Office Not Required – Productivity Strategies for Remote Working

The remote working revolution, or at least a hybrid of in-office and work-from-home, is here to stay. Data shows that more than half (56%) of South African respondents* are now working from home at least some of the time, with younger respondents more likely to split their work between home and another location.

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But how do we navigate the balance of work and home life, for ourselves and our employees, when they are so inextricably linked? 

Finding work-life balance is all about prioritization. Things like clear boundaries and expectations, support for physical and mental health, and a workplace culture that prioritizes work-life balance can help team members achieve it.

Tips for you and your team to achieve and maintain a healthy work-life balance:

  • Create flexible work schedules. As a small business owner, we know you can’t always afford to make big benefits changes. But when your employees feel supported, your whole team will benefit from a much healthier work environment. Start with something achievable that also makes a significant difference to the lives of your team — like flexible work schedules.
  • Create clear schedule expectations.  Try and be as clear as possible when setting expectations around when employees need to be available and at their computers. Managers should be crystal-clear regarding when employees need to be available and at their computers. If you allow flexi-hours, it’s important to define the time frame within which employees are expected to respond to emails, be available via text and return phone calls.
  • Use communication tools to indicate your online and offline hours. Once you have set out the parameters of the daily schedule for yourself and your employees, use different tools to communicate when you are online or offline. This could be setting your Teams, Slack or other platforms to “away” so that you don’t receive notifications after a certain time of the day or outside of your agreed schedule. Being able to see your status will help your colleagues be more mindful of your personal time.
  • Check-in regularly. Checking in with your team is important to ensure you are all aligned on the business goals, your personal goals, and your work goals. It can be easy to just ignore that there might be concerns, but it’s better to have regular honest check-ins with your team to see how you are all feeling.

Remember, there is no right or wrong way of working, only figuring out what works for you, your team and your business. Don’t feel pressured by what you read online or see other CEOs doing. Everyone has their own agenda. If you think your team is nailing this remote work thing, and you can work from a beach in Ibiza, do it. If you feel like you need face time, try factor that in.

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