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November 29, 2022

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Remote Work Digest: November 29, 2022

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

7 Tips to Manage a Fully Remote International Business | Max Azarov, Entrepreneur.com

More companies are ditching the overhead costs of dedicated office spaces and unlocking global growth opportunities by transitioning to a fully remote business operation.

While the potential benefits are significant, business leaders will face various challenges. Follow these tips to manage your fully remote company better.

1.Clearly define your mission and vision

A clearly defined and adequately communicated mission and vision are vital for every successful remote business as this serves as a roadmap to guide the actions of every employee and the organization.

2. Don’t think local. Think global.

A fully remote business gives you access to new markets and a global customer base and opens up opportunities to tap into global talent pools. Don’t fall into the trap of keeping hiring strategies and recruitment drives contained to home markets.

3. Build a company culture based on accountability

The lack of oversight of employee time often causes concern for business leaders as their company transitions from a brick-and-mortar operation to a fully remote business. While keeping tight rein on working hours is tempting, it is vital that every remote business finds the balance between flexibility and accountability. Rigid rules and set hours can stifle innovation and complicate working arrangement.

Instead, give employees the flexibility to structure their workdays around their individual needs, circumstances and preferences. The key is set to clear expectations regarding outputs and deliverables rather than tightly monitoring their inputs.

4. Empower your employees to act independently

Fostering a culture of trust nurtures other positive traits within a remote workforce, such as curiosity, bravery, innovative thinking and bold experimentation. The freedom and confidence to explore, develop and try new methodologies and new ways of working can create a competitive advantage for your organization.

5. Prioritize talent and experience

Bringing in people with expertise and experience means you get staff who can self-manage and work with freedom while delivering the quality outputs they require.

6. Implement technologies that help employees

Technology offers the ideal solution to transcend the geographic boundaries and tie zones that remote international companies deal with daily.

7. Champion international communication

Remote teams must frequently communicate transparently and correctly, regardless of the channel. Management and leadership must ensure they can effectively convey their messages to the right targets. Effective communication fosters trust through transparency and ensures remote employees clearly understand their tasks, roles and responsibilities.

Creating multiple channels for staff to give their feedback and opinions, ask questions, share ideas, profile great work or simply voice their concerns allows remote workers to communicate their value and makes them feel heard and empowered.

4 ways to Make Your Workspace More Productivity | Ali Bajwa,  Techbullion.com

Many external factors have an impact on the productivity of the individual. Studies have shown that changing the state of the workspace can increase productivity by 25%. Many high-end companies optimize the workspace to improve the productivity of the workforce. 

The vibe of the office influences the productivity of the employees and the workplace. A few simple changes like changing the layout of the space, taking short breaks, and limiting the use of social media boost productivity levels.

There are surely some ways to increase productivity, however, you can develop new habits and take the right steps to stay productive in the long run.

Change the Physical Layout of the Workspace

Refining the physical layout of the workspace is crucial to creating a productive office atmosphere. Once you have established what needs to be changed, plan a layout for the workspace considering the major elements, for instance, cubicles, space for new projects, and storage.

Add Colors to Boost Mood

Get rid of dull colors that make you feel tired and bored, conversely, add a pop of colors that increase the employee’s appetite for work. Replace lackluster colors with specific colors that contribute to promoting productivity.

  • Blue – Blue promotes peace, calmness, concentration, and clear thought. Surrounding the space with this color enhances productivity and helps generate fresh ideas.
  • Green – It is a suitable color for a high-stress office atmosphere, making the employees feel relaxed and calm.
  • Red – This color is known to accelerate heart rate, therefore, linked with improved performance. With its aggressive energy, it urges employees to be active and energetic.
  • Yellow – Most experts do not consider it an appropriate color for an office, however, it triggers positive emotional expenses and is associated with increased energy levels.

Organize

Take time to declutter space from time to time and throw out unnecessary stuff. Changing the layout will only work if you keep the space organized and the workforce has easy access to things they need.

It is best to organize digitally so you do not have to spend time sorting through documents, apps, and files. A well-organized physical and digital workspace will save time and boost productivity and performance.

Experts reveal factors in the workplace that could be increasing staff turnover | Rebecca Tomes, Ifamagazine.com

Employee wellbeing experts Loopin have highlighted six of the major factors in the workplace that could lead to a high staff turnover, from lack of opportunities and purpose, to overworked employees, all of which contribute to huge employee turnover costs.  

Little opportunity for growth

Offering promotions for existing employees rather than hiring externally is one way to provide opportunities for growth. Communication is key in this instance to ensure that staff have clarity on how they need to perform in order for this to be possible, for example, a checklist of targets over a realistic time frame – this way, both you and the employees can assess how close they are to the next step. Alternatively, providing relevant training courses for staff allows them to educate themselves and stay up to date with the sector, thus being an excellent opportunity for growth.      

Lack of feedback

Offering feedback to employees is a small implementation that can go far – not only does it show recognition, but it’s also a huge factor that can help them succeed.  Regular 1-1s are an excellent opportunity to provide feedback, as it gives employees the chance to address any areas they are particularly struggling in.    

Lack of flexible working

Flexible working options offer a practical solution for employees. It can help those using unreliable public transport, those who need to take their children to school, or those with pets, to name a few. Implementing flexible working options where employees can be more autonomous and set their own schedules offers a healthier work-life balance; without it, employees may turn to a different company that does provide this benefit.      

Overworking employees

 Of course, there may be times when employees will have additional responsibilities. Particularly whilst many companies are making significant redundancies, resulting in employees having a bigger workload. However, managers must monitor the workload of all employees and find ways to protect them from burnout and stress caused by unavoidable workloads. Without doing so, staff are more likely to search for another role that offers a better work-life balance. On the other hand, employees must have enough work and understand their contribution to the make-up of the organisation’s overall mission, vision, and success.     

Feeling undervalued and unappreciated

Free lunches and table football are great, but they barely scratch the surface when it comes to creating a culture where employees feel appreciated, cared for, and understood. If employees feel their work is not valued and their contributions go unnoticed, they are likely to lack motivation and may consider leaving their current role for a job that is more rewarding and enjoyable.    

Understanding an employee’s concerns, values, needs, and hopes for the future is crucial to retain your top talent. Efforts should be made to communicate and understand individuals’ needs and inspirations, so their hard work can be recognized in a way that has the maximum impact.

Top employee cybersecurity tips for remote work and travel | Roy Zur, Venturebeat.com

While technology has made significant strides in protecting us from ourselves, working remotely can quickly go south if we don’t take basic cybersecurity precautions. This article covers a range of security best practices for remote work and travel. Obviously, not every tip applies to every situation. That said, it is crucial to understand your current and future surroundings, assess their relative risk and take steps to protect your credentials, devices and confidential data.

Here are some tips to help improve your security posture during remote work or travel.

Do this first: Lock your SIM card

Trip or no trip,lock your SIM card. SIM-jacking (or SIM-swapping, unauthorized port-out or “slamming”) is a real and underreported crime where threat actors pretend to be you, contact your wireless provider and “port over” your SIM card to your (their) “new phone.” Imagine someone stealing your entire online life, including your social media accounts.

Cybersecurity tips for remote and traveling workers

Create a strong password (with upper and lower case letters, distinctive characters, and several characters long). Never store passwords on your person or on the phone, including in the notes section. Ideally, your employer should be using a password manager, but chances are they’re not. According to SpecOps’ 2022 Weak Password Report, 54% of businesses do not use a password manager. Even more troubling, 48% of organizations don’t have user verification for calls to the IT service desk.

Patch and update every device you are using, including apps. Do the same for the browsers and everything else you’re running on those devices. In August 2022, Apple put out the word that unpatched versions of iPads, iPhones and Macs could be essentially taken over by threat actors. Make sure everything is current as you step into an unfamiliar environment.

Use two-factor authentication (2FA) everywhere and with everything. When choosing how to receive the authentication code, always opt for token over text as it’s much more secure. At Black Hat 2022, a Swedish research team demonstrated exactly how insecure text authentications are. If a hacker has your login credentials and phone number, text-based authentication simply won’t protect you.

Security and travel: Leaving the home office

Leave sensitive data at home. Don’t bring devices containing personally identifiable information (PII) or confidential company documents. Do you use a particular laptop for online banking and signing mortgage docs? Leave it at home. Want to take your work computer on holiday? Reconsider. What happens to your career if company secrets fall into the wrong hands? Of course, taking your laptop on a business trip is expected, but just make sure it’s free of your personally identifiable information.

Use RFID blockers to shield your passport and credit cards from “contactless crime.” While contactless payments are convenient at grocery stores and toll booths, they can be quite problematic within range of threat actors employing radio frequency identification (RFID) scanners. An RFID scanner in the wrong hands allows hackers to simply walk past a group of people and unmask identifiable card information.

Wrapping up

As you can see, most cybersecurity when traveling involves front-end preparation. Like everything else security-related, it’s crucial to keep systems, software and browsers updated and patched. When traveling abroad, understand that not everywhere is home of the free. Know where you’re going and what their local privacy laws are.

In summary, keep a low profile when working remotely or traveling. Don’t take any chances or unnecessary risks.

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May 30, 2022

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Remote Work Digest: May 30, 2022

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

11 Ways To Increase Productivity While Minimizing Stress | Forbes Coaches Council, Forbes.com

11 members of Forbes Coaches Council discuss how to achieve this “impossible dream”.

1.Create A Detailed Schedule

Everybody has the same amount of time, but it’s how you manage your time that matters. The best thing a client can do is create a schedule. That schedule should be their boss and every single day they should do exactly what the schedule tells them to do. They have to be very detailed because time management matters the most. – Ryan Stewman, Break Free Academy

2.Balance Work And Personal Goals

Balancing work and personal goals is important to remain productive. Increasing productivity requires taking a break from tasks, focusing instead on what is motivating you to achieve your outcomes. Inward reflection through journaling is helpful when recognizing the triggers that may be causing you to become overwhelmed. A conversation with a mentor is also effective for objective clarity and insight. – Reena Khullar Sharma, Agilis Executive Consulting

3.Blend Work And Life Responsibilities

Balancing work and personal goals is important to remain productive. Increasing productivity requires taking a break from tasks, focusing instead on what is motivating you to achieve your outcomes. Inward reflection through journaling is helpful when recognizing the triggers that may be causing you to become overwhelmed. A conversation with a mentor is also effective for objective clarity and insight. – Reena Khullar Sharma, Agilis Executive Consulting

4.Schedule Time To Rest And Recharge

Productivity is all about focus and energy. If either one is low due to being overworked or overwhelmed, it will ultimately affect the results. I would recommend the client schedule time in their week to recharge by doing things they enjoy, as this has been shown to boost energy. I would also get them to work in time slots with time in between for rest to ensure focus doesn’t dip. – Othman Abdulrasheed, Business Leadership Consulting

5.Start Each Day With 15 Minutes Alone

Overwhelm and stress take over when we aren’t focused on the truly important things. We become stressed when we allow people and daily crises to distract us. I recommend clients start each day spending 15 minutes alone before responding to emails or calls. They should identify three things that must be accomplished that day to ensure key priorities to move forward, and then allow space for interruptions that deserve attention. – Christine Grimm, Aria Consulting International

6.Experiment With Faith And Creativity

The first step is always cultivating faith that it’s possible to shift your situation. Many of us never make it past that first step. The more we cling to the idea that we are a victim of our own situation — even our own success — the less able we are to act with faith and creativity to experiment with new structures in working, including boundaries, focus on priorities, saying “no,” etc. – Tevis Trower, Balance Integration Corporation

7.Practice Time Management Techniques

Try time management techniques like prioritization and saying “yes, but not now.” Manage time by date to avoid crushing yourself with commitments. Automate or delegate everything you can, and meditate or exercise first thing in the morning to enhance focus. Change meeting times from 60 to 55 minutes and from 30 to 25 minutes, and do more standing meetings internally (even remotely) to keep them short. – Jennifer Wilson, ConvergenceCoaching, LLC

8.Apply Creative Procrastination

Apply creative procrastination by focusing on the 20% of activities that give you 80% of the value. Then, procrastinate on the rest. Also, block at least 24 hours a week for your most important client — yourself! And stay away from work. You will be a lot more productive and a lot more clear about what needs to be done, what can be avoided or what should be delegated after that. – Masha Malka, The One Minute Coach Corp.

9.Focus On Just Thing At A Time

People must remember they can only do one thing at a time. I find stress comes from trying to multitask rather than completing something first and then moving on to another issue. Sometimes there are emergencies, but most often competing tasks can be managed in their own time and not overlap current objectives. – John Lowe, Ty Boyd, Inc.

10.Operate From Your Strengths, Sweet Spot

Operate from your sweet spot. Particularly when facing stress and adversity, you should try to identify what special skills and talents you have that are relevant to the circumstances and operate from that place. By using your strengths, your confidence will go up, your stress will subside, your productivity will increase and you will ease into the challenge. – Agata Dulnik, Ph.D., Global Leadership Experts

11.Get Grounded In Reality And The Now

The most important action for this client is to get grounded in reality and the now. We are really good at “creating a mountain out of a molehill,” to quote my mom. Savagely reduce the to-do list. Last week, a client complained about their to-do list, which had 14 projects on it. In reality, five of those projects were done and four hadn’t kicked off yet, cutting the list from 14 to five. – Pamela Scott, MentorLoft

6 Office Design Trends That Truly Boost Employee Productivity | GN Feature Story, Gineersnow.com

While efficiency and productivity are two words that are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Efficiency is a metric that states the amount of output per input. In other words, how much work we get done for each hour we work. Productivity, on the other hand, is a metric that states the amount of output per unit of input. In other words, how much work we get done for each hour we work. This is where office design can truly make a difference. The following are some of the most important office design trends that help to boost productivity.

