Tips and advice on working from home

Lots of casual staff are used to working from home, but many are not. If you’re not used to it, you may face challenges that you don’t normally face at work. Here are some general tips that take into account some different home situations.

Your personal circumstances may vary – you may live alone or with others, you may have children or elderly parents at home. Your personal style may also vary – everyone works differently, some people prefer clutter, some need to be tidy, some need to have a designated workspace, others can be more flexible.

You will need the necessary technology to communicate effectively and to do your job. Make sure you have reliable internet access and coverage. If not, ask your workplace to assist with this.

Make sure your workplace provides you with the required technology to do your job. This includes a mobile phone, a laptop with access to video conferencing software, to your work files and to email to keep in touch with colleagues and your manager. Make sure you set up a workspace that will work for you and that it is ergonomically suitable. If you live with others, let them know when you are working so that you are not be distracted.

Be as comfortable as you can and minimise unnecessary non-work-related distractions.

It helps to have a defined schedule and stick to it. For example, if you work a 7-hour day, decide when you want to work those hours and then stick to your schedule. Avoid varying your schedule from day to day, but if you need to do it, then try to return to your

By Helena Spyrou NTEU Education and Training Organiser

schedule as soon as you can or make sure that you can do the required hours. Make sure you ‘knock off’ work when you’ve done your required hours for the day.

Make sure your manager provides clear guidelines about your day-to-day tasks so that you know what is expected of you and ask for a regular time for communication with your manager via phone in, email or video conferencing.

Take regular breaks to avoid cabin fever. When not working, get outside as much as possible – e.g. gardening or walking around the block.

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