5 Steps to Healthy & Productive WFH

The UK government has launched a consultation aimed at making flexible working the default approach for employers and individuals in the future. This will allow employees to request flexible working from ‘day one’ which will inevitably see an increase in long-term working from home.

So, it’s a good time to reflect on how to work from home in ways that are healthy and productive for both individuals and businesses. Anna Baréz-Brown and Cal Whaley outline 5 steps to healthy & productive WFH you can take:

✨Let go of perfectionism and redefine success. We have this habit of seeing what needs to happen and picking up jobs even when no one’s asked us to do it. There’s a real danger of saying ‘If I don’t do it, nobody will’. That’s not a reason to keep taking on the full demands of work and home all at once. If you are a Shine On Live member, check out the ‘My Roles’ tool in your toolkit.

✨Speak up. We seem to get caught up in believing we have to do things alone. Never have we needed allies and supporters as we do now and they may be different to the ones we’re used to. What do you need while working from home, and who can help you? If you are a Shine On Live member, check out the ‘My Supporters’ tool in your toolkit.

✨Make a conscious effort to give appreciation and gratitude to your teams when working from home, and you will be rewarded with loyalty. Make sure you regularly check in with individuals and ask how they are feeling; what they need more of, less of. If you are not getting this from your managers, call it out.

✨Virtual contact doesn’t have to be distant. But when you bring together groups and teams in this way you have to curate it carefully and give them the time and space to speak. When you physically can’t all see each other, you need to invest your time in people more than ever.

✨Have open and honest conversations, and role model working from home. There needs to be a CEO or line manager who will support female talent through a few years of working differently, because other women need the confidence to ask for flexibility.