Flexible space

In this kind of office, it is not uncommon to see people working in a comfortable lounge area, at a standing desk, or in a private cubicle. The ability to choose where to work improves employee productivity because it makes them more motivated. It also allows them to work better in teams because they don’t feel like they have to be in the same area all the time. The ability to choose where to work is also good for employee satisfaction and retention.

A blend of semi-private, private, and open workspaces

Trends in office design are constantly changing, especially when it comes to the way companies treat their employees. As offices are becoming more and more open, the need for privacy is still big. Thus, more and more companies are beginning to use “semi-private” and “private” spaces to cater to the needs of their employees. In fact, a study by Deskmag shows that private, semi-private, and open spaces all contribute to an increased level of employee productivity. Quoting the study: “Private space or semi-private space can be designed to optimize focused work, while open space can be designed to promote collaboration.”

Basic care and nurturing tools

If you’re looking at ways to improve productivity in the office, the first thing you need to do is make the office one that fosters a sense of comfort, connection, and care. The best offices have a few elements of care and nurturing that make it a place for people to come together and be happy to be there.

A safe and healthy workplace design

Building a safe and healthy workplace design should be one of the first things that you do when you start a new business. As a matter of fact, as you’re designing your office, you should keep in mind that employees’ health is directly related to their productivity. For example, one recent study showed that workers exposed to natural light reported less tiredness and were more productive. Creating proper workstation setups with ergonomic seating and standard desk height are other examples of how making your office design more healthy can increase productivity.

More lighting

One of the most important things to pay attention to in your office is lighting. Lighting is not just about creating a good environment but also about increasing productivity. Employees are more productive when they are more comfortable.

Noise masking

One of the most common things we see in offices is noise. Noise, even when it is not a disruptive amount, can be a barrier to productivity. The right office design can help to keep your employees focused and feeling at their creative best with noise masking.

Maintaining A Healthy Company Culture Remotely | Ginni Saraswati, Forbes.com

Company culture is an essential aspect of any organization. In fact, it’s really what breeds success, speed and retention of some of the best talent. But not every company has a culture that supports its employees and contractors well. A positive company culture can be challenging to maintain when there is no central, in-person office environment. Yet investing in how to build and maintain a company culture is one of the most effective components to the company’s success, whether you’re in-person, remote or hybrid.

How a company approaches maintaining a healthy company culture involves several factors. Here are five ways companies can prioritize their company culture even as their team members work from home.

1.Open Communication and Transparency

Leadership should continue to communicate company goals, successes, opportunities and problems with their remote workforce. Leadership can achieve open communication through weekly meetings, an active Slack channel or even in-person, all-hands meetings if that is an option. The important thing is building a connection outside of the formalities.

2.Trust Your Employees and Avoid Micromanagement

Having a remote workforce requires leadership to trust their employees. When it comes to new hires, I like to put all of my trust and faith in them to allow room for the new hire to show up exactly as they intend to. This quickly helps establish how long their tenure will be at the organization. And, if the pandemic taught us anything, it was that companies could still be very productive even if their employees were working from home.

3.Work/Life Balance

Most employees agree that a healthy work/life balance is important to maintain, especially when working remotely. Companies can bolster that balance in a remote work environment by giving employees benefits like generous PTO, reasonable work schedules and the means to prioritize self-care.

4.Onboarding and Supporting Professional Growth

If a remote worker’s onboarding process is confusing, unorganized or doesn’t fall within the job description that they were initially sold on when they were hired, retaining that employee will be difficult. A solid, organized and welcoming onboarding process is necessary to introduce new employees to the company culture and ensure that the people you are bringing in are the right fit.

5.Keep Things Fun

These may sound like buzz words, but a focus on fun can be a boon to healthy company culture. Playing games during company meetings designed to get to know more about our remote co-workers is a great way to break the monotony of staid company meetings. If remote workers live within the same city, organizing happy hours or dinners can give those employees a way to socialize while also giving them something to look forward to.

Remote work is here to stay for the long run. Building a robust remote team takes dedication to the company mission and realizing that healthy company culture is paramount to employee happiness and retention.

Hybrid work: 4 ways to strengthen teams and boost productivity | Patrick Morley, Enterprisersproject.com

As companies shift to hybrid work, we need to redefine teamwork to ensure every employee is happy and productive, whether they’re in the office or remote. Here are four ways to promote better teamwork in a hybrid world.

1.Design your office to make remote workers feel included

Redesigning meeting rooms and boardrooms to make remote workers feel like they’re part of the group can go a long way toward promoting inclusion. Maybe that means investing in higher-quality microphones so remote workers can hear the conversation more succinctly or installing better cameras from higher vantage points so they can get a clearer sense of who’s speaking. Some offices even feature large screens in their conference rooms to display remote participants better.

2.Set up regular ‘meet-and-greets’ for employees

The shift to hybrid work offers a golden opportunity to build camaraderie among your employees through carefully curated meet-and-greets. It may not be as organic as engaging in person on the first day of work, but setting up allotted times for individuals to meet each other one-on-one can help foster that community feeling.

Arrange schedules for employees to meet in person when possible – but if one employee is in the office and the other happens to be working remotely, that can work too. These sessions are intended to encourage colleagues to form relationships with each other. This helps everyone feel more invested in the team and their collective goals.

3.Place more value on the well-being of your employees

Conduct regular well-being sessions with your employees and ask questions that go beyond “Is everything OK?” Consider the following examples:

  • What do you need from me and the business to enable you to work effectively?
  • Has anything changed from when we last spoke about the support we provide? Is your home working environment still sufficient?
  • Which recent company announcements or changes do you have questions about or would like me to clarify?

Ask open-ended questions that require more than a yes-or-no response. Be on the lookout for changes in a person’s body language or mood. Just like at the beginning of the pandemic, this will likely take some time and require patience from everyone. Stick with it, and you’ll get there.

4.Make it fun for everyone

Company pizza parties, happy hours, attending sporting events together – these are all on the table again. Just make sure that you’re considering everyone.

It may be difficult for remote employees to attend these events, so find ways to make everyone feel involved. For example, we recently hosted a wine-tasting event. Because some employees couldn’t attend in person, we set up a video call and shipped them the same wines we had so they could participate from their homes.

Creating a sense of teamwork and camaraderie can be difficult when everyone works remotely. It will be equally challenging as more businesses go hybrid. But every challenge presents new opportunities, and leaders who proactively and intentionally connect their employees will find success in building teams.

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April 29, 2022

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Remote Work Digest: April 29, 2022

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

Stay Safe While Working From Home: A Helpful Checklist | Southermaylandchronicle.com

Remote workers should know to reap the benefits and avoid common pitfalls – or worse-case scenarios. To help, here’s a health and safety checklist for working from home.

Workstation setup for your health

Common musculoskeletal injuries for remote workers – joint and muscle pain – are no joke and often happen because of poor posture at the workstation. Also, an issue such as an eyestrain can have a domino effect, leading to additional problems like headaches, dry eyes and souble vision.

Chair

Sitting in an uncomfortable chair without proper back and elbow support can lead to spine-related problems in the long run.

  • Has an adjustable seat pan to ensure your elbows can stay at a 90-degree angle when typing.
  • Rounded or ‘waterfall’ seat pan that doesn’t cut circulation at the knees.
  • Five-leg base that’s sturdy
  • Tilt the seat back, or lower lumbar support to fit into the curve of your lower back.
  • Adjust the headrest to keep your head in a neutral, upright position.

Desk

Desk height and desk space can also influence the positioning of your body. Long-term, this can lead to musculoskeletal issues that could impact your quality of life.

  • Desk height allows for 90-degree elbow angle
  • Has depth that allows monitor positioning for visual comfort
  • Keep frequently used items within reach, especially landline phones.
  • Has enough leg space that allows leg movement and the ability to keep your feet flat on the ground.

Monitor/Mouse/Keyboard

The position of your mouse, keyboard, and monitor affect your posture, which can lead to back, neck, and shoulder issues.

  • A mouse is right next to the keyboard
  • Keyboard height allows wrists and hands to be in alignment
  • Monitor(s) is facing you directly to avoid twisting your neck
  • Position the monitor where there is no glare
  • Adjust monitor height and depth for visual comfort

Safety practices to avoid hazards

Your teleworking setup can be potentially hazardous if you’re not aware. Risk management is a key factor. Review this checklist to ensure you avoid a slip and fall or fire.

Fire

Things around your workspace and home office can act as an accelerant for a fire. Make sure to take precautions measures such as below.

  • You have a working smoke detector nearby
  • A fire extinguisher is readily available
  • Portable heaters are away from flammable materials
  • You have a plan in case of a fire

Electrical

Anytime you’re working around electricity, it’s important to ensure that you won’t be injured by shock. These tips are also related to fire prevention.

  • All electrical equipment is connected to a surge protector
  • Your cords and panels are in good condition with no exposed wiring
  • The household electrical system can handle your office equipment
  • You turn off all equipment when not in use

Environment

Creating a safe environment helps to protect you from a slip and fall. Poor ventilation and temperature control can also lead to increased symptoms due to dust and allergies.

  • The area around your workstation is clear of trip hazards
  • Flooring is in good condition to prevent tripping on loose carpet or tile
  • You have good ventilation and temperature control in your work area
  • There’s adequate lighting to reveal any potential hazards

Security practices to keep data safe

Keeping data safe — whether personal or company — when working from home is a top priority. Follow this checklist to ensure you don’t fall victim to identity theft or cause network security issues at work.

Virus

Protecting your computer from viruses and other malware is a key issue for many remote workers that can compromise both security and productivity.

  • Install and update your antivirus software
  • Never click emails from unknown senders on your personal or professional inbox
  • Enable real-time protection within your antivirus software
  • Antivirus software should perform quick scans on reboots and when opening attachments and a deep scan every twelve hours

Information

Personal and corporate data theft costs individuals and companies billions of dollars every year.

  • Don’t forward work emails to your personal account
  • Use a reliable VPN like Surfshark to encrypt data sent and received
  • Unless approved, avoid printing work content at home
  • Use cloud storage and backup your data on the regular

Wi-Fi

Many internet users often think their home Wi-Fi is safe and secure. But in fact, it’s often one of the most vulnerable network security areas exploited by hackers.

  • Choose an inconspicuous Wi-Fi name that doesn’t draw attention
  • Create a unique, long password with at least 16 characters that includes numbers, capitals, and symbols
  • Change your password quarterly. This is also good practice for your computer login credentials.
  • Enable WPA2 network encryption, and use software that detects who is on your network with alerts

Best practices for your health

Now you have a solid workspace, a safe working area, and a secure network. Read on to check that you’re following the best practices for your physical and mental health when working at home.

Working Best Practices

Remote workers often know to exercise and take mental health breaks. But during working hours, there are also things you can do to protect your health.

  • Take a break from screen watching and typing every 30 minutes
  • Use your hand to hold your phone or use a headset
  • Keep your wrists upright when typing and don’t use a support block
  • Monitor your seated posture when working and sit up straight

Physical Activities

Our bodies are not meant to stay in one position for hours at a time. These activities will help keep your body in working shape for the rest of your career.

  • Incorporate outdoor activity and exercise into your day
  • If you receive work packages at home, be sure to use a trolly or other lifting mechanism to help with heavy items.
  • Take stretching breaks throughout the day
  • Rotate head neck and shoulders periodically at your desk

Mental Health

Mental health is just as important as physical health. Mental health issues can impact our focus and productivity, so it’s better to prevent rather than cure them.

  • Establish work hours and boundaries with your partner, children, or roommates
  • Create a pleasant working environment with music and/or scented candles.
  • Minimize distractions in your working area
  • Schedule regular meetings with managers and co-workers to create positive working relationships

Summary

The working environment is changing across the nation. If you’re one of the many employees who work from home, be aware injuries, cyber threats, and other dangers can occur.

With this checklist, you should be able to implement solid ergonomic practices, safety precautions, and network security protocols that will protect your physical and mental health.

6 effective ways to onboard new employees remotely | Coann Labitoria, Hcamag.com

A company does not become an expert on virtual onboarding in an instant. It takes a lot of trial and error, research, and practice to find the right employee onboarding program that fits the company culture of the company and its workforce.Below are some basic tips employers can try to successfully onboard remote workers:

1. Help the new employee set up their workspaces

Compared to onsite employees who have a designated workspace ready for them since day one, a remote worker is left on their own to set up the equipment, workspace, and systems needed for their new job.

One way to make the remote onboarding process easier is for employers to go ahead and help employees set up the needed applications before they even ask for assistance. Shipping the required equipment and providing clear and detailed steps on setting up the equipment, installing, and logging in on the needed applications and software days before their official first day on the job allows them to get a head start on their onboarding process.

