{"id":266930,"date":"2020-04-06T09:35:26","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T16:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genesys.com\/?post_type=blog&p=266930"},"modified":"2020-04-06T09:35:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T16:35:26","slug":"staying-safe-and-sane-in-a-work-from-home-world","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.genesys.com\/en-gb\/blog\/post\/staying-safe-and-sane-in-a-work-from-home-world","title":{"rendered":"Staying Safe \u2014 and Sane \u2014 in a Work-From-Home World"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The orders to stay in and work from home, if you can, got me thinking: Working remotely is an accepted norm at Genesys. We\u2019re a widely distributed company and, for many of my colleagues, working out of their homes every day is already a fact of life. And even those of us with corporate offices to go to work remotely some days to ease difficult commutes or focus better on key projects \u2014 all while staying available through tools like the Genesys CloudTM<\/sup> platform and Zoom. Before COVID-19, nearly every Zoom meeting included a couple of people working from their home offices. Today, of course, we\u2019re all calling in from the spare bedroom, dining room, home office, or using a virtual background<\/a> to hide the kids and pets behind us.<\/p>\n

These days, it seems like everyone has a guide for successful home working, from the Verge<\/a> to NPR<\/a> to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From the IT perspective, successful remote work starts with the technological underpinnings<\/a> that make it possible. And, while we often think of security as something the IT team handles, there are some things we can do from home to help. Use the company VPN; work on the company-provided software programs; make sure to install all updates when you\u2019re prompted. These steps might seem obvious, but when\u2019s the last time you changed the password that lets people adjust the setting in your home internet WiFi router? Cybercriminals know that so many of us are remote \u2014 our home networks are their new targets as they seek to steal corporate information.<\/p>\n

Being Effective and Staying Sane<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next there are habits that help us succeed. Some experts recommend putting on your normal business clothes, whether that\u2019s a suit or a hoodie and jeans, while others think it\u2019s okay to get comfortable \u2014 without showing up for video calls in your pajamas. Other experts recommend recreating your normal commute to get you into the right frame of mind, though I can\u2019t figure out how to stretch the walk downstairs into my regular 90-minute morning drive time.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s right about this though, is that what I\u2019m usually doing during my commute is getting psyched up for the day, making my mental task list and problem solving. So, give yourself some warm-up time. Meditate, make a real breakfast, ride the Peloton, take the dog for a walk. Do whatever works into your life to give you some mental prep time between rolling out of bed and sitting down to work.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get stuck in the chair. It\u2019s far too easy to start early and keep working on through till evening. Sure, my furry colleague nudges my knee for a treat a couple of times a day and I have to get up to visit the kitchen occasionally, but it\u2019s really easy to just keep working. That \u201cone more thing\u201d becomes another two hours. Set real working hours or boundaries for yourself, just as if you were the office. There will always be the urgent project or emergency that demands more time, but make sure that it\u2019s really an emergency that\u2019s keeping you in the chair for extra-long hours.<\/p>\n

If you have kids, you already know that, even though regular family life takes much planning and organisation, having everyone home together takes even more planning than usual. In the article, \u201c5 Tips to Balance Remote Working While Your Family is Also at Home<\/a>,\u201d Forbes has some great ideas, but the one that seems most important is to remember that navigating change is hard. Be kind to yourself. And if your child ends up in a video conference, it\u2019s not the end of the world.<\/p>\n

Making the Human Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anxiety, stress and depression are on the rise as we hide away at home. There\u2019s never been a better time to use our technical tools to make human connections. The Genesys Cloud<\/a> platform and other communication and collaboration apps make it easy to check in on key questions and details, brainstorm, and keep projects moving forward. But don\u2019t just use them for work effectiveness. Check in with colleagues and see how they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Video conferences, though, are the workhorse of distance communications. Even if you are introverted to the core, turn on your computer camera. We all communicate better face-to-face, and video makes it easy to share the visual aids that increase understanding or whiteboard our ideas for the team. Plus, the small discussions and laughs we share as everyone joins the call are as close as running into someone in the hallway as we\u2019re going to get for a while. On the personal side, I hear of people using video conferences for happy hour, brunch, three-hour late night calls across two time zones, and long-distance extended family get-togethers.<\/p>\n

This connection with each other, whether it\u2019s getting things done with colleagues or checking in on the people we love but don\u2019t live with, is critical. Right now, we understand that we\u2019re all in this together. These days, it\u2019s easy to be kind and have empathy for others. And we always want more of what we can\u2019t have, including time with loved ones.<\/p>\n

Things continue to change and we\u2019re still taking this crisis day by day. But, one day our lives will return to \u201cnormal,\u201d though it won\u2019t be the normal it was before. I hope we can carry forward empathy, the need to make time for loved ones and the sense of being all in it together. And I hope that one of the key things we learn we put to work in the post-virus world is how to be a connected, cohesive and effective work team \u2014 no matter where we\u2019re located.<\/p>\n

Keep your customer service team safe and enable them to work remotely \u2014 quickly. Genesys Rapid Response is available for any organisation, including existing Genesys customers<\/a> as well as other businesses, government agencies and non-profits<\/a>. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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