Even before the coronavirus outbreak forced some of us to work remotely, many people have had that dream for years. And while working from home has been popular in digital-first industries for a long time, not all business owners have had remote work policies before.

These days, when working from home is pretty much mandatory for some people, many business owners are wondering how this will affect their team's productivity. Even though there are a lot of studies that show remote workers are more productive than their in-office counterparts, it isn't enough to calm down some of those business owners.

That's the main reason why today we'll be sharing some of our tried and tested remote work tips and tricks that will hopefully help you and your employees be more productive now when you're working from home.

Set up a Home Workspace

It would be ideal if you could work out of a home office, but not everyone has access to one. However, finding a dedicated spot somewhere in your home and using it as your workspace should be sufficient.

Your work spot will most likely end up being a dedicated work desk with a chair on which you'll sit on for hours on end, so you need to make sure it’s comfortable. In addition to a comfortable workspace, you need to ensure that you have access to all the tools and office supplies you need to do your job as efficiently as possible.

Introduce a Work Schedule

Once you've set up your work spot, you should introduce a work schedule, the same as the one you had when you worked from your office. You need to treat your work time the same as you did before. Just because you're working from home doesn't mean you should work any differently.

Don't Overwork Your Employees or Yourself

Now that everyone is working from home and no longer need to commute to the office, and now when most meetings turned into emails, it may seem that you have plenty of time left.

However, even if you do have more time to do your work, you shouldn't necessarily give yourself or your employees too much to do. Forcing yourself or others to do too much work will most likely lead to burnout and a share decrease in productivity.

Use All the Necessary Software You Need

Remote workers rely on various tools to help them better communicate and stay connected with their colleagues, collaborate on projects, be more productive, and efficient.

Remote companies use time tracking apps, like software to monitor remote workers, to help them better understand what tasks are taking most of their time and how are they are spending their time while working. Time tracking software is designed to simply and accurately track your time and provide you with proof of work so that you know exactly whether or not your employees are truly doing the work you're paying them to do.

Consider Introducing a Flexible Work Schedule

Many remote companies are known for having a more flexible working schedule which allows their employees to have more autonomy and to balance their work and home lives more easily.

Consider introducing a more flexible work schedule at your company. It will allow both you and your employees to more easily meet any family needs, life responsibilities or personal obligations that they may have.

Be Sure to Have Some Fun

Consider introducing some non-work fun activities to do in your company. Start a book or a film club, eat lunch together with your employees, talk to them about their day, organize skill-building classes over Zoom or a similar video conferencing app, or play online games together.

This can help your employees feel more connected with each other even when all of you are physically apart. Additionally, it may help reduce stress and feelings of isolation, which are especially common among first time remote employees.

Conclusion

Even that working remotely has been a dream for many people for years, not all business owners are so thrilled about the idea. While it may seem that remote workers are less productive than their office equals, numerous studies have shown the opposite.

To ensure your employees are productive when working from home, encourage them to have a dedicated work spot, to use all the software you need, try introducing a flexible working schedule, but try not to overwork yourself or your employees, and make sure all of you have some fun at work.