2. Provide them a welcome kit or package

Nothing feels more welcoming than receiving a little token of appreciation from your employer in the form of a welcome package or a gift basket. Companies should consider giving out welcome packages to make employees feel included in the organization’s community. The contents of the welcome package could be anywhere from office items like a company mouse pad or an office mug to random tokens such as a company jacket or a small tote bag. 

3. It is crucial to introduce new employees to the team

It is crucial for employees to connect and get along with their co-workers, especially their teammates. When an employee has an open communication with their managers and co-workers, their productivity, employee engagement, and trust increases. Employers could set up virtual first-day lunch meetings with the new employee’s team members to create new work connections and for the new employee to feel a part of the team.

4. Build a buddy system for your new employees

Usually, hiring managers onboard a group of new employees at a time in a bid to be more efficient with the virtual onboarding experience. Throughout the onboarding process, the new employees will rely on each other for help and support as they adjust to the company culture. Creating a buddy system between the new employees allows them to feel more comfortable exploring the company’s work system. 

5. Designate a culture buddy for the new employees

Aside from cultivating a buddy system for new employees, employers could also assign a culture buddy that has been with the company for a while to a new employee. Having a culture buddy allows the new employee to freely explore the company’s culture with the guidance of a current employee.

6. Provide list of stakeholders in the company

HR leaders should provide a list of the company’s key stakeholders to the new employees during their remote onboarding. The list should include the stakeholders that the employee will most likely interact with frequently, the role of each stakeholder, and a brief description of the stakeholder’s position. This allows new employees to understand the company’s operations more and how they fit in with the company’s success. 

Employers need to take the time to observe the effects of their programs and approach – like their virtual onboarding process – on their employees and make the necessary changes to improve the process. Having an open line of communication between employers, managers, and employees is important in making sure employees feel included and important, all the while ensuring their work productivity and quality are high.

8 Remote Work Security Mistakes You Should Avoid | Lando Loic, Makeuseof.com

To mitigate the security vulnerabilities associated with remote work, you need to be aware of common mistakes to avoid and take steps to protect yourself. Let’s dive right in:

  1. Using the Same Password for Multiple Accounts

While having one password for all your accounts is convenient, using the same password for multiple accounts is a significant no-no. you shouldn’t even attempt to use the same pattern while changing a few characters here and there.

If cybercriminals gain access to one of our accounts, you have made it easy for them to break into your other accounts. We bet you have a ton of different passwords to keep track of, and it’s obvious you can’t memorize all of them, but that’s what password managers are for.

  •  Not Encrypting Your Files

One important measure you can take to protect your files is encrypting them. Encrypting your data makes it unreadable to unauthorized individuals. You can use encryption tools like AxCrypt to protect your local files.

  • Failing to Update Your Software

Procrastinating on updating your software leaves you vulnerable to security threats. Cybercriminals are always looking for loopholes in software that they can exploit. This is why software companies release updates frequently to patch up these vulnerabilities.

So, one of the biggest security mistakes you can make is failing to respond to those updates, be it for your operating system, or other applications. That said, when you receive a notification to update your software or system, do it as soon as possible. If you must postpone because you can’t stop the work you are doing at that time, schedule a time for the update and stick to it or set a reminder, so you don’t forget.

  • Not Backing Up Your Data

Although we never hope for the worst, things can go wrong, and they often do. When it comes to remote work, this could be anything from your cat knocking over your laptop to a ransomware attack.

This is why you should prepare for unforeseen circumstances by backing up your data. There are two main ways to do this. You could either use an external hard drive or backup your data to the cloud. If you choose to go with an external hard drive, make sure you keep it in a safe place.

  • Clicking on Links from Unknown Sources

That harmless ad might not be as harmless as you thought. Phishing attacks are on the rise, and cybercriminals are better at making fake emails and links look authentic. They mask emails to make them look like they are coming from a legitimate source, such as your bank or a company you do business with.

This is why you should avoid clicking on links from unknown or even known sources that look suspicious. If you have doubts about the source of an email or link, contact the company it claims to be from to verify its authenticity.

  • Not Using Two-Factor Authentication

Securing your accounts using strong passwords is good practice, but you can take it a step further by using two-factor authentication (2FA).

  • Using Public Wi-Fi

Working from public Wi-Fi hotspots comes with its own set of risks. These networks are usually unsecured because anyone can access them, exposing you to cyberattacks.

Whenever you feel like working in a public place, use a VPN to encrypt your connection and protect your data, or use your phone’s Hotspot feature to create a more secure Wi-Fi network.

  • Not Reading App Permission Lists

When you install an application on your device, it will usually ask for specific permissions, such as access to your camera, microphone, or location. It’s important to take a moment to read these lists to understand what an app will have access to on your device. After all, why would your wallpaper app need access to your microphone?

You can follow these tips to create a more secure remote work environment. But, keep in mind that cybercriminals are constantly adapting, so it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the latest security threats.

Top 7 Career-Boosting Tips for New Developers in 2022 | Geektime.com

This article features seven essential hacks for junior engineers to create the foundation for a successful and sustainable software development career. The tips will help developers fast-track their careers, make an immediate impact, and stand out so they get noticed by companies seeking skilled and motivated developers.

1.Build your LinkedIn profile

Visibility is key, and LinkedIn is the place to be today. Make sure your online presence is maximized with an active and updated profile. Comment on company updates, participate in group discussions and try to get recommendations from CTOs or team leads you may have engaged with previously. 

2. Participate in dev events and meetups

Once you have established a digital presence on LinkedIn, you need to connect the dots by participating in events, lectures, and conferences. The software engineering space is constantly evolving, and you want to stay in the loop. Being an active participant in developer get-togethers will boost your networking and allow you to stay ahead of the curve.

3. Establish your presence on GitHub

Try to beef up your resume and make a good case by contributing to an open-source project on this dev-centric platform. Practicing with Git and GitHub is a valuable skill you will need to demonstrate sooner than later.

4. Freelance away

It doesn’t matter if you are unemployed or working your first job as a QA professional or junior developer. You’ll want to start freelancing as soon as possible– some great freelancer platforms are Upstack, Upwork, Toptal, and Gun.io. You can also practice new languages and prepare for future challenges.

5. Join dev communities

Get exposed to training opportunities and gain exclusive access to job openings that may not be floated on mainstream channels. Subscribe to newsletters, track industry news via relevant subreddits, and spend time on StackOverflow – a community with almost 5 million developers. It’s worth every minute of your time.

6. Start interviewing even before you’re ready

The reasoning behind this is simple: You need to familiarize yourself with the screening process, learn how to follow up with potential employers, and create a professional identity that works (literally). This is a huge confidence-boosting hack that will also help you in the short and long run.

7. Compromise on Salary Packages

The software developer space rewards experience and demonstrated value like any other industry. Be prepared to earn less in your first couple of jobs. Prioritize landing in companies with fast-paced environments, healthy corporate cultures, and cutting-edge technologies. 

The Bottom Line

Demand for developers is growing, but so are the expectations. You have to demonstrate value instantly and keep growing as a professional to make your mark. Diversify your skillset and learn multiple programming languages to bring more value to the table. Always remember – becoming a successful software developer is a marathon, not a sprint (pun intended).

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Remote Work Digest: January 28, 2022

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

Is Remote Work Working? 7 Insights Into the Future of Remote Work | Ravepubs.com

What researchers have learned through studying trends and reactions about remote work may surprise you. Read on for some of the top insights into the future of remote work and how your business can adapt accordingly.

1.The percentage of people working remotely is only expected to increase

The trend of people working outside of the office setting is expected to continue. Forbes recently highlighted a survey that found that working remotely was expected to double in 2021. Looking further into the future, it’s predicted that 70% of the workforce will be working remotely by 2025.

2. Some industries have better potential for future remote work than others

Industries that have the least potential to integrate remote work into their future are ones that rely on physical care, labor, or the operation of machinery, like a construction worker or a dialysis nurse, and tasks that rely on collaboration and have a greater impact on success when done in person, like an elementary school teacher. Overall, however, the sectors that have the most potential for remote work are concentrated with workers with college degrees or higher.

3. Productivity doesn’t have to suffer when working remotely

How to monitor and improve productivity when working remotely has been a large area of concern for managers and other business leaders who were thrown into the work-from-home waters headfirst. The data now proves it – we can work remotely without losing productivity. In fact, many people report feeling more productive when working outside of the office, and employers report feeling more confident in staff productivity as the popularity of remote work increases.

4. A remote work plane requires frequent, robust communication

According to McKinsey and Company, the lack of communication around future of work planning is a high source of anxiety for over half or remote workers, leading to lower levels of employee satisfaction and productivity, adding that businesses who have clearly articulated policies around their future of work plans have noticed employee productivity and well-being on the rise. Even if the future is uncertain or policies are undecided, employees expect to be kept abreast of updates.

5. A remote work place requires a different type of performance management

Forbes predicts that “rethinking how goals are set and identifying key performance metrics will be critical to managing remote workers in the new normal”. Employee well-being and engagement will be essential factors when it comes to delivering high-quality work performances. Part of that can be achieved through thoughtful digital planning.

6. A hybrid work model may be the way to go

Simply speaking, a hybrid work model combines remote working with time in the office. Target, Ford, Microsoft, and Amazon have all announced plans to implement a hybrid work model in the future. A hybrid model may offer the best of both worlds – it can mean lower business costs for the company while still keeping its employees happy, healthy, and motivated. As with any remote work, however, staff are at risk of burnout, so companies need to take care that their digital communication plans are just as solid as if their business were fully remote.

7. Digital investment is critical to the future success of remote work

Because productivity is the key to the future of remote work, businesses need to invest in digital solutions that allow staff to work and collaborate efficiently. Nothing brings productivity to a screeching halt faster than slow networks, insufficient software, or cumbersome hardware.

3 Ways to Stay Family-Focused in the Face of a Demanding Career | Martin Rowinski, Entrepreneur.com

Who you are in business is an important aspect of who you are as a whole person, but it’s not the only or most important one. For maximum growth, fun and success in your career, family and individual life, a healthy balance of all three is essential. When you dedicate focused time to each, you prevent burnout, better regulate emotional responses and build and maintain strong relationships.

Here’s how I do it.

1.Keep things separate

I use “boxes” to organize my schedule — one for my entrepreneurial life, one for family and another just for me, and any events scheduled into each day go into one or another. In doing this, I set limits on where I want my focus to go at any given time so that it stays where it belongs.

Scheduling in these boxes also makes sure events don’t overlap. A bad day at work needs to stay in its box, and so off the soccer field when I coach (which goes into the family box: time dedicated to my kids and the team). 

2. Manage one thing at a time

It’s important to be upfront with everyone involved about what time is dedicated to which box, and stick to it. Being an entrepreneur is not a 9-to-5, clock-in and clock-out life, after all: It could easily take all your time and creativity if you let it. At a certain executive level, and definitely as an entrepreneur, free time never happens unless you make it happen.

3. A break can be the best medicine

Burnout among entrepreneurs is wildly common, and so breaks are vital self-care needed to inspire energy and creativity. Plus, I come up with some of the best ideas or savviest moves while on vacation — relaxed and away from the office environment. When you allow yourself a total change from the demand to be creative, you leave room inside yourself to do just that.

The busy life of business pulls you in many different directions, but defining and committing to your personal and business missions separately and in a balanced way lets you handle it exponentially better. Strong family connections can give you emotional stability when business gets hectic, and prioritizing personal time forces you to take a break from an often exhausting work schedule. Balancing these elements teaches you to be more present, nurture stronger relationships and to see the bigger picture. The joy you feel with your family revitalizes a passion for business and prioritizing each element of your life allows for the greatest levels of success in each.

Energize Your Team for Better Productivity with these 5 Activities | Pratik Dholakiya, Smallbiztrends.com

Companies with worn-out employees encounter a myriad of obstacles. They have high absenteeism rates, high employee churn, less production, or low-quality output.

However, with a highly energetic and productive team, you can put in more work into your marketing and sales initiatives, fulfill more orders, and have a positive work culture, which lowers employee churn.

Productivity Activities for your Business

1.Run games or contests

You’d be surprised how organizing games and contests can do wonders to reduce your team’s stress levels. Games are a great breather for employees, especially when they’re reaching the point of getting burned out.

2. Conduct community service

It’s not uncommon for people who do volunteer work to gain better social and relationship skills. They can learn more about themselves and their peers — helping your company cultivate a more cohesive team with a high level of self-awareness.

If your team is well bonded, they can work better. The work environment becomes conducive to teamwork and removes needless, destructive drama.

3. Invite motivational speakers

Even though your employees are just sitting and listening to the inspiring message of the speakers, the experience can be life-changing for them.

Just a single statement can turn your lifeless, demotivated employees into workhorses that produce double or triple of what they are currently producing.

4. Conduct financial literacy training

Helping your employees manage their finances better will improve their energy levels. When they aren’t burdened financially, they are less stressed and have more energy to deal with their tasks.

Before you put together a training program, run surveys or polls to know which finance topics your employees are more interested to learn. Some might be more interested in how to save, others about how to pay debt, while others might be into investing.

