Over the past few weeks, our team has offered up a lot of information in terms of creating the best possible remote work environment. We’ve covered the impact on work routines, lessons learned, challenges and solutions, and what we would change about working from home. That being said, when it comes to navigating through the changes, there’s still one more thing to cover.
Adjusting Through the Remote Transition
We’ve asked what our team is doing to stay positive and productive as well as what’s helped them most in adjusting to the transition to close out our series. Here’s what they had to say:
Leaning on Leadership
The leadership team is at the heart of any business. Having leaders who support, value, and prepare their teams is a key component to positivity, productivity, and adjustment.
- “The leadership of two of the companies I am involved in. 1) LockData. Chuck acted swiftly and decisively to move the entire company to full remote while many organizations were still debating what to do. 2) BBVA – the bank is required to perform Pandemic Readiness Drills every year. When the real thing happened, they were ready with a phased approach to move the entire workforce to full time remote. Having the new rules clearly communicated and executed by support staff made all the difference in the world.”
- “Honestly, the leadership team has helped me most with adjusting. We’re very blessed to have leaders who are passionate about their work and each project they assign you and who genuinely care about everybody on the team. Their support has been paramount to the success of this transition (for everyone, I’m sure) but, especially for me. It’s easy to want to work and put in best everyday when you work with such awesome people.”
Mind Based Methods
One of the most powerful tools we have for positivity, productivity, and adjustment is our own brains. We have incredible capacity to push through and our team uses a variety of mental techniques such as meditation, creating rituals, practicing gratitude, and goal setting to make the best of the working from home.
- “I’ve turned to prayer and meditation for positivity. I start each morning by thanking God for the previous day and the day ahead. Whether it was a good day or a bad day, I thank them. I do my best to focus on the present, even though it’s been rather difficult at times. This too shall pass. For productivity, since I can’t physically move my location, I mentally move it. I put on something enjoyable to listen to, and use my headphones to remove outside distractions. It helps me to focus.”
- “With everything going on in my life all at once, positivity has been a struggle. In order to keep positive, I work with a therapist online to manage stress, practice deep breathing and mindfulness exercises, and focus on good things and gratitude. For productivity, I keep a running task list and celebrate a little when items get completed. That goofy little ritual gets me pumped up to complete another task or project and do it again”
- “At times, I wonder if I am staying positive and productive. It is a constant effort, to, at the end of the day, evaluate what I’ve done through the day and try to make sure I keep doing as much or more as I did the day before. Be thankful that we still have a job, and spend time at the end of the day with my family to remind myself why we do this day after day.”
It’s the Little Things
It’s well known and widely accepted that the little things in one’s life can bring the most comfort or happiness. Our team definitely appreciates the little things and uses them to keep them going. One team member keeps up their positivity by making a cup of tea, while others take daily walks, video chat with coworkers as well as family and friends, listen to music, and unwind with a beer (after hours of course!). A couple have even suggested that we maybe look into Online Corporate team building activities as a way to relax and have fun with eachother, while also continuing to foster the teamwork and skills that are so important within a business, which is something we may well do. All the small everyday things have a strong positive impact on mental health in any situation and shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Keep it Light
Beyond the more serious and practical work from home insights our team has learned and shared, collectively we’ve found that keeping things light can be a great way to adjust. Initially when we started out, we did come across a few blogs and many companies (like Fusion Connect) offering reliable tools to work remotely. What we learnt from all of these was that, while taking your work seriously is important both in the office and from your home workspace, not taking yourself too seriously opens the door to a lighter more fun atmosphere. The Lockdata team celebrates with virtual happy hours, plans game nights, and puts themselves out there, in games like #MemeOurTeam, to inject our remote culture with much needed doses of laughter.
Share your Experience!
Now that our team has shared what our work from home experiences, we’d love to hear all about yours. Let us know what’s helped you adjust to being a remote worker and how you stay positive or join in our social media fun and make us a meme! Add your comments below or share your experience on our Facebook page. We’re all in this together.
