on your gateway and use a long, strong, unique password. Enable network encryption (find it under security settings). Name your network something non-personal — NOT Nancy’s Internet.
• Know how to use conference platforms securely. Read the app instructions and security tips for Zoom and other apps.
• Install all security updates. Don’t delay updating your software, apps, and platforms.
• Keep a watchful eye. If you notice something unusual happening in a digital platform, investigate it or report it to the person in charge of IT.

Technical Challenges

The first thing to do when you encounter technical challenges is remind yourself not to panic. Everyone encounters tech issues. Use these steps depending on what applies to you:

• Cultivate a relationship with the company’s IT people.
• Try Google and YouTube.
• Consider reaching out to local retail consumer tech shops for advice.
• Pay an expert if quick fixes don’t work.

If you plan on long-term remote working, consider taking classes — online or off — in simple computer maintenance.

Equipping Your Workspace for the Long-Term

Keep Your Equipment Updated

It might be time to replace the old laptop with a newer one to ensure you use the most up-to-date equipment. You don’t want all that progress you made on that document to be lost because Microsoft Word crashes on your 2010 Macbook Air.  Get a quality printer as well if you have the room.

Stock The Necessities

Even if you only work part-time or occasionally in your home office space, ensure you have what you need. Nothing is more annoying than spending five minutes searching for a paper clip, the stapler, or a postage stamp when you’re in the zone and getting things done.

Splurge on a High-Quality Chair

You want to be comfortable, especially if you spend lots of time sitting. New chair tags tell you what body weight the piece is rated for and how many hours you can spend in it without your body becoming fatigued. The chair is the best investment you might ever make. Don’t scrimp.

Spruce It Up That Remote Workspace!

If you work remotely, there is no reason to occupy a barren, uninteresting space. Make your workspace appealing. If you’re lucky enough to claim an entire room for your home office, fill it with things that inspire, relax, or uplift you.

Choose Colors You Love

Fill the room with light, preferably natural light. Even if your office is carved out of a smaller space, you can soften and beautify it, even if it’s just a corner nook. Choose lamps or lights that don’t glare or cast shadows. Avoid strong color casts and arrange your desk so light doesn’t reflect on your computer display.

Create Harmony Between Work and Family

If you’re going to make it as a remote worker, teach your family that desk time is work time. Take frequent breaks to touch base with whoever is at home. Try this trick with your kids: Hand them paper and markers. Set a timer for 30 minutes. They can draw pictures or make notes of their thoughts.

Vary Your Activity

We tend to stay glued to a chair for hours when we’re busy and focused. However, you’ll be more productive if you switch tasks from time to time. Work at your desk for an hour or two, then do 15 minutes of filing to change body position and clear your mind. Make a few phone contacts or catch up on relevant reading to break up the day. Do five minutes of stretches or jumping jacks every 90 minutes. You’ll be healthier and more energetic.

Consider a Coffee Shop

A lot of people are turning to coffee shops as workplaces if you work from a laptop. This can be advantageous for a couple of reasons. First, it allows you to spruce up your environment through a change of scenery. It also boasts easy access to coffee that you don’t have to brew yourself.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, it allows you to be surrounded by other people. Having a community around you can increase productivity, like how going to a gym and seeing others work out inspires you to keep exercising. Being in a populated space can also make you feel less alone and more social.

Is a Remote or Hybrid Gig for You?

It takes a unique personality and work style to carry off a work-at-home gig. However, the rewards are enormous if you can do it, and these tips should help. At the end of the day, you are the only person who can guarantee a successful mix of business and comfort at home.

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[Editors’ Note: To learn more about this and related topics, you may want to attend the following on-demand webinars (which you can view at your leisure, and each includes a comprehensive customer PowerPoint about the topic):

1. Marketing Mastery: Crafting a Message that Resonates
2. Protecting Your Employee Assets: The Life Cycle Of The Employment Relationship / Welcome to the Team! Recruiting & Hiring, Including Restrictive Covenants
3. Time for a Break: Managing Leaves of Absence and Accommodating Disabilities

This is an updated version of an article originally published on November 7, 2022.]

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