5. Do a fitness challenge

The healthier a person, the more focused and energetic they are to deal with their to-dos. In short, they’ll be more productive.

That’s why holding a fitness challenge can do wonders for your team’s energy and productivity levels.

The healthier the employees in your company, the more energetic and productive they become. This puts your company in a better position to create amazing products, market your services, and provide better customer support — all of which ultimately help to skyrocket your revenue.

8 Effective Strategies to Develop (and Keep) Your Employees | Td.org

Here are eight strategies you can implement to build a culture in which employees feel engaged, motivated, and driven to succeed and grow alongside your business:

  1. Treat employees with respect. Show employees that you respect and value what they bring to your organization. This motivates them to be as invested in your company’s success as you are.
  2. Ask for feedback. Ask employees why they work at your company and if they feel any improvements could be made. This not only promotes trust; it also gives you the specific information you need to make things right.
  3. Provide mentorship. Mentor your employees regularly to build trust. Having a mentor helps them envision a path to success within your organization.
  4. Play fair. Being fair is an essential quality for managers. Showing favoritism or playing office politics has a negative impact on the team.
  5. Have their back. Stand up for your employees whenever the need arises. When employees know they have your support, they learn to trust.
  6. Show recognition. Recognition of good work boots morale and encourages productivity.
  7. Provide opportunities for growth. Be sure to provide training activities for employees. Giving employees new skills makes them feel valued and helps you assess their strengths and skills gaps for future development.
  8. Give them a platform. Empower employees to present their current projects, performance, or other activities. Taking credit in this way increases their confidence, improves their sense of role ownerships, and boosts productivity.

The eight strategies above are just a small number of initiatives organizations can take to generate a positive and productive work environment.

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Remote Work Digest: July 28, 2020

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

Feeling lonely despite lockdown lifting? Here are 8 practical hacks to help | Bianca London, Glamourmagazine.co.uk

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Claire Chamberlain, the author of UnLonely, share 8 practical hacks for beating loneliness. From improving self-care to cultivating relationships, she offers practical advice for looking after your mental and physical wellbeing, which is more important than ever before.

Embracing alone time

Sometimes, by turning your attention inward – to your own needs and passions – you can learn to form a deeper and more meaningful connection with yourself, helping to transform your loneliness into a productive and far less frightening state: solitude. By using your time alone to pursue creative, fulfilling, enjoyable and fruitful activities, you may find that the deeper connection you were seeking was within you all along.

Prioritise your wellbeing

In order to remain (or return to feeling) positive, looking after yourself is important. Simple things like taking a hot shower each morning and using your favourite shower gel, picking an outfit that makes you feel good, enjoying a hot cup of tea, doing a spot of mindful colouring, getting out for some exercise and cooking yourself a tasty dinner each evening can go a long way to boosting your mood and your self-esteem.

Consider your diet

Taking the time to look after yourself includes fuelling both your body and mind well, so that you have the energy and strength to maintain a positive mindset and feel physically great. Eating a good balance of lean protein (such as tofu, pulses, beans or lean meat), wholegrain carbohydrates (such as wholemeal pasta and bread) and healthy fats (such as avocados and oily fish), plus plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables, will keep you feeling energised all day. And, of course, the occasional treat doesn’t go amiss either. Eat mindfully, eat with joy and eat for happiness!

Be more mindful

Spending time focusing on your surroundings can help to ground you in the here and now, taking you firmly into the physical world and away from thoughts, worries and anxieties. Reconnecting in this way can help you feel more at one with the world. To get started, begin to notice your surroundings or your bodily sensations. If a thought arises that takes your mind away from “now”, acknowledge it without judgement, then draw your attention back to the present moment.

Get some fresh air (every day)

There are so many reasons why stepping outside into the fresh air each day is good for your mind, body and soul. Research has shown that regular walking can boost both your mood and self-esteem, while also easing feelings of anxiety and depression, and reducing stress levels.

Lose yourself in a good book

Reading can help you forget any worries or loneliness you may be feeling, allowing you to enter and inhabit a completely different world. What’s more, reading does not have to be reserved for your home: carry a book with you, so you can dip into it when you’re out and about, perhaps in your local park or while you’re waiting in a queue.

Cook from scratch

There is so much joy to be had in flicking through recipe books, discovering mouth-watering dishes, buying fresh ingredients and taking your time preparing a delicious meal. Making the effort to cook properly at least a few times a week can feel so rewarding, and it is a fabulous way to show yourself a little love.

Express gratitude

Taking time each day to think about all that you have to be grateful for in your life has been proven to have a positive impact on almost all areas of life, including enhancing self-esteem, increasing optimism, boosting energy, deepening relaxation, promoting feelings of kindness, improving sleep quality and – crucially – strengthening social bonds.

4 skill you can add to your resume that your’ve learned from working remotely during the pandemic | Hayden Field, HerMoney, Businessinsider.com

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In cover letters, job interviews, or conversations with your current employer, emphasize the skills you’ve built during the pandemic that can help advance your career, says Megan Fasules, a research economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Be honest about your experience. Few people will want to hear that you handled everything perfectly during these challenging times, but many will want to hear how you handled it and emerged with strengths that you’re proud of, says Amanda Bates, a career services director at NC State University and career coach with The Muse.

Here’s a rundown of actionable career skills you may have reinforced over the past few months.

Communication

“Communication is king,” said Fasules. “That tends to be the number-one competency overall regardless of a pandemic, but it’s even more so now.” Since most workers aren’t able to interact in person during this time, they’ve had to hone communication skills in other areas, such as email response time and Zoom call etiquette. In an office, communication looks different, says Bates — you can see people, read people, walk up to someone, and share information. In the age of COVID-19, verbal and written communication skills are paramount.

And it’s not just about communicating with coworkers — those in client-facing professions have had to get creative in finding ways to connect and be persuasive without typical communication strategies. These skills are “transferable across all occupations,” said Fasules. For example, many health care professionals have pivoted to all-virtual visits via phone or video chat, and that can require additional expertise in communicating, says Bates.

Time management

During a global pandemic — and the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty that comes along with it — many have found time management much more difficult than usual. If that’s you (and you’re not alone), there are ways to turn what you’ve learned into successful takeaways for your career.

Think about the way in which you’ve approached your daily schedule, listened to yourself, and attempted to work smarter rather than harder, says Fasules — when you were in “work mode,” how did you focus, and in “home mode,” how did you separate yourself from email and Slack pings? “Many of us were in sink-or-swim mode for so long we didn’t actually realize we were building that muscle,” said Bates.

Productivity

In your next cover letter, interview, or review session, describe how you figured out your own work-from-home “rhythm” — how to set the priority levels of different projects, separate professional and personal time, double as your own manager, solve your own day-to-day problems — and how you’re going to apply those skills in your career, says Bates. For example, she says, in a cover letter, interview, or raise conversation, you could point out that during the pandemic, you learned how to meet the goals of an organization regardless of where you are and how to do it in an efficient way, using specific skills.

Conscientiousness

“You get hired for extraversion, and then you get raises for conscientiousness,” said Fasules. She cites research published in 2016, which suggests a correlation between extraversion and starting salary (but not salary growth), while on the other hand, “conscientiousness was unrelated to starting salary growth but significantly so to salary growth.” During a job interview, for instance, warmth and high energy often associated with extraversion could help a candidate’s odds of selection, but researchers suggest those qualities won’t necessarily propel a career forward as much as the intrinsic motivation and organization often associated with conscientiousness. “Figuring out how to prove you are a conscientious worker at the start is tricky and would be very beneficial,” said Fasules.

Try to break down the idea of being “conscientious” — in your view, what makes up that quality? It could incorporate empathy, focus, respect, efficiency, or determination, for example. So in your cover letter or interview, instead of saying you’re conscientious, you can show it with examples or by talking about the things that matter to you. For example, if you see empathy as a key ingredient in being conscientious, you could point out how during COVID-19, you threw out typical email jargon and replaced it with genuine phrasing, aiming to check in on the people you correspond with — clients, fellow employees — in a way that shows you truly care how they’re doing.

Don’t Procrastinate: Teach Your Kids Time Management Skills | John Rampton, Entrepreneur.com

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How can you teach your kids these basic time-management skills? Here are ten ways to accomplish that feat with some ideas that will stick throughout life.

The sooner, the better.

It may seem like over-parenting, but you can begin teaching basic time management skills to toddlers. Preschoolers are even capable of completing small tasks in short time blocks, such as brushing their teeth or putting away their toys.

Establish a routine and stick to it.

As your children get older, however, you’ll want to help them establish a daily routine. The reason? It lets them know “what is going to happen and who is going to be there, it allows them to think and feel more independently, and feel more safe and secure,” says Dr. Myers. “A disrupted routine can set a child off and cause them to feel insecure and irritable.”

In addition to some much-needed structure, this can help them become more accountable. And it gives you the opportunity to spend quality time with them.

Some obvious places to start setting simple time goals would be:

  • A morning routine, like eating breakfast and getting ready for school.
  • An after school routine, such as chores and homework.
  • An evening routine that could include dinner, brushing their teeth and reading before bed.

Have them make their own calendars.

Whether if it’s a DIY, old paper calendar, or an app like Cozi, get them involved in the calendar creating process. As a family, list your commitments and add them to the calendar. To prevent any confusion, use color-coding so that everyone has their own color for their own schedule. Most importantly, keep this in a location that’s easy to access and review.

Set priorities.

“It’s essential kids learn to differentiate between ‘have-tos’ and ‘want-tos’ and learn to prioritize and self-monitor,” Marcia Grosswald, an upper-elementary resource teacher, told Scholastic. Grosswald uses the popular rock, pebble and water analogy, where students’ duties are represented by the rocks and pebbles.

The rocks, however, signify their most essential tasks, like school and sleep. The pebbles represent extracurricular commitments. And, the water stands in for want-to-dos, such as hanging out with friends.

“I use a jar to represent a day,” says Grosswald. “The rocks go in first because they are things you have to do whether you like it or not. Next, come the pebbles. But there’s still some room in the jar, so we pour water until our jar — and the day is full.”

Help them measure time.

“In order to make a realistic schedule, you need a good sense of how long things take,” says Grosswald. “I give them a chart that breaks the afternoon and evening hours into 15-minute intervals,” she explains. “Each time slot is followed by three columns: what kids plans to do, what they actually did and reflection.”

Make it fun.

As an adult, it’s hard to imagine how something like time management can be fun. But, it is possible by making it a game. Heck, you may even use gamification yourself to boost your productivity.

As for kids, I suggest you explore the Timex Time Machines app. In a partnership with Scholastic, there are interactive games, lesson plans and activities to teach children in Grades 1 through 3 core time-telling concepts.

Stop being a helicopter parent.

Let’s say that they just started a new school year. Because they have a new routine and teacher, which means new expectations and rules, they may be anxious. Instead of telling them how to handle this situation, let them voice their concerns and develop solutions to this problem.

When they’re older, let them create their own routine, and let them be flexible with their schedules so that they have free time. Your role, then, would be to coach and reward them as opposed to dictating every minute of their time.

Don’t over-schedule your kids.

What happens when you overcommit and pack your calendar too tightly? You probably feel like you’re always on the go. More troublesome, you may feel like you’re always behind. And, you don’t have the wiggle room to address the unexpected.

Designate a study zone.

If you’ve ever worked from home, then you know how important it is to have a dedicated workspace. I’d even go as far as to say that this should be a top priority when it comes to time management.

The reason? It lets you block out distractions like the TV or noisy family members, and it helps you distinguish between your work and personal lives.

The same idea is true when it comes to children. They should have a designated study area that’s quiet and free of distractions so that they can focus on their homework.

Be a role model.

Finally, the best way to help your kids get a better grasp of time management is to set a good example. As psychologist Eileen Kennedy-Moore explains, “Good modeling doesn’t guarantee that children will do what we want them to do, but telling children ‘do as I say, not as I do’ definitely won’t work.”

You’ll want to keep your own goals under control, meaning that if you’ve been emphasizing the importance of a schedule, and you’re failing at time management, they’ll pick-up on this inauthenticity.

5 ways to transform employee experience during the Covid-19 crisis | Yogita Tulsiani, Indianexpress.com

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The crisis is disrupting the work culture, helping companies induce new ways of working and communicating with employees. There are several different ways in which the management and leadership are driving an impeccable employee experience during the ongoing crisis.

Becoming a full-time leader in building trust

At this time, employees want to hear the words of encouragement from influencers in the company. The leaders are taking a bigger role in rebuilding trust and reconciling employee communication. By creating a clear plan of communication and connection with employees, engaging them to share their opinions and concerns during the crisis can help them bring sustainability and credibility at the workplace.

Focusing on employee’s resilience and well-being

To improve employee experience, companies must stay strong with their employees than having them left in the dark during the crisis. A clear understanding of challenges and their emotional and financial condition can help them reshape their experience. The main focus of leadership and talent management teams is to keep their employees well-informed, safe and positive during the time of uncertainty.

Embed relationship-building strategies

To build strong relationship strategies, managers can take potential actions in developing employee to employee relationships and make them come together to listen, talk and work on tasks like never before. Moreover, they can also embed the ideas of virtual talent shows and peer-recognition sessions to strengthen professional relationships.

