How to make “Work From Home” Fun and Productive?

How to make “Work From Home” Fun and Productive?

Gone are the days when people used to rush to the office, scrambling for house keys and frantically searching for a cab ride.  A study of 2019 found 61% of global companies allow their staff to have remote working in some way or another. Given the current situation, these numbers have seen a drastic increase!  Work from Home or WFH is ‘The New Normal’ and is here to stay in the post COVID world.

The challenge now for the HRs and the managers is to make this situation a fun at the same time productive experience. Studies have shown that a couple of months into the WFH situation, people experience fatigue and burnout due to uncertain expectations and unrestricted working hours. 

Although, work from home can be great, there some challenges that your employees are bound to face. Let’s have a look at these.

Here are some easy ways you can make remote working fun-

Lack of in-person supervision: 

Now working in office creates a challenging and thriving environment that naturally motivates the employees to perform their tasks in a better way.

But the lack of supervision can affect negatively influence the workflow.

New ambiance challenges:

For some employees, working from home is the whole new ambiance. There can be a delay in information exchange because it is mostly e shared via e-mail or through company based chat software like slacks.

Social withdrawal: 

Isolation is one of the most constant complaints about working from home. Since not all employees live with families, the lack of social interaction can affect an individual’s productivity.

Disturbances at home: 

Some of your employees who live with their families will be surrounded by kids as well. It can get a little demanding and employees might not well stay focused. This creates a suboptimal workspace.

If there are problems, solutions find their way in to combat with them. Thus, we have provided below tips to keep work from home fun and productive. As an organization, your role is greater in helping your employees maintain a work-life balance since it will get a little tricky given the situation.

1. Provide the tech infrastructure and productivity tools to your teams

Before declaring work from home, ensure every member of your team has the right laptop/computer, and a good internet connection. And if not, you have to ensure the arrangement has been made.

The expenses incurred will be worth the productivity.

2. Be there for emotional as well as professional support

Since all employees are working from home, at the times it will be stressful for them, you as the boss have to understand and back them up emotionally.

You have to go beyond being just a boss, be a friend. Your team members will definitely be motivated.

3. Establish daily check-in and check-out hours

From the very start, establishing check-hours, so the day starts and ends for all team members together. This promises synchronization and everybody is available at the same time if any issues occur.

You can use various software to track working hours and check-in and check-out timings. Here are some examples of efficient time tracking software-

Some of the software offer free trial periods and in some software, the basic plans are available for free.

4. Fun Fridays are not only for office 

Don’t restrict Zoom meetings just for work, but on Fridays, having a fun zoom meeting with all team members can make “work from home” blues disappear. According to a LinkedIn study, It observed an improvement in the overall happiness of 46% of employees after having a constant face to face interaction with office friends.

Additionally, team-building exercises are not restricted to only the offices, inculcate them in remote working as well.

Some fun games and team-building exercises and fun games that the work from a home employee can enjoy-

  1. Virtual Games- Pictionary, Charades, Draw a Picture
  2. Bucket List Challenge- Ask all our employees to list down their bucket list, this will be a great ice-breaker and a relaxing activity. You can do this over a meeting
  3. Movie Night- via video conferencing and many more.

5. Celebrate and appreciate small wins of your team members

The managers today have to effectively communicate and support team members working from home. Support and boost your team’s confidence and celebrate their success and recognize their effort.

Here are some ways-

  • Gift them Amazon coupons (or other e-commerce website’s coupons)
  • You can also give them a day off, nothing beats that!
  • Tickets to the movies

As an employee, if your company has a great work culture and goes beyond to make work from home a cakewalk, give them by working on time and efficiently. Distractions are unavoidable and cause frustration and affect your productivity. But keep them at bay by following the below suggestions.

 

  • Set some rules and make sure your privacy is respected by your family members, especially during calls and video meetings.
  • Always dress for the day, it will help you maintain the professional ambiance.
  • Avoid working in the living room, since there will a lot of footfall. Find a quiet room or corner in the room to do your work.
  • Stay away from social media and use it after office works.
  • You can work your WFM timings with your manager, and reach a mutual decision. Always convey and communicate with your managers so your productivity is affected.
  • Taking short breaks in helps you maintain a work-life balance and increases productivity.

We hope that these tips and suggestions will help you both, managers and employees, perform better at your work, and together you will be able to reap the benefits of work from home. Nearly 40% of companies already practiced Work from home and it is quite a common culture. Stay positive and stay healthy.