Goho From Home - WFH Learnings

Goho From Home - WFH Learnings

by Olivia Thwaites, PR Executive at Goho.

Working from home. A phrase that many of us yearned for on the packed commute into work or whilst stood on a freezing cold platform as the overhead speaker announced a third train cancellation.

I’m sure there have been hundreds of times where we all thought about how lovely it would have been to work from home.

Now, as we all know, it’s the only option for many office workers and we need to be sure that our work ethic, team dynamic and most importantly, our mental health remains strong whilst we do.

Lots of us are unsure about the next time that we will be back in the office like we used to. With Google employees working from home until July 2021, it’s crucial that we understand the best and worst ways of working from home.

At Goho, we quickly learnt that the hardest thing to do whilst working from home is to stay connected. In the office, we didn’t think anything of small talk throughout the day and bouncing ideas off one another across the desk.

These small things are so much harder to do remotely but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t find ways of making them happen. With regular catch-ups, we’ve learnt to communicate far more about our workload, which definitely eliminates a lot of pressure.

So, remember to share tasks and ideas because it’s really not the same as passing ideas between desks.

In the same vein, we’re all trying to be extra communicative whilst working from home. This means that no work is missed and we can all help each other out when necessary.

Since we’re not sitting within a stone's throw of each other, we organise online check-ins where we chat through targets, projects and our goals.

Another important lesson we’re learning is that it’s okay to disconnect from work once we finish for the evening. It’s so tempting to check work messages because working from home blurs the line but that can’t be good for anyone’s mental wellbeing.

Everyone should note that working from home can make it harder to remember to breathe from time to time.

Our team makes sure to keep the rhythm of regular one to ones and team meetings, by having calls at the same times every day. This gives the day a similar structure and we know to raise points of interest during these calls.

This whole process is new to everyone, so we all know it’s definitely trial and error. If something isn’t working, then we will find ways of making it work for one another!

We’re adjusting more and more to this setup but we look forward to each time that we’re together in person.

Have a read of our last blog, all about our first team away day after 3 months apart!