Making the switch from office-based to remote worker certainly brings some benefits, but it also comes with a period of transition. There are certain things you’re going to have to get used to, and you want to get over the hurdles as soon as possible.
One of the ways you can do this is by conducting a working from home risk assessment and creating a plan for how your new setup is going to work.
Health
One of the most important things about an office is that it provides a healthy environment for employees to work in. Just because you’re now working from home and the responsibility now falls on you to make sure you’ve got a healthy space to work in doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
Depending on how seriously your office takes these things, you might benefit from a high-end chair, standing desk, ergonomic mouse, and other little extras to help you stay healthy at the office.
These small items can make a big difference, so it’s worth assessing what you’re going to need to make your new home office a healthy environment.
Security
When you start working from home, you need to ensure you’re taking your business’s online security seriously. Businesses invest lots of money to try and protect themselves from online security risks, and you’ve got to recognize that your home office’s security will now play a part in this.
Your employers will likely help with this by providing cloud services and other secure means of working from home, but you still need to make sure you’re taking basic steps to secure yourself.
Make sure you’re using important antivirus software from trusted brands, such as Mcafee, and take online security seriously.
Time
When you bring your work into the home, one of the risks is that there will be significant changes to your work-life balance. Many businesses worry that remote workers won’t spend enough time working, but often studies say the opposite.
Just because your work has moved into your home doesn’t mean it has to take over all your time.
You need to carry out an assessment and decide what your goals and responsibilities are. Once you have done this, you should create a schedule that will allow you to meet them. There still has to be a balance between personal time and work time.
Relationships
This might seem like a strange point to have on a risk assessment, but with many more people working from home, this can significantly change the dynamic of relationships.
If you’ve got more than one person working from home, potentially with limited space and resources, you need to find compromises that allow everyone to do their best work.
Make sure to assess everyone’s needs and work out a plan that is going to allow everyone to get the most out of working from home. There are obviously plenty of benefits to working at home, but it’s best to work on ironing out some of the kinks right from the beginning.
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