Telecommuting and working from home are getting a lot of attention this month from local businesses, as many companies are being told by health officials to prepare for the novel coronavirus COVID-19 to affect employees.
For some businesses, this may mean allowing employees to work from home while caring for sick loved ones or -- in a worst-case scenario -- closing an office or workplace to prevent the spread of the virus.
This is already the case in the Seattle area and in some other cities, where companies are encouraging employees to work from home if they can. For small restaurants, it can be painful as lunch crowds dwindle and coffee shops see fewer people stopping by for that morning dose of caffeine.
Unfortunately here in Alexandria, coronavirus may also hurt tourism, one of the area's major economic forces. According to Visit Alexandria, "The tourism sector is particularly sensitive to an outbreak, because most travel is discretionary. Although there are no current domestic travel restrictions, it’s important that businesses in the travel sector plan for the potential implications for both visitors and employees. To help you plan now, Visit Alexandria encourages all Alexandria businesses to keep informed about coronavirus developments and establish policies to deal with an escalation of severity."
Is your company set up for telecommuting?
Last year ahead of the Summer Metro Shutdown, Alexandria Living Magazine talked to several people about their telecommuting set up, from what they needed to be successful to how to set up their home offices for maximum productivity. Here's some of what those residents said at the time:
As a computer programmer, the company Rachel Schoenbaum Jaffe works for has the technology and systems in place to support telecommuting, such as video conferencing and collaboration software. Her company also provided a monitor, docking station and other equipment.
Not all companies can do that, and companies who are considering sending employees home to work should assess the software and hardware they have to support remote workers now, just in case the novel Coronavirus COVID-19 starts to affect employees.
Erin Hawk, who owns an international education organization, works from her home in the Alexandria area and also manages people who work from home.
“I think you have to be honest with yourself, your work environment and your employer. As an employer, you have to build a culture of trust with your employees and you have to keep it real,” she said.
Before starting a telecommuting arrangement, both people should have an understanding about how frequently they should communicate, how quickly they should respond to emails, time-lines and more. Especially at the beginning of a telecommuting arrangement, “I think employees and employers have to be really good about communicating what their needs are,” she said.
Lisa McLaughlin, who owns a products company in Alexandria and works from home, also manages a part-time assistant and several remote contractors. “Another thing to remember is that if I was an employee switching to work from home, I’d really appreciate my manager telling me what they expect.”
Setting Up a Dedicated Workspace
Whether you’re working from a corner of the dining room table or have a spare bedroom, having a dedicated work space free from distractions during work hours is critical to your telecommuting success.
“Start mentally thinking about that as your work space, even if it’s not a room,” Jaffe said.
Hawk is fortunate to have the space to be able to work from a spare bedroom. “To me, it’s always been important to have a door that I can close,” she said. Her setup includes a desk, printer, scanner and a dedicated phone line.
If you expect to have any video conferences, you’ll want to make sure your computer and camera are set up in an appropriate location. A clean, quiet and professional background will come across better than a view of your messy kitchen, screaming toddler or barking dog. (This also gives those who work from home a good reason to shower and get dressed.)
Get Good Equipment
Working from the couch may be comfortable for a little while, but your back and neck will start hurting eventually. For health reasons (and to increase your productivity), it’s important to have a proper setup.
For most desk jockeys, that means getting a high-quality, adjustable office chair. A reliable high-speed Internet connection is critical for most jobs. In addition, you may want a headset for lengthier calls. A larger monitor than the one on your laptop, and a keyboard and mouse or trackpad can also help.
Make Some Family Rules
Just like work can creep into non-working hours, chores and errands can creep into work time. It may be especially tricky to juggle work and life if you are working from home to take care of a sick loved one, or if schools are closed due to a coronavirus outbreak. (Alexandria City and Fairfax County have no plans to close schools as of now, but schools have closed in Seattle and New York due to outbreaks.)
Hawk noted that it's very difficult to be productive working from home while watching little kids, for example.
“You cannot be 100 percent present for either of those things if you’re trying to do both. I don’t care how good of a multitasker you are,” Hawk said. “I’m not doing justice to my kids and I’m not doing justice to my work when I’m trying to do both.”
That means that you may want to talk to your human resources department about using sick time if you have it instead of trying to telework.
Trying to do everything can increase your stress level, which can negatively affect your immune system.
If you are able to work from home successfully, productively and you enjoy doing it, you may want to talk to your boss about making telecommuting a permanent arrangement once the worst of the coronavirus concerns have passed.
