Smart working the right way
How to work from home without losing your balance
G-Club
March 17th, 2020
March 17th, 2020
"In order to fight and contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, all the companies’ work activities, excluding those providing essential services and public utilities, may be carried out at home or at a distance". This is part of the decree that all Italians got to know so well, issued to cope with the emergency of the Coronavirus. Smart-working has thus returned to the headlines, as demonstrated by the surge in Google searches.
The first week of forced remote working has ended and a new one just started and in the meantime, the everyday life of many workers has been redefined, and we are all realizing now how today, more than ever, the internet and the digital ecosystem are proving to be fundamental to stay connected and communicate with each other, allowing us to live up to the individual responsibility of each one of us in such a delicate moment. The Ministry of Technological Innovation and Digitization collected lots of services of digital solidarity, such as tools to support the working realities.
Before the current situation, there were 570 thousand Italian smart workers and 58% of large companies in 2019 started projects to promote the implementation of agile working policies. As shown by the analysis of the Smart Working Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, teleworkers are on average more satisfied than those who work in traditional ways, thanks to the desired work-life balance and greater flexibility, as well as more engaged and proud of their company's results. It is also easier for companies to attract (and retain) talents and ensure a higher level of organizational well-being for employees.
We don’t know yet but this unfortunate circumstance might benefit in the future the employees of companies that so far have not been equipped to tackle these needs. In the meantime, we thought to give some useful advice - nss G-Club style - to better live this "new normality" working-life that will accompany us in the coming weeks.
Back to basics
According to psychologists and experts, it is essential to dress and prepare yourself as if you were leaving home, ditching your pyjamas at least. We agree, and here we have given you some inspo for a comfy and stylish outfit.
It is important also to change position often, trying to work on a table or a desk instead of in bed or on the sofa.
Take advantage of natural light as much as possible to avoid straining your eyes too much, yes also to set the night mode to reduce blue light emissions. If the dual-screen is now just a dream, you can at least try some homemade fix or buy something (strictly online) to make sure your computer is at the right height and distance from your eyes.
Change the air in your room often. Don't eat all the time, especially out of meals.
Useful tools to manage your time
The most difficult thing is to ensure the right concentration and mindset in this exceptional situation. There are many distractions, but there are also many tools available free of charge to help us stay focused and disconnect only when necessary, going to recreate our old daily work routine:
Instead of using third-party apps to control our smartphone usage, we can use the features already built-in on both Android and iOS: "digital wellness" and "usage time" respectively. They allow us to control, and thus possibly reduce, the time spent on the phone and on certain apps.
Take a break
You can now find tips on how to spend your time basically everywhere. And if it is true that these tips are particularly useful during the long weekends we spend at home, they are actually well suited also for coffee breaks/cigarette break/lunch break/snack break and between calls. A face to face chat is always ideal, but for those who are at home alone or, worse, with someone they don't get along with could be more complicated than expected.
These are the first suggestions we gave you. Among our favourites, there is to do some physical activity and of course treat yourself with a beauty break, even better if homemade. Keep following us for new ideas on how to spend this second week of quarantine together.