Coronavirus: Six top tips if you have to work from home

Businesses are sending more and more people home to work.

And while the move can have some positives – no morning commute! – it can leave you isolated from your work colleagues, and with the country in the grip of the virus, there is no indication how long you may be away from the office.

The aim behind sending everyone home is to minimise the spread of infection, but it may also be a very new, and alien, way of logging in to do a day’s work,.

In Fife, window firm, Velux, has asked any of its 120 employees who can work from home to do so.

In common with many other companies, it has advised against business travel unless essential, while companies with more than one base are not allowing staff to move between them.

If you are facing the prospect of working from home – potentially for a number of weeks – here are six tips to make things easier.

1 Hangout together: Technology allows us to keep in touch in so many ways, so use Google Hangouts for face to face chats, a well as calls from your phones.

Set up a Whatsapp group to stay in touch for all the gossip, and, on a more formal level, managers need to ensure all staff are kept fully in the loop when it comes to any decisions or developments.

2 Don’t be a couch potato: It’s all to easy to go from your temporary desk to the sofa, and watch a bit of telly.

Exercise is important. A simple walk before you start can get you ready – another one at lunchtime is good, provided, of course, you are free from any symptoms of coronavirus.

If you are self-isolating, there are also virtual exercise classes online via You Tube

3 Tune in: No-one enjoys working in isolation., so put some music on in the background. Some work better with it, others prefer to play their favourite songs during a break … and there’s the added bonus you get to choose all the tracks!

4. Switching off: It is too easy ti work longer while at home. There’s no commute, no bus to catch – but it is important not to blur the boundaries between work and home time. Switch off your laptop once your work is done

5 Stop Googling too much: Coronavirus is the only story in town right now, but there is such a thing as information overload – and it isn’t good.

With stories coming at you every minute on the latest updates – local, national and international – stick with reputable news outlets for your updates.

And put your phone out of reach at night – you need to sleep!

6 Talk, talk, talk: While working from home on your own, that human connection is more important than ever. Pick up the phone and chat to colleagues. Keep those connections alive at all times.