Maintaining employee productivity and engagement

The Covid-19 crisis has made the companies worry about the employees’ productivity and efficiency. The better way to go is to make them understand the company’s vision and business goals. The visibility of a clear vision makes the employees be more productive and pay more attention to their designated tasks. For larger organisations, making the right use of communication technology can help in delivering the required message at the right time.

Nurturing growth through online learning

Companies should make a comprehensive plan for learning offerings for employees. They can build a team of talent managers, IT, and learning delivery partners for remote training of employees. Once the clear view of learning is in place, managers can prioritise what needs to be built.

To get a clear picture of how employee experience is going to create long-term sustainability for the company, establish a list of effective employee communication strategies. Powerful analytics can assist talent managers to have a better sense of employee experience. Besides, making effective use of technology can enable them to make the employees stay informed and productive while being more transparent and open to their managers. Evaluating different assumptions and understanding their implications on business post-COVID-19 is the key to improved employee experience.

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Remote Work Digest: June 30, 2020

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

5 Ways To Engage Employees During Work From Home | Ruman Talwar, Entrepreneur.com

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During the current pandemic, many employees have become accustomed to working from home setting. It is, therefore, important for companies to ensure that they keep motivating their employees with various campaigns and programmes. Here are a few ways to engage.

Online virtual games

Organizing games and quizzes have proven to create active participation rather than a passive immersion. Conducting games and quizzes online isn’t that difficult. All you need is a PC/laptop/mobile with reasonable Internet speed.

Health and wellness

With the help of online video conferencing software, a group yoga session or a mindfulness series can be organized online to foster mental peace. Additionally, virtual health challenges such as pushups, sit-ups and planks will ensure that organizations flourish with a healthy workforce.

Recognition and awards

Adjusting to the home setting can be a bit of a hassle, which is why it imperative to reward people for specific actions. A personalized message or a virtual gift card expressing gratitude for the work they have been accomplishing can make them feel happier and fulfilled.

Communication

Effective communication within the organization is the need of an hour. Proactive, clear and impactful, and two-tone communication can make employees feel that their ideas are valued and that they are a pivotal part of the organization.

Upskilling and reskilling

Corporates across the various sectors are getting used to this new norm and are spending ample time in identifying the solutions to bridge the skill gaps in employees. One way could be providing bite-sized learning material to the employees. A lot of e-learning platforms have paid and free courses that employees can take to get skilled. Further, employers should encourage social learning, where employees can share their experiences and support each other.

4 Reasons Remote Work is Here to Stay | Ray Nelson, Devprojournal.com

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Even as states reopen and some employees begin returning to the office, remote solutions are here to stay – not just as a safety net in the event of a secondary wave, but because of their value to employers and their workforce.

  1. Increased Productivity

Two-thirds of managers report that employees who work from home increase their overall productivity, while 86 percent of employees say they’re more productive working from home, free of office distractions. No longer do water cooler conversations eat into the day or loud colleagues distract their coworkers. Employees instead report that being close to family and friends encourages them to work faster and more efficiently.

  1. Decreased Stress

Fundera found that 82 percent of telecommuters report lower stress levels than when they were physically in the office, and 80 percent note that their morale is higher when working remotely. Reduced anxiety and better attitudes translate to better, harder workers, while also having the potential to reduce healthcare costs from stress-related illnesses.

  1. Reduced Absenteeism

With remote work solutions, employees have the option to stay home and telework without spreading minor illnesses throughout the workplace. It also allows parents to stay home with sick children, or for employees to work if inclement weather makes it unsafe to commute.

  1. Low Operating Costs

From office snacks, coffee and utility bills to the largest culprit: rent, teleworking eliminates – or at least significantly reduces – the need for these expenses. In fact, some 77 percent of businesses say that transitioning to remote work solutions may lead to reduced operating costs, per FlexJobs. Even technology giants like Twitter, which employs nearly 5,000 people, recently announced that workers may choose to work from home permanently. Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts that half of the company could be working remotely within the next five to 10 years.

There’s no question that the trend towards working remotely is increasing, and the last few months have provided a global case study into the benefits of telecommuting. Factor in things like Gen Z’s preference for working remotely, and it’s likely that we’ll see a 30 percent increase by 2030, according to Gartner. COVID-19 was the catalyst for the expedited push toward remote work, but the trend’s momentum isn’t expected to slow any time soon. In fact, we’re likely to see it extend to other realms, including education.

What Work From Home Teaches Us: How To Create A Great Experience | Tracy Brower, Forbes.com

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With the necessity of social distancing, masks and less amenities like cafeterias and coffee bars, the pre-vaccine workplace won’t offer all it once did. But it can still be an experience people want, that fulfills key needs. Here are a few to consider:

Provide For Connections

The most effective workplaces provide for connections that are both informal and formal. It’s the opportunity to run into a colleague in the hallway or the chance to solve a problem with a teammate during a weekly meeting. Creating offices—intentionally—where people can gather, collaborate and build ideas will best apply lessons from home and be most attractive to employees.

Provide For Choice

One of the hardest things about being home is the lack of options it has offered. Based on brain science, we know humans crave variety and stimulation and being home constantly has been predictable and monotonous for many. As a welcome alternative to home, the workplace should offer plenty of possibilities. Choice is made available through a variety of settings, surroundings and arrangements, but control is also key. People must have autonomy to sit away from a workstation—moving to an enclave for privacy or a work café to collaborate, working alone or in the midst of a buzzing community.

Provide For Safety

Creating a positive work experience mirrors the safety we perceive at home. When people feel secure, they can be their most creative. And when they feel the most appreciated, they can take bigger risks and step out on a limb toward new thinking and new innovations. The work experience can supply this kind of psychological safety by fostering strong bonds among team members and ensuring leaders are both visionary and empathetic.

Provide For Meaning

Work is part of life and the chance to spend more time with our inner circle has reminded many of us about what we find most important in life. In addition, staying home to avoid spreading the coronavirus has given us a sense of significance—a contribution to the broader community. This sense of meaning is also important for work. People are most motivated by work which is connected to a broader purpose and to which they can make a unique contribution. Leaders should align people’s talents and skills with their responsibilities, so they feel they’re adding real value.

Provide For Boundary

Work is important because it’s a critical way we contribute to society and feel valuable. But a healthy mix is important as well. All work, all the time leads to burnout and less effectiveness. The lesson from home is to give people the opportunity to manage their boundary between work and home and to empower them to have as much of both as possible.

Working from home is both exhausting and enjoyable, frustrating and fulfilling, monotonous and motivational. It is complex, but we can take what we’ve learned from working at home and inspire work experiences that provide for connection, choice, safety, meaning and boundary. It is these aspects of work and life which will be important as we go through the pandemic and—eventually—as we move beyond it.

Remote Jobs that Pay Well and Let You Travel the World | Africanexponent.com

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Thanks to the wide range of remote working tools (like time tracking apps, conference tools, file-sharing extensions, etc.) available, employers now have more efficient and reliable resources for tracking the amount of time remote employees spend on their projects. As such, managers can ensure that productivity stays unhindered.

So, what are actually the top jobs for remote work today? Is it only developers, English tutors, and writers who can live the dream?

Digital Tour Guide

These days, a lot of travelers prefer to embark on independent exploration adventures. At times, all they need are a few knowledgeable tips from a professional wanderer. If you have visited a lot of places or simply know an area, city, or even a region as the back of your hand, you can try writing sightseeing guides or help fellow travelers navigate to the best restaurants and nightspots in the city.

Social Media Manager

It is not uncommon for businesses to invest both time and money into creating comprehensive social media campaigns to build up their brand presence. If you know your way around Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok and have what it takes to adjust to the ever-changing trends, you may find your skills in great demand by a vast pool of employers.

Bitcoin Trader

If you know more about Bitcoin than the average person and are willing to take the time to gain more expertise in the area, you may just become one of the trailblazers into the world of financial freedom for those eager to invest. As Bitcoin belongs to no particular country and allows for flexible money transfers between both individuals and institutions, you may find a variety of employment options in the Bitcoin trading field.

Data Analyst

An analyst’s ability to scrutinize the collected data and leverage it into strong decision making can make or break a brand. If you don’t mind spending a lot of your time going through Excel sheets and numbers do not make your dizzy, a career in data analytics may give you the freedom to stay out of the cubicle and under the sun.

Remote Personal Assistant

Times have changed and these days, quite a lot of the assisting actually goes on online. From posting content on social media and making Amazon purchases to answering email and filling in Google Calendar events, there are lots of tasks in the online world that one might want to hire a remote personal assistant for. Some of the skills you will need for the job include diligence, organization, and a pinch of agreeableness.

How about you? Have you thought about making the transition into working remotely?

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Remote Work Digest: May 29, 2020

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

4 Key Employee Engagement Success Factors | Kellie Wong, Business2community.com

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Fully engaged employees have been shown to be 21 percent more profitable. Address employee disengagement in the workplace can help your business’s bottom line and overall success. Here are some of the biggest employee engagement success factors, and how to make improvements that raise both motivation and productivity.

Employee engagement success factors to cultivate

Employee engagement boils down to the quality of your company’s relationship with its people. Do you show workers appreciation? Do you give social rewards in addition to monetary ones? Do employees feel comfortable and empowered to speak their minds, share good ideas, and encourage coworkers?

Here are some of the major factors that affect employee engagement and how to improve them.

  1. Company culture

Your culture is made up of values and behaviors. Make engagement itself a value and encourage engagement as a behavior. Seek to increase collaboration as much as possible and support making social connections.

Explain your company’s overall mission and tell every employee how their individual work helps to further that mission. This gives your team a sense of purpose and belonging, which are important for a strong culture of engagement.

  1. Employee participation

Everyone has ideas and encouraging employees to share their thoughts has benefits: you not only show that you value their intellectual capabilities, but you might get some useful information, as well.

Give employees a platform where they can easily share their ideas with all levels of the organization. Allow people to have open conversations about work, education, or even on social topics. Because even conversations that aren’t directly about how to work better can strengthen social ties and cohesion.

Finally, encourage employees to recognize each other’s accomplishments. Not only does it spread warm, fuzzy feelings between coworkers, it makes people feel they are empowered to give praise.

  1. Good management

Employees need managers they can respect: competent, smart leaders who aren’t in it for the sake of their own egos. You need to coach your management team on engagement strategies, ensuring they watch employee progress while constantly giving feedback and emotional engagement.

  1. Frequent recognition

Without the work employees do every day, your company couldn’t exist. Make sure to express this! It’s especially important that managers and leaders give recognition, as it’s proven to be a powerful form of reinforcement. Recognition should be frequent, as 85 percent of employees who were recognized weekly said they felt satisfied, and 75 percent of employees who were recognized by management at least once a month reported high levels of job satisfaction. And yet, most employees do not receive recognition from management frequently enough.

Make it a priority to recognize your employees on a frequent basis and make the act of recognizing a social activity everyone in the company can get involved in. Recognition is the leading driver of employee engagement; don’t lose sight of this massive opportunity to improve your business and employee experience through recognition.

10 Surprising Work-From-Home Franchise Opportunities | Don Daszkowski, Forbes.com

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Within franchising, there are a surprising number of home-based business opportunities. And what’s even more surprising is that you don’t need to be an expert or especially skilled in any certain field. For example, you can run an educational franchise without a teaching certificate. Generally, the skills needed to run most franchises are business acumen and motivation. The franchisor will teach you the rest.

Below are 10 business sectors you might never have considered for work-from-home opportunities.

Education

Often run as after-school enrichment programs, they require relationship-building skills to generate business. Owners develop partnerships with schools, daycares and community centers and offer add-on programs to existing curriculums. Once the relationships are in place, the business owners enjoy recurring revenue and can introduce additional programs, such as camps.

B2B Services

Being in a business that serves other businesses usually means recurring revenue and large-ticket jobs. Although many are home-based, these businesses usually require several vehicles and the ability to lead a crew of workers. Many times, franchisors have relationships in place with large companies, allowing the franchise owner to walk right into big contracts.

Business Consulting

As a work-from-home consultant, you can be trained to run a business that helps other professionals. These “white collar” franchises offer services like career coaching for individuals. They also work with businesses and provide services such as reducing expenses or acquiring funding.

Franchise Consulting

A career as a consultant can be extremely rewarding for folks who like to help people and make a difference. Offering a great work-life balance, franchise consultants can choose a part-time or full-time schedule and reap the rewards of the effort they put in.

Senior Care

This valuable service helps keep seniors in the comfort of their own homes longer. Services include everything from bathing and meal preparation to running errands. Many senior-care franchisees start out in a home-based setting and scale into bigger operations that are run from outside offices.

Home Services

Most home-services franchisors are looking to partner with people who can run businesses. They generally have low overhead and high margins and, depending on the business, they can offer a great work-life balance.

Property Management

Investments in rental properties are at an all-time high and have created a demand for property management services. With little overhead, many business owners can run the entire operation themselves, with no need for employees.

Vending

Today’s machines operate with sophisticated technology that automates payments and alerts owners when more stock is required. Because of a demand for healthier options, you will see them filled with items like protein bars, trail mix and gluten-free pretzels rather than candy bars and chips.

