Four tips to recreate the best of the workplace at home.
Do you remember what it felt like to work surrounded by colleagues? Things like hearing the sound of a printer or having a chat with a co-worker during a coffee break used to give our days a completely different feeling. With the current state of events, it might seem like this kind of atmosphere is so distant from us, unreachable in the near future. Most of us have adapted to the new routine in one way or another, often leaving certain aspects of the old one behind. When not having as many interactions, working from home can sometimes make all days feel like they blend into one. To change things up a bit, it is worth attempting to recreate some of the details of our office experience that used to make up a pleasant and familiar routine.
1. Staying connected to our colleagues
The relationships between coworkers are essential for creating a good workplace experience. It’s why most HR managers focus on fostering a feeling of belonging within the company. In the absence of a physical workspace, we might need this sense of connection even more than before. Luckily, social interactions are one aspect that can be taken to the digital work environment. But an email or text message might not always be enough to foster this feeling. To make this experience seem more personal, you could consider sending voice/video messages, as well as scheduling calls more often in order to work together or discuss ideas. Additionally, since body language and verbal cues are lost in written messages, this is a much better way to ensure that you and your co-workers are communicating effectively.
The relationships between coworkers are essential for creating a good workplace experience.
2. A digital open-door policy
This is a working from home equivalent to the policy that allows employees to pop into a manager or team leader’s office in order to ask questions, discuss ideas, or pose any concerns they might have. It could be an open, walk-in type of online meeting within a designated time frame of the day, similar to university professors’ office hours. In this way, the manager can stay connected on the call while working, so that employees can log into the call and have a chat with him/her whenever something pops up.
3. The soundscape of an office
While in regular times it may go unnoticed, this is another key element of the workplace environment that could be adapted to remote work. Listening to ambient noises is a common way of creating a workplace experience at home. This website, for instance, has been built with the intention of creating the atmosphere of an office. Due to its interactive nature, you can select the number of co-workers you would like to share the office with and click on individual objects in the room in order to hear different types of sounds. It includes the sounds of water being poured, keyboard typing, footsteps, and low background conversations. Furthermore, these office noises could make you relax, zone out, and increase your focus during working. This could be especially helpful if your living situation makes it more difficult to work in a quiet environment.
4. Digital Friday evening drinks
This is an idea that has been implemented by many companies, and its purpose is meant to respond to the same needs. Informal meetings between colleagues are constructive for team building, and having drinks at home is a good way of having a social break while rewarding employees for a successful week of work.
Changing the environment we are working in has the potential to offer new opportunities for working more effectively than before. In order to make the most out of working from home and to achieve a good balance between work and life, it is a good idea to try and transfer some of the key elements that create a healthy office environment to the home one. A sense of connection is essential for maintaining this, and a few ways that it could be achieved through is by using a combination of online interactions and ambient sounds.
If you have any questions about adapting your house to your own desires and needs, then get in touch with us. We would be happy to help you with the process of redesigning your home in a way that supports your working from home dynamics.
