Those of us who work from home regularly know that, in addition to all the perks and flexibility it affords, work life can get a little lonely when all your human interaction flows through an internet connection or phone line. Most of us on the Virtual LIfe Panel work have worked from home at least 80% of the time over the past two years and now consider it our primary workspace. After the miserable winter on the east coast and many of us starting to feel like shut-in mole people, we decided that the most appropriate topic for this month’s VLP would be how to cope with isolation in the home office. There were three related topics we selected to tackle:
How have you changed after working primarily from home?
- Being in a cube farm makes you nuts now – can’t focus in noisy, people-saturated environments. It’s now really difficult to be productive with lots of social activity going on.
- Social interactions become much more energized.
- People can’t drop in unannounced to the physical workspace without interrupting the virtual workspace. It can be uncomfortable to switch between the two.
- It’s actually harder to get out of the house because you’re just used to being there all the time.
What’s the most difficult remote configuration to manage?
The “split” model of a co-located office plus a set of distributed employees is the most difficult to integrate. It’s also currently the most common. Co-located employees tend to create social groups with physically present people rather than virtually present people. As we’ve discussed before, there must be an extra level of consideration given to the remote employees in terms of socializing and engagement at work. Read this great article our pal @scottyabevill published on LinkedIn on “labeling” employees as remote.
What practices help you battle feelings of isolation?
- Have dates for coffee in Sococo, or even toast to the end of the week with a nice cocktail! It’s fine to drop in and chat with folks who have time to chat with you. Sococo makes it easy to see what’s going on, who’s free, and who’s busy. (We do put the “Social” in “Social Communications Company”).
- Dedicate a “water cooler” room for socializing and hanging out in Sococo. Some maps have patios where team members take breaks.
- Share your music and your playlists or stations with co-workers. A shared Pandora account can be a fun way to curate music together.
- Find a co-working space. This can help get you out of the house and make you feel more like part of your community.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below how you battle the home office blues.