Mobile Businesses

As a business owner, they are generally fun and easy to run and provide a built-in marketing vehicle — literally. Whether it’s a food truck or a service van, whenever you are out on the road or parked at a job, your wrapped vehicle will grab attention and generate business.

Pet Services

If you love animals, you can find a home-based business that caters to our furry friends. There are pet grooming, pet training and even pet poop pick-up services. These are feel-good businesses that can bring in repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

If working from home during quarantine has you thinking about making the leap to owning your own business, franchising offers a wide array of choices for different interests and skill sets.

Productive remote workers do these 5 simple things every day | Elizabeth Grace Saunders, Fastcompany.com

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As a time management coach, I’ve been partnering with my clients in navigating the transition from working in the office to working at home and back again. And I have found those who use these five strategies have been able to increase their overall productivity when working from home.

  1. They convert their commute

Among the individuals who have found working from home to be a welcome change, I’ve seen a fairly similar pattern of converting their commute time into exercise time. Typically in the morning, they’ll workout (or at minimum walk their dog). And in the evening, they’re often choosing to go on more leisurely walks either on their own, with their dog, or as a family.

  1. They block focused time

One good thing about being at home is that you have physical distance from your coworkers, so you can block focused time and stick with it. I recommend that you either have recurring focused time in your calendar, such as for an hour or two in the morning. Or that on a weekly basis you block in some chunks of time for the key activities you want to get done, such as putting together a report or writing an article.

  1. They schedule meetings

To further increase your predictability and productivity, ask your colleagues to schedule a meeting with you to talk, especially if the meeting will require any forethought. It’s helpful to have meetings scheduled, so you can effectively plan your tasks around them and so that you’re in the right headspace to be present.

That being said, these meetings don’t have to be long. If you think something should only take 30 or even 15 minutes to discuss, ask for a meeting of that length to be scheduled on your calendar. There’s no need to stretch every conversation out to an hour.

  1. They update their status

In order to be fully mentally engaged in what you’re working on during your focused time, in can also be helpful to update your online status. That could mean designating yourself as “away” on Slack or otherwise unavailable on IM or other internal communication tools. This declaration of your intention to not be available at a certain time can insulate you from the thoughts in the back of your head that “someone might have messaged me about something important” or “I might miss something and annoy someone.”

  1. They resist the urge to self-distract

With all external distractions eliminated, our mind can sometimes unhelpfully search for ways to distract itself. Especially for extroverts, when the environment is most calm, the drive to find more stimulation is most high.

If you find yourself in that kind of situation, look for ways that you can increase the stimulation in your environment without reducing your productivity. That might look like listening to music that helps you get in the flow, using a standing desk, or simply placing your laptop on top of a high counter or bureau, so you can shift your weight as you work.

You may find yourself returning to the office soon, or you may find that working from home has become your new lifestyle. Wherever you see yourself on the spectrum, these strategies can allow you to be most effective on the homefront.

Eight Benefits Of Encouraging Employees To Disconnect On Time | Forbes Human Resources Council, Forbes.com

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Knowing when to pack it in for the day is as important as knowing when to start working. Below, eight associates of Forbes Human Resources Council examine the benefits that come with encouraging employees to disconnect after a long day’s work, and how this could help both the business and the employee in the long run.

  1. Avoiding Employee Burnout

It is too easy for employees to feel the need to answer every email. One practice is to ensure managers are not contacting employees after hours. An easy fix is for managers to schedule emails to be delivered during work hours. Encourage employees to take vacation time — you can deactivate their service during their vacation and reactivate when they return. – Patricia Sharkey, IMI People

  1. Promoting Work-Life Balance

Promoting a culture of work-life balance will lead to increased employee engagement, enhanced employee productivity, reduced attrition and improved company brand perception. – Ochuko Dasimaka, Career Heights Consulting, Inc.

  1. Improving Efficiency

Research shows that humans need downtime and brain breaks for maximum efficiency. We’ve found that our staff is more productive and eager to work when they’re well-rested, healthy and have taken some time for themselves. That’s why at our weekly all-hands we do a green/yellow/red check-in to be sure we’re all in a good headspace to start the week. – Yolanda Lau, FlexTeam

  1. Higher Productivity Levels

While leaders should encourage work-life fluidity, an important aspect of that is taking the appropriate amount of time to truly be “offline.” When people are happy in their personal lives, they’ll be motivated to succeed at work. And, when people have time to disconnect, they are given more mental capacity to bring creativity into their work. – Lisa Sterling, Ceridian

  1. Increased Creativity and Engagement

We find that when employees are given the opportunity to unplug at night and on weekends, they are recharged and refreshed and come back to work with higher levels of creativity and engagement. When employees are more engaged they are more innovative and productive! – Diane Strohfus, Betterworks.com

  1. Higher Retention Rates

When employees are encouraged to disconnect at the end of the workday and on weekends, they come back to work with increased creativity, higher job satisfaction, and increased retention rates because they aren’t burned out. Employees who can take time off to unwind also tend to feel more valued by the company as an individual, rather than feeling like a replaceable piece of the business. – Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.

  1. Building Respect and Loyalty

If workers know that they are treated as whole humans, then they will return the favor by committing to their employer. Retention of refreshed, productive and energized employees will result in successful execution of goals and will create impactful careers. Both employees and companies benefit from protected downtime. – Jessica Delorenzo, Kimball Electronics Inc

  1. Honoring Employees As People

Employees need a chance to recharge. Using evenings and weekends as personal time empowers employees to pursue personal interests, spend time with their families and rest. During work hours, they can be fully engaged in their work, and perhaps even more creative because their brains and bodies are refreshed. It’s also a way of honoring employees as full people rather than as cogs in a machine. – Courtney Pace, Ph.D., FedEx Employees Credit Assoc.

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Remote Work Digest: April 28, 2020

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

5 reasons companies are adopting the distributed team model | Moira Alexander, Techrepublic.com

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Some of the top remote companies to work for, including Amazon, Intuit, and Johnson & Johnson, have recognized the benefits of hiring a distributed workforce, and this has only been further reinforced by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting business disruption.

Here are five reasons your company should consider hiring a distributed or hybrid team.

  1. Improve your skills-based hiring. To be successful, your company should be tapping into a broader talent pool, and this means finding employees or contractors who can help you achieve project-specific goals rather than employees who are located near your office. Hiring solely based on skill and fit increases the likelihood that you’ll be satisfied with your hire and the quality of their work.
  2. Save money. By not having to pay for a larger commercial space and all the associated utilities and maintenance costs, remote employers are able to offer more competitive salaries and benefits to their distributed workforce.
  3. Increase your employees’ satisfaction. OWLLabs reports that remote workers say they’re happier in their jobs 83% more than on-site workers and that they would take a pay cut of up to 10% in order to work remotely. Travel to and from the office as well as politics and conflict within the office add significantly to costs and stress.
  4. Lower your turnover. Most people can agree that higher salaries combined with more work-life balance, opportunities for career progression, and less conflict increase the chance of staying with an employer for the long haul.
  5. Increase employee ownership and buy-in. When employees or contractors are part of a distributed team, they’re far more likely to develop a sense of ownership and buy-in and work harder in general. In fact, remote workers say that they work more than the expected 40 hours a week 43% more often than on-site workers.

With current events throwing companies into a tailspin, your company should adopt a distributed or hybrid team to attract talent. By offering a better work-life balance, less stress, and higher pay, your company wins through increased employee buy-in, higher productivity, and lower turnover.

Work From Home Guide for First-Time Remote Workers | Nikola Baldikov, Allbusiness.com

home-office-300x235Even before the current situation around COVID-19, remote work has been on the rise. A recent study released prior to the coronavirus pandemic found that 50% of employees globally worked remotely for at least half of the week. This has been matched by a similarly positive trend in employee preference when it comes to remote work. The same study found that when faced with similar job offers, 80% of employees would refuse the offer that didn’t offer a flexible work option.

All of this means that whether you’re ready or not, remote work is here to stay. The logical question now becomes how can you not only survive in this new reality, but thrive. Luckily, there’s an abundance of collective knowledge on remote work gained by early adopters. Read on to find some practical tips and tools that will help you make the most of this situation.

Establish a routine

Perhaps the biggest challenge to adapting to a new work arrangement is finding your routine. Humans find comfort in the familiar, so until you become used to working from home you’ll likely feel out of place.

We all have our office routine, usually revolving around peak productive times, meetings and down time for things like lunch and coffee. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean that you can’t recreate something similar.

Morning exercise – Previously you may have walked to work, climbed some stairs, left the office to get lunch, etc. Compensating for this is important for your physical and mental health.

Get dressed for work – Just because you can spend all day in your pajamas doesn’t mean you should. In order to set the right tone for yourself, take the time to prepare yourself for the day just as you would if you were going to the office.

Breakfast and personal time – Breakfast is the perfect opportunity to do something for yourself: catch up on the news, read a book, just look out the window, or anything else that brings you joy.

Create a plan for your workday – Taking time in the morning to outline your tasks and goals for the day is a great way to maintain focus.

Work smart – When you feel that you need a break, take one. In the office you would find ways to clear your mind and stretch your legs.

Finish work at a set time – Set a clear end time for your work every day. Of course this can be adjusted in certain cases, as in the office. However, sticking to strict working times can create an important separation of your work and your personal life.

Don’t forget to take time for yourself

One of the biggest challenges of working from home is the feeling you’re always connected. Too often people get up, turn on the computer, begin working, and don’t stop until late in the evening, putting in much more than an eight-hour day. Partly this comes from a drive to “prove” you’re working, a mindset that you should try to overcome as you become more comfortable with remote work.

Just because your home has now become your office you shouldn’t feel obliged to be available during all waking hours. In fact, now more than ever, it’s important to take time for yourself in order to maintain your physical and mental health.

Find ways to interact in person

One of the biggest challenges of working from home is the loss of human-to-human connection that you find in the office. You’ll quickly come to value, and miss, those in-person interactions. Humans are social beings, and we need to feel connected. In fact, research shows that 19% of remote workers report loneliness as their biggest challenge. That’s why when working from home it’s crucial to find ways to interact in person.

Find the right tools

Too often people hope for a technological solution to a human challenge. Using the right tools can certainly help you feel more connected and increase your ability to collaborate. However, tools are a means rather than an end, and it’s much more important to nail down the points above before considering technology.

With that said, there are some broad categories of tools that can help you and your team stay in touch and maintain productivity. Your choice will depend on many factors, including your current setup, your team’s specific needs, the size of your team, the size of your budget, etc.

Team communication solutions

Your choice will ultimately need to reflect your team’s specific needs, for example, whether you need to keep in constant touch and be able to collaborate in groups, or you do most of your work individually.

Here are a few examples of tools to help orient you in your search:

Zoom: A remote conferencing service that’s gaining a lot of attention during the current crisis for its work, educational, and social uses. Zoom offers a range of tools for online meetings, chat and collaboration.

Slack: Slack allows you to structure your communication by teams and topics. There’s also the ability to integrate an unlimited number of apps, which can help streamline your remote communication.

Microsoft Teams: A good choice if you’re looking for a more comprehensive collaboration solution for your remote work.

Organization and productivity apps

Staying focused and on task is difficult in the best of circumstances. Without the structure that an office environment provides, it can become even more difficult. There are a range of apps developed to help teams stay organized and productive. From time tracking and scheduling software, to project planning and workflow organization, there’s an app for pretty much every need.

Dealing with change

Suddenly being forced to switch to a home office setup due to external factors is just such a situation. By approaching this change with an open heart, open mind, and of course, a good plan, you can turn a challenge into an opportunity for growth!

5 tips to staying productive during the quarantine | Kelly Broderick, Wmar2news.com

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Because your days may be stuck behind those four walls for a bit, we’re taking a look at some tips to help improve your productivity during these trying times.

  1. Create a Flexible Schedule

Be realistic about your tasks and if you feel like you’re being drained by the end of the day, try to space the things out. One of the aspects about this pandemic is how emotionally and mentally draining it can be on an individual. If you feel like you need a break from things for a while, do that. But try to be productive about those decisions.

Productivity coach Rose-Anne Uwague weighed in on this topic with Forbes saying, “Honesty is key. If you don’t feel like doing something because you are drained, overwhelmed or tired, it is better not to do it. If the lack of desire is merely laziness, then dump the excuses and get up and go!”

  1. Prioritize your to-do list

This may be an obvious one, but try to choose the tasks based on what has to get done that day. If you can, try to pair activities together! Now that’s not saying you should try your new workout routine while learning how to cook, but if you have to do some work on the computer, why not do your laundry at the same time? Things you can pair are tasks that can be paused if one of them needs to take priority.

  1. If you’re looking for a job, start building up your resume!

Working on your resume, strengthening your LinkedIn page or even creating a website is something that will keep you on top of your game if you do hit the hard times.

  1. Learn a new skill!

Learning a skill doesn’t have to be a monumental thing. In some ways, it can just teach you something new or give you something to add to that resume we talked about.

  1. Know when to take a break

If you have the ability to, go for a walk or step outside for 10 minutes. If you’re unable to leave your house at this time, try to do some stretches or schedule quick phone calls with family when you need a break from work.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so if its a struggle to stay motivated, realize you are not alone.

