Techniques for Working at Home – And Staying Away From Your Refrigerator

Need a lock for your refrigerator? A growing trend of the virtual workplace is working from home, even occasionally.  Many consider flexible work-from-home policies encouraging, producing increased productivity, decreased costs, greater choice for talent, and lower employee attrition.

This might be argued given the recent controversy when Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer called all virtual workers back to the office. Shortly after her announcement, New York Times’ columnist Maureen Dowd called it a “fem-quake” while Virgin CEO Richard Branson deemed it “a backwards step.” A “symptom of problems,” is how The Economist put it.

Whatever your opinion or company direction may be, don’t forget that there are several tips that can guide you to be more successful and overcome those distractions – a barking dog, a crying baby, and a ubiquitous refrigerator.

Yael Zofi, author of A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams, was the featured guest on Ora Shtull’s Need a lock for your refrigerator? video blog (also known as vlog) and offers tips on maximizing our virtual workday. Ora and Yael discussed the biggest challenges for those who work virtually, many who have never met their teammates and use technology as a means to communicate. Yael offered guidance on how to diminish problems while amplifying the benefits of working virtually.

Question: How to keep productivity levels high while minimizing the distractions around you?

Yael shared tidbits on getting ready for work as if you were leaving the house, putting on work attire, creating a separate work area, and dedicating time for setting goals/agenda. And, Zofi suggests, don’t forget to take breaks throughout the day!

Question: How do you maintain relationships with people you do not see?

At their core, people like to connect, Zofi asserts. So spend time before or after virtual meetings to get to know each other, look for commonalities that you share. Food is a great example of what brings people together. No matter the culture, people always enjoy food!

Question: What things does a team need to think about when using technology?

When it comes to technology, your virtual team needs to examine their common denominator. Yael explains that if one region/area has sophisticated technology available while another location/person only has phone capabilities, the common denominator for that team is a phone. Why? Because it gives all team members equal opportunity to interact. Technology is a useful medium to engage team members, so make sure you find your common denominator.

Need a lock for your refrigerator? gave useful, simple and thoughtful tidbits that anyone working virtually can apply. Yael covers each section more in depth in her book A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams.

Trudy Ann Channer

OD Consultant