It doesn’t come as a surprise that remote work reduces stress, but did you know that working remotely can increase productivity by up to 13%? A quiet, convenient workspace can be attributed to happier employees who are fully supported in achieving goals together. Trusting your fellow team members and empowering them through clear communication and current, collaborative projects allows a team to flourish.
Here are a few things Fairuz, one of our HR specialists, has experienced over 3 years of hiring customer support specialists while working remotely:
1. Get your time back – enable a life outside of work
When you remove the “getting ready for” and “getting to” work element from your schedule, you find you have plenty of time to do all sorts of things. Whether it’s odd jobs around the house, spending time with your family, catching up with friends, or learning! Removing travel and work prep from your day gives you so much time back that can be spent doing the things you love with the people you love, or spent on well-deserved R&R.
2. Optimize your environment to work better
Working from home simply makes work and life easier. On top of the added free time and reduced amounts of stress, remote work makes meetings easier without needing to find a meeting room or a quiet space to ensure quality communication. Lunch just became a breeze and you’re saving money with a quick meal in your own kitchen or with leftovers.
If you prefer noise or if you favor silence, the choice is yours to alter your space how you see fit. The usual distractions of an office from loud calls or colleagues hanging out at your desk are nonexistent and your environment is fully optimized with your preferred style of workspace. Remote keeps it simple, allowing you to truly optimize for a high-performance work environment that empowers you!
3. Prioritize clear communication
Precise communication is a priority while working remotely. Shared information needs to be clear so there are no questions creating bottlenecks in the workflow. Leaning on tech such as Loom for video demos or Slack for cross-team collaboration enable ease of work and the use of comprehensive communication ensures that you are using the entire 24 hour day to your advantage.
To ensure we are working smarter, we rely on clear communication that prioritizes the listener. Will my message be understood? Will my colleague have questions? Am I using this the best channel for communication? Working within a remote team, distributed across the globe, effective communication is the foundation of our alignment and shared understanding.
4. Action is the key
Action and accountability are some of the greatest indicators of success while working from home. Being accountable includes meeting deadlines, completing tasks, and keeping promises. Establishing and maintaining trust between co-workers in different time zones ensures that you are accomplishing goals and trusting your teammates to keep everyone on course together. Your own action is a part of the entire team’s success, and each individual being held responsible is what keeps momentum going.
5. Learn to separate work and personal life
It’s difficult to separate work and personal life when working from home. Oftentimes the two can start to blur. The key: set boundaries. Creating a schedule for yourself helps to keep you away from after-hours work emails and late messages by giving yourself a healthy and much needed break.
Ideally, you can create a designated workspace in your home, but sometimes, this is not possible. Making a small adjustment to your environment to signal the start and close of the work day can help you differentiate the contrast between work and recreation.
If you’re looking for your next support challenge, check out our careers page or learn more about our remote work culture on the blog!