19 Jobs You Can You Can Do Without Leaving the House | Stacy Rapacon, Aarp.org

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Working from home, in many ways, is the only solution for older workers who tend to be more susceptible to severe cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. The good news is you can find an array of work-from-home jobs across all industries and at varying experience levels. Here are 19 work-from-home jobs currently hiring.

  1. Teacher

Who’s hiring: Outschool, K12, Prof360

Pay can vary widely, depending on what exactly you teach. For example, the median hourly pay is about $15 an hour for an elementary school teacher and $33 an hour for a postsecondary professor, according to PayScale. Outschool, a marketplace for online classes, says its teachers make $30 to $40 an hour, on average.

  1. Telehealth Nurse

Who’s hiring: AxisPoint Health, Forward

Telehealth had been growing in popularity before the coronavirus hit the U.S. and has gotten an extra boost in demand as the health care system has been inundated with COVID-19 patients. Indeed, AxisPoint Health is looking to hire full-time telehealth nurses to answer questions specifically about COVID-19 and help manage the current health care crisis from the safety of their own homes. Other opportunities are available for part-timers. Just be sure to check on licensing requirements.

  1. Transcriptionist

Who’s hiring: Literably, Pactera Technologies

If you can listen and type, you can be a transcriptionist. Some positions, such as in the medical field, may prefer applicants with technical knowledge of the subject matter. But plenty of opportunities — including those at Literably (a reading assessment service for students from kindergarten through eighth grade) and Pactera Technologies (a global digital consulting firm) — require no prior experience and provide on-the-job training.

  1. Consultant

Who’s hiring: Various companies

This can be a particularly attractive move for pre-retirees in a variety of industries hoping to ease into retirement, as it lets you trim back your hours as you see fit but maintain your senior-level pay rate if you stick with your area of expertise. You might even be able to talk to your current employer about transitioning a full-time position into a contract role. Otherwise, a number of online job boards — such as Upwork and FlexJobs — and staffing agencies — such as Wahve (which specializes in working with pre-retirees) and Robert Half — can help connect you with clients.

  1. Bookkeeper

Who’s hiring: AccountingDepartment.com, Beech Valley Solutions

Keep your accounting expertise at home and provide your services virtually. AccountingDepartment.com is hiring accounting professionals for a variety of full-time and fully remote positions that come complete with health insurance, a 401(k) plan and paid vacation time. Beech Valley Solutions is seeking hourly contract accounting pros for ongoing work.

  1. Virtual Assistant

Who’s hiring: Boldly

Provide administrative support from the comfort of your own home and schedule. Virtual assistants can perform a range of services, from scheduling and email management to social media strategizing and event planning. And you can seek to do it full time via an agency or independently on a gig-by-gig basis.

  1. Focus Group Participant

Who’s hiring: Consumer Opinion Services, Find Focus Groups, Focus Pointe Global

Get paid to share your opinions. While it’s not exactly a job, participating in surveys and focus groups can be an easy way to pick up a bit of extra cash — in some cases, a very little bit.

  1. Translator

Who’s hiring: CyraCom, Translate.com, Wikimedia Foundation

These workers translate the written or the spoken word, depending on the position. At CyraCom (which is currently seeking Swahili interpreters), you’d staff the phones and assist people communicating with doctors, insurance agents and even 9-1-1 operators. Translate.com offers work on a gig-by-gig basis, which can give you more flexibility. Just note that all gigs are first come, first served and can pay less than a penny per word.

  1. Mock Juror

Who’s hiring: Online Verdict, eJury.com, Jury Test

Mock jurors assist lawyers (and their clients) by reviewing legal cases and offering their feedback on how they’d rule. Like participating in focus groups, you can’t exactly make a career of this.

  1. Writer

Who’s hiring: Contently, NerdWallet

The ability to string a sentence together can land you a work-from-home job in a wide range of industries, whether you’re a rookie writer or a seasoned pro. Of course, the more experience you have, the greater your pay potential. Expertise in a certain field — be it sports, parenting, personal finance, technology or science — can also help boost your prospects, as well as narrow your job search.

  1. Customer Service Representative

Who’s hiring: Discover Financial Services, InfoCision, liveops, Prudential, Teladoc Health, Williams Sonoma

Make your home a one-person call center. You can assist customers by phone for a variety of businesses in a wide range of industries, from retail to health care to technology and everything in between. You may even be able to give your voice a rest and provide your services online, helping clients via email or online chat.

  1. Negotiator

Who’s hiring: Path One Group

If your communication skills are particularly persuasive, becoming a bill negotiation advocate could be right up your alley. Through its Autopilot product, the tech company Viv, a subsidiary of Path One Group, aims to help people lower their monthly bills for cable, cellphone plans, internet and other utilities. And they need negotiators to do the dirty work of haggling with the likes of Comcast, Verizon and other service providers most people would prefer not to talk to themselves.

  1. SEO Specialist

Who’s hiring: Coalition Technologies, Main Street ROI, Sure Oak

SEO experts review and analyze websites, identifying content and design issues that could be dragging them down and providing solutions for improvement. Many companies are seeking to fill this kind of position with full-time, part-time and contract workers.

  1. Claims Investigator

Who’s hiring: Amazon, Anthem, Bcforward

Put your sleuthing skills to work. Claims investigators perform in-depth online and database research to assess the legitimacy of an individual’s unemployment or insurance claim. The level of education and experience required varies by position, with senior roles possibly requiring specialized degrees.

  1. Speech Language Pathologist

Who’s hiring: ProCare Therapy, Soliant, VocoVision

Speech language pathologists work with K-12 students to identify communication disorders and develop individualized education plans to address their needs. And with schools currently practicing remote learning, school districts are seeking remote workers to provide this important specialized service via teletherapy.

  1. Fundraising Coordinator

Who’s hiring: InfoCision, MedGlobal, TrueSense Marketing

Help raise money for the causes you believe in. You can take on a full-time entry-level job that requires you to communicate directly with potential or existing donors.

  1. School Psychologist

Who’s hiring: ProCare Therapy, Soliant, VocoVision

Schools aren’t just for book learning; they also provide a safe haven for students where professionals can help assess and promote their well-being. School psychologists work with K-12 students to identify and address any academic struggles, learning disabilities, and behavioral and emotional issues. And with schools currently practicing remote learning, school districts are seeking remote workers to provide this important specialized service via teletherapy.

  1. Sales Agent

Who’s hiring: eHealth, Humana, Salesforce

Companies across a range of industries, from financial to tech to health care, are looking for star salespeople with various levels of experience (and a license to sell, if necessary) to push their products and services from a remote location.

  1. Software Engineer

Who’s hiring: Amazon, LocusLabs, Robert Half

In addition to full-time listings with the above employers and staffing agencies, you can find freelance gigs for software engineers and developers via online marketplaces, such as FreeUp, Remote and Upwork.

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Remote Work Digest: March 31, 2020

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

5 Productive Things You Can Do While In Quarantine | Blair Flood, Money.com

Life's short, spend it productively

If you’re among the thousands of Americans who suddenly find themselves with extra time in their day due to new work from home policies (less commute time) or temporary leave, we came up with these 5 productive things you can do while in quarantine to help you keep your sanity.

1. Learn about the stock market to be prepared

Market sell-offs create huge buying opportunities. A Motley Fool Stock Advisor membership provides you with the market research you need to navigate these difficult times.

Once you figure out what to buy, you’ll need to figure out how to buy. In just a few years, Robinhood has become one of the largest stock trading apps in the country, offering commission-free trading and an easy way to start investing. They offer you the ability to start with as little as $1 and buy fractional shares, so if your favorite company’s stock is a little too expensive, you can still get involved.

2. Make sure your credit report is in good shape

Don’t make the same mistake! There are sites that allow you to see a free copy of your credit report and services that help you monitor your credit in real-time. This will allow you to catch any errors before you go to apply for a loan or credit card. Spending a few minutes now to make sure that your credit report is in good shape could save you a ton of time down the road.

3. Keep your mind busy by learning a new language

Learning a new language has been on my to-do list for years, and I’m finally checking it off. I want to be fully prepared once it’s safe to travel again, and to be honest, it’s not taking nearly as much time as I thought.

4. Use this time to compare prices on your home and car insurance

If you don’t own a home, but are still looking to save some money, getting an updated car insurance quotes is a great way to find savings. MONEY’s recent article The Best Auto Insurance for 2020 is a great place to find a few companies to get quotes from. Even if you don’t end up switching, it’s a good idea to see what you can save.

5. File your taxes

If you’re sheltered in place, tax preparation software is the way to go. Most companies offer free online software, but charge extra for assistance. I learned the hard way that paying the extra fee can be worth it if you have a complicated filing (like getting a letter from your city saying that you owe them taxes from over 4 years ago… You can always add on the assistance later if you need it, so start with the free version and see how far you get.

Now, Relax!

You’ve earned it. Call that friend you’ve been wanting to video chat with for a while, relax with a glass of wine delivered to your door, read that book that you started over Christmas break and never finished, or spend time making a home-cooked meal.

How to maintain employee performance during COVID-19 | HRD, Hcamag.com

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The majority of organisations have focused on scenario planning and necessary operational responses to ensure business continuity during COVID-19, according to Brian Kropp, chief of research for the Gartner HR practice.

However, these plans often do not address, nor impact, employees’ ability to focus on their work, Kropp added.

According to Gartner, HR should help managers at all levels do six specific activities to ensure employees get the requisite support to tackle the emotional response:

Sense employees’ need for support

Managers need to recognize signs of distress among their people, both directly through conversations and indirectly through observation.

To facilitate regular conversations between managers and employees, HR should provide managers with guidance on how best to broach sensitive subjects arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, including alternative work models, job security and prospects, impact to staffing, and tension in the workplace.

Promote dialogue to build understanding

Two-way communication with managers and peers provides employees with the information and perspective they need, while allowing them to express and process negative emotions and improve their feelings of control.

HR leaders should help managers create opportunities for two-way dialogues that focus on a realistic picture of both the positive and negative implications of the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Use objectives to create clarity

Clear objectives and regular updates on possible changes will help ensure employees maintain focus, energy and a sense of purpose.

HR leaders can help managers reassert the link between employees’ work and organisational success by providing visibility into the current organisational goals and translating the organisation’s vision into their employees’ context.

Reinforce organisational values to reduce the like hood of misconduct

Apart from modeling the right behaviors, managers should encourage whistleblowers to call out unethical behaviors, remind staff of the channels for reporting misconduct, and highlight punitive measures for noncompliance.

Tailor recognition to acknowledge employee efforts

Recognition can take many forms other than monetary rewards — public acknowledgment, tokens of appreciation, development opportunities and low-cost perks.

For organisations facing a slowdown in business, managers can take this opportunity to provide development opportunities to employees who normally do not have capacity. This reinforces the organisation’s commitment to the long-term success of the employee.

Drive engagement via innovation

While managers and employees may understandably become more risk-averse in this uncertain environment, it is these times of change and disruption that innovation and risk-taking become even more important for employee engagement and organisational success.

The disengaging effect of constraints on innovation and risk-taking are particularly severe for high-potential (HIPO) employees who tend to have a stronger desire for these types of opportunities.

15 easy kitchen hacks that will transform your life during lockdown | Laura Nightingale, Getsurrey.co.uk

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With the nation on lockdown, if you get bored at home these tricks will certainly inspire you.

1. Tissue box

Fill an empty tissue box with carrier bags, bin bags or food waste bags and pull them out as you would a tissue.

2. Egg cartons

Don’t waste that last drop of sauce. Instead pour it into plastic egg cartons to make single serve portions.

3. Freeze milk

There are lots of foods that can be frozen which you might not realise, including milk.Frozen milk should be thawed before it is used and be sure to give it a big shake before you pour it to ensure all the solids and liquids have been fully mixed.

4. Microwave bread

You can make bread in the microwave, yes really. Plus it takes just 90 seconds to cook. For the full recipe click here.

5. Pasta recipe

Did you know you can make pasta from scratch with just four ingredients and it takes under 10 minutes to make? Watch this video here showing how to make it in a flash.

6. Jam jars

Clean, empty jam jars can be used for a whole host of things including tea light holders, mini vases for wild flowers and, our favourite, for keeping food in.

7. Hang cleaning products on a rod

If the cupboard under your sink is a mess and you can never find that bottle of kitchen cleaner, make a rail for them. Screw a metal rod into the cupboard and hang the handles on it to make more space.

8. Saucepan handles

If you didn’t know, the reason why there is a hole in a saucepan handle is so that you can rest a wooden spoon in it.

9. Put paper towels in the salad drawer

Kitchen roll absorbs the condensation that vegetables generate as they chill. So put a layer of paper in the fridge draw to keep them fresher for longer.

10. Wine bottle watering can

Use your empty wine bottles as watering cans to feed the plants. Alternatively, they make a fancy water carafe for the kitchen table.

11. Coffee jar vase

Bigger than a jam jar, they make excellent vases.

12. Planter box milk cartons

Simply cut them in half, fill with soil, pop in seeds and watch your flowers or herbs grow. It’s great fun for kids and they can decorate the boxes too.

13. Banana pancakes

If you can’t get hold of flour, eggs or milk, you can still enjoy pancakes with this healthier alternative. Just mash one banana, blitz an handful of oats into a flour consistency, mix them together and then fry in a pan.

