A new way of working in 2020
The coronavirus has the world in its grip. Who would have thought a virus could turn the world upside down like that in only a few weeks? The government is taking extreme measures to control the virus. This has far-reaching consequences for businesses, and employees must work from home (where possible). For many companies, this brings new challenges. As a high-tech consultancy company, TMC is fortunately well prepared for working remotely. Our colleague Lotte shared her new way of working with RTL Nieuws. How do you make sure you can work productively at home? And how do you maintain social contacts with your colleagues?
Fit & focused
For some it might be difficult to focus while working from home. Maybe your cat jumps on your lap the whole time, you have children running around, or your partner is working from home as well. To make sure you can focus on work despite these disruptive factors, it's important that you establish a few rules. For example, our colleague Masja from TMC New Product Introduction has agreed on a timetable with her partner to look after their son so that they can work in shifts. But keep in mind that working at the office usually also brings a lot of distractions. Think of colleagues who come to disturb you, coffee breaks and the DJ on the radio who keeps on talking.
Working times
Make sure that working from home doesn't feel like a no-obligation concept with too much flexibility, this will make you lose focus quickly. Make a schedule and plan your working hours. Include your breaks and moments of exercise to help you organize your day in the most structured way possible. Also make sure that this situation does not feel like a 'holiday'. Try to go to bed and get up at the same times as you normally do in order to maintain your daily rhythm as much as possible and to stay productive and healthy.
Exercise
It is essential to get enough exercise! Not only to keep you fresh, but also to protect yourself against the virus. You probably have less travel time now, use this time to stay fit now that the sports clubs are closed. Go for a walk in the afternoon, start the day with a run or go for an intensive HIIT training.
Stay in touch
I'm sure we agree that the biggest disadvantage of working from home is that you have to miss all your beloved colleagues. To make sure you don't end up in a complete social isolation, your first priority is to be in contact with your colleagues on a daily basis. Try to schedule a video call with your colleagues at a fixed time. In addition, there are plenty of online tools (WhatsApp, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.) available to chat with each other during workdays. This allows you to ask each other some quick questions outside of the regular meetings. In this way, you will stay informed about what everyone is doing and you can catch up with each other. Effective and fun!
Our colleague Jill from TMC Mechanical explains: “Call your colleagues regularly, so you don’t feel like you’re on a deserted island :)” and Pepijn of TMC Manufacturing Support says: “Our team is now doing a daily morning meeting to stay connected, and be up to date with each other. Above all, I notice that everyone with whom I work intensively clearly takes his or her social responsibility. One the one hand this creates distance, but on the other hand, we feel connected as well. We’re in this together!”