Tips and tools

opportunity : Flexible Workplace :
Tips and tools

Tips and Tools

Tips for working at home

Model administrative arrangements:
flexible working hours

Model administrative arrangements: flexi-place

TIPS FOR WORKING AT HOME

The following issues are presented as a checklist for staff considering the option of working from home. Many of them also apply to working from other alternative locations. The main distinction is that working from home is more likely to be an ongoing arrangement than working from other alternative locations, consequently more effort needs to be invested in making it a viable alternative.

Create a proper workspace. Think about lighting, ventilation, quality of office furniture for working long periods. If possible, get a workplace health and safety (OHS) inspection of your workspace.
Put a good communication system in place. Determine: how your supervisor/colleagues should contact you – e-mail, land-line, mobile phone, etc. – and when your supervisor/colleagues can contact you – throughout the day or in specially designated time bands?
Think about security of information. If you are working with sensitive or confidential documents, how will you ensure they are secure in your home? Do you have proper password protection? Do you have proper (and secure) back-up for your electronic files, in case of a home burglary and loss of your computer?
Take regular exercise breaks! When you don’t have scheduled office meetings with colleagues or other office activities, it’s all too easy to find yourself working at a keyboard for longer periods than are healthy for you.
Will you have special technological needs, e.g. special e-mail access or online access to databases? How will these needs be met, by whom and at whose cost? Who is going to pay for local phone calls, long-distance calls and Internet access?
Will working from home affects your home insurance in any way?
If you are working from home for long periods, how are you going to maintain informal interaction with your supervisor/s and colleagues? Develop a strategy and implement it meticulously – don’t become invisible!
Last – and most important – do you and your supervisor have a clear and shared understanding of precisely what activities you will be carrying out at home? Do your team colleagues need to know what you will be doing? Have you told them?