14. Nice cream

Nice cream as opposed to ice cream because it’s nice and healthy. It’s virtually fat free and has no refined sugars. All you need to do is cut a ripe or over ripe banana into chunks and freeze. Once frozen remove and blend it with a splash of milk to a thick and creamy texture. You can customise it however you like. We like blitzing frozen strawberries with it too for yummy strawberry and banana nice cream.

15. Flip your cereal bag before opening

Hate finding crumbs at the bottom of your cereal packet? Don’t throw them away or suffer with a mushy breakfast. Just shake the bag each morning to distribute all those little bits.

6 productivity tips for staying on schedule when working from home | Hope Reese, Techrepublic.com

kid standing near sofa while mother working with laptop

Working from home can also bring distractions from friends, family, social media, new obligations at home––especially if you’re sharing space with others––and reinventing schedules. All these things are likely to throw you off your routine. As a result, it’s easier to lose track of time or miss out on the regular reminders about important workplace meetings.

Here are six tips from productivity experts about how to stay on schedule and not miss out on important workplace meetings:

1. Create a new alert infrastracture

Gretchen Rubin is the author of the international bestseller The Happiness Project. As someone who has dedicated a lot of thought to examining the best way to live a productive and fulfilling life, you could call her an expert on setting healthy habits.

“I’m losing my sense of time,” Rubin told TechRepublic. “I usually know exactly what time it is, and what time of day it is, and it’s getting lost. So, even if you don’t usually depend on calendar alerts and putting Post-it notes up, you might find you need to build up more infrastructure.”

2. Make it clear to others that you are home, but you are still working

If you have roommates, a partner, or kids at home, working at home might make it seem as though you’re more available for activities around the house or hanging out. And while the great benefit of working from home is the increased flexibility, it’s critical to make sure you maintain a healthy boundary between your home life and your work life.

Gently inform others who might be distracting you from your work schedule that you need to stick to your schedule. If it’s you who is creating the distractions, make sure that you keep yourself accountable by setting hours and sticking to them. Close the door to your office area, if possible, or put in headphones to block outside sounds.

3. Stop messing around on Instagram

To counteract your social networks’ ease of use during work hours, remove them from your browser shortcuts and, according to Fast Company, log out of every account. You might even consider working primarily in a private or incognito browser window. This ensures you stay signed out of all your accounts and each web search you conduct doesn’t autocomplete the word you’re typing. It’s a guarantee that you won’t be tempted into taking too many social breaks during the day.

4. Write down your schedule – and stick to it

Rubin suggests writing things down on paper to stay on track. “Without the infrastructure and the social aspects of seeing people come and go, you might forget. You might have to prepare something for Friday, but you feel like Friday is an eternity away,” she said. “Yet time is still passing, so you might need to write things down more explicitly.”

5. Create your own workspace

It’s key to make a space that feels like it’s meant to get work done. That means avoiding your bed and sofa, if possible. “I think a lot of people would benefit from reimagining their space,” Rubin says. “You might even need to move your childrens’ bedrooms around to make a work or study space.”

6. Double-check your tech

Many of us have experienced the dreaded moment when your conference call has started, but you’re not able to get into it. Maybe your internet connection is slow. Maybe you haven’t downloaded the proper software. Maybe you haven’t checked your audio. For those working at home in the age of COVID-19, the problems could be amplified––maybe other people in your space are loud, and you can’t hear the meeting. Or you’re juggling multiple meetings online and finding it hard to keep track which one you’re supposed to join.

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Remote Work Digest: February 28, 2020

The latest on all kinds of information, news, and resources that help you make working remotely better.

10 Reasons Why Time Management is Important | Mark Pettit, Thriveglobal.com

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The ability to manage your time effectively is important if you want to have more time for the people that matter and to reach your goals quicker.

Effective time management leads to improved productivity, quicker results and more success in business and life.

Understanding the importance of time management can create more time, more opportunities, less stress and the achievement of bigger goals.

Here are 10 time management tips to help you manage time and reach your goals quicker:

  1. Create a time audit

Time audit will help you identify activities to eliminate and activities to invest more time on. Simply list all of the activities do you in a week and time spent on each. Then ask yourself if that time investment is the best use of time.

Eliminate activities where appropriate and spend more time on the activites that will help you reach your goals quicker.

Focus on results not time spent.

  1. Become a planning master

If you’re clear on your goals, lay out clear plans to achieve those goals. This should include quarterly planning, monthly planning, weekly planning and daily planning. If you have no direction or focus for your day or week then you can easily become distracted and waste time.

  1. Focus time on your most important activity

Multi-tasking can waste hours of time every day. Choose the one thing and use time blocking to remove distractions. This will help mind and body stay focused and energised.

  1. Use the Pareto Principle to manage time

Use the Pareto Principle, otherwise known as the 80:20 rule, to prioritise your time and energy. This rule suggests that 20% of something produces 80% of the results. Using the Pareto Principle look at how you can focus less time to produce a bigger result.

The Pareto Principle is all about leveraging a small amount of time and effort to deliver bigger results.

  1. Don’t worry about being perfect

Perfectionists think that nothing will ever be perfect so they spend too much time tweaking and amending to ensure that a project is perfect. Nothing will ever be perfect. Use your best capabilities to start a project and then work with someone else or delegate the rest.

  1. Prioritise your time

By focusing, and staying away from low value work you can achieve more by working less. This focus comes from being clear on your goals and an ability to prioritise and work on projects in blocks of time until completed. If you can free up an extra hour of time a day think how much more productive you’ll be.

  1. Celebrate progress

There are always things to celebrate and achievements made in every day. At the end of each day list three you’ve achieved. This will ensure you end your day feeling motivated and energised.

  1. Achieve goals faster

Many people have big goals that they don’t achieve. But without understanding the importance of time management, you may always big goals that you don’t achieve.

The reason. Too short deadlines.

If you want to achieve goals faster, set bigger goals with longer deadlines and smaller goals with shorter deadlines.

Every goal achievements build progress and momentum so make it easy on youself to achieve your goals.

  1. Increase energy by freeing up time

The answer is to take more time our of your business and life for rest and rejuvenation. This could be taken just for you or to spend with the people in your life that are most important.

More time out increases energy and motivation.

  1. Create time to do more of what you love

In business focus more of your time on the activities that you’re great at and love to do.

When you spend more time doing things you’re passionate about with people you want to work with, you creat a much bigger impact.

In your life, spending more time doing the things that you love is exciting and motivating.

What to Look For in a CV When Hiring a Remote Candidate | Andrew Fennell, Theundercoverrecruiter.com

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Hiring a remote candidate is a little different from hiring someone to work in-office or on-premises. Remote workers have certain attributes that make them awesome at working independently and as any recruiter knows, there will be little “tells” hidden and sometimes not so hidden in a remote candidate’s CV.

What should a recruiter look for in a remote worker’s CV?

Commitment

A remote worker has to be committed and dedicated to getting their job done. If you can find that perfect level of commitment in a candidate, you can be sure that despite any of the comforts or distractions of working from home, and with the trust of working unsupervised, they will get their job done, and well.

Self-discipline

Self-discipline could be seen as the ability to consistently achieve or to regularly perform an activity, by using willpower to overcome distractions or hurdles.

Enthusiasm and passion

A remote worker doesn’t have a team to bounce ideas off or someone they can look to for words of encouragement. Their willingness to complete their tasks and do so well needs to come mostly from within themselves. This takes the form of enthusiasm and passion for what they do and who they do it for. If a remote worker doesn’t enjoy what they do, they won’t do it well.

Organization and time management

A remote worker’s CV should either visibly demonstrate or infer that the candidate is organized. If a remote worker loses focus or gets behind in their task, the impact for a business may be greater as it might not be noticed immediately.

Attention to detail

Remote workers are usually expected to submit completed work of one kind or another or perform duties that might not be checked by another employee. It’s mistakes in particular that will be costly to employers especially errors that aren’t picked up, perhaps until a customer is impacted.

Communication skills

Although they might not need to communicate, or even report in all the time, it is expected that when they do that communication is accurate and concise. A remote worker needs to be able to convey, perhaps even in an email or by telephone, if they are having problems or need a task carried out by a colleague.

Positions of trust

If you can see a remote working candidate has held a position of trust, this illustrates they were relied upon by another business to get their job done, effectively. And, it doesn’t have to be a remote position of trust. A supervisory or management role indicates a candidate had less supervision and was expected to be self-disciplined as well as making sure others performed their roles effectively.

An aptitude for technology

Technology is empowering remote working; employees can work as seamlessly remotely as they could in the same building with colleagues and on-premise technology. Remote workers need to use, sometimes multiple, communication and collaboration platforms.

Problem-solving skills

When working alone they’ll need to be resourceful when facing a challenge, as they may not be able to contact another employee or a manager immediately for assistance. Equally, a remote worker can’t be on the phone to a head-office or senior every five minutes.

Ability to work independently

A remote worker is unlikely to be successful if their personality is such that they excel only in a team environment. Look for jobs that show a remote working candidate has worked predominantly alone and enjoyed it.

Remote working experience

With the number of remote working jobs growing daily, the pool of available and experienced remote workers is falling, especially those with plenty of experience. As such, it’s the soft skills and attributes above, and others, either innate or gained during other work experience that will indicate if a candidate has what it takes to be a high-performing remote worker.

5 Breathtaking Ways to Inspire Your Employees in 2020 | Jacklyne Kweyu, Thriveglobal.com

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Here are some tricks that you can use to keep your employees inspired.

  1. Respect your employees

Always treat an employee, the same way you would want someone else to treat you. Be courteous, polite, and kind while dealing with them. Put in mind the voice tone that you use and body language displays; matters too. Whenever an employee speaks to you, learn to listen first before reacting. By doing so, you inspire your employees; they have no reason to look for work elsewhere.

  1. Invest in your Employees

Experts say that investing in your employees is synonymous with investing in your company’s future. If you do not invest in them, turnover will be high, hampering your success.

You can have individual development plans for all your employees. Have them set and write down both their short term and long term goals. Do a follow up in cooperating one-on-one coaching if need be to help them achieve these goals.

Another way to invest in your employees is by organizing team building activities. Not only will they make work to be fun, but they will also create friendship and encourage teamwork.

  1. Be Transparent

Be open about what’s happening within your business that employees have a right to know. In a working environment, transparency inspires your employees and creates positivism by eliminating fear. Moreover, it makes employees open up about their achievements and shortcomings.

  1. Give Incentives

Always strive to inspire your employees by giving them an incentive whenever they do a good job. This is among the oldest known psychological principals of inspiring employees.

Create monthly awards and recognition events where people who worked exceptionally well get to be recognized and rewarded. You can give them a promotion if a vacancy is available or a handwritten thank you note. This will create healthy competition that business needs.

Inspiring your employees is all that it takes. Always recognize them whenever they do a good job, be open with information. Give them price incentives and above all respect them.

Once you perfect these motivation strategies, you will create a perfect working environment, and your result will definitely be superior dedication and optimistic perception of the company’s future. On top of it, your employees will be happy and your turnarounds will be minimal.

10 remote leadership jobs for virtual workers | Esther Shein, Techrepublic.com

Analyst in office

The 10 remote leadership jobs listed by FlexJobs all offer some type of remote work arrangement, ranging from partial remote work to 100% remote, the company said. The positions include average salary information from PayScale, which may slightly differ depending on location, FlexJobs said.

Some common executive-level remote job titles include director, executive director, vice president, medical director, and various C-level jobs such as COO, CFO, and CEO.

Chief Marketing Officer

The CMO oversees developing marketing plans that help companies gain brand recognition and customers. The CMO needs to understand the company’s marketplace position and heavily rely upon performance analytics to develop detailed strategies in this remote leadership job.

Chief Technology Officer

A CTO is in charge of the technological needs of a company or organization. The role finds and implements technology solutions to help a company succeed and leads the development and maintenance of a technology road map.

Director of Communications

Communications directors help create a positive image of a company to the public by overseeing strategy and messaging. They may act as a spokesperson and contact for journalists and also monitor the public perception of the company.

Director of Content Strategy

In this remote leadership job, typically more than 10 years of experience in marketing, communications, or publishing can qualify you for this role. Common duties include determining a company’s content strategy based on the company’s and users’ needs, managing writers, creating an editorial calendar, and conducting SEO research.

Sales Director

Sales directors lead sales teams by providing vision and guidance. Approving sales projections and budgets, hiring sales managers, and working with marketing and logistics teams are some typical tasks.

Vice President of Business Development

This executive-level role develops and executes an organization’s sales and marketing plans. Creating new client relationships, writing proposals, managing a sales team, and setting team and company-wide goals are tasks of this job.

Vice President of Engineering

A VP of engineering will manage a team to get products completed. This role has a big-picture view of what stakeholders or clients need and the route to meet these needs. Many times, seven to 12 years of experience are needed to qualify for this executive-level job.

Vice President of Operations

An operations VP most often works with the company president to assist with daily operations. With a thorough understanding of company operations, this role will provide business performance leadership, monitor finances, and evaluate operational procedures.

Vice President of Project Management

This role provides direction and leadership on project management tasks. A project management VP handles developing road maps, prioritizing projects, communicating with key stakeholders, and creating best practices.