Home Improvement

There are very few things about working at home that I would consider negatives. However, when an item makes that list, it REALLY makes the list! Large home improvement projects… cue the Tim Allen grunt!

I’ve had a large, thankfully outdoor, project underway for a few months. In that time, I’ve had great experiences, annoying experiences, and downright awful experiences. I can’t even imagine if I had a project of the same caliber going on inside my home while trying to work!

The Good: I had one contractor that would text me any time he had a question and ask me to pop out when I could. He respected my time. And he respected that barging in would set off a ripple of annoyances.

The Annoying: There are always people here and there is constant noise. It’s a distraction. It breaks concentration. It even made me feel like a fish in a glass bowl, with the outsiders looking in. I felt bad taking a lunch break and eating while they were just outside the window working. And I certainly didn’t want to work out in front of them! Plus, those moments that require quiet thought for concentration were few and far between.

The Bad: Oh, the bad… I had another contractor that asked to use the restroom his first day, as he had been ‘sick’ lately. I allowed it since I felt bad, and frankly felt I need to be nice to the people working on my project to ensure it got done. Then it happened the next day. And the next. And every day for over a month. And these were not friendly visits – my poor restroom, which is right by my office, was taking a beating. So was my nose! Worse yet, he’d ring the doorbell each time regardless of our conversations. This was an immediate interruption to everything. I would have to stop what I was doing, as well as listen to the doorbell ring and my dogs go crazy. (I have come to now hate my doorbell and asked my hubby to change the chime!) This same crew would knock on the window or door each time they had a question, again ticking off my dogs. And these are only a few of the irritations!

I felt like many of the workers thought I was just sitting around in the house somewhere watching TV, doing nothing, and would always jump any time they rang. Obviously the very opposite was true, as every interruption was truly stopping me from doing the work that was paying for them to do their work and get paid. If only they understood that leaving me alone was the key to their very survival!

Oh – And what would you chuckleheads do if I DIDN’T work from home?

I learned a lot from this experience. I learned that you should feel empowered to say “No” and not feel bad. I learned that you should set boundaries without feeling that you are mean. I learned that you shouldn’t assume people understand what “working at home” really means. I learned that if you don’t speak up, you invite trouble.

How can you survive if you find yourself at home during a large project? Below are a few tips:

• Talk to your crew and set boundaries early. Let them know not just that you work at home, but what that means. Many people don’t understand what you do and therefore don’t understand the inconvenience. Boundaries may include times to start/stop work, if and how they should enter your home, how they should contact you if there is a question, etc. 
• If there is a special circumstance, such as a very important call or meeting, where interruption would be very bad, let them know in advance and ask that they don’t make a ruckus at that time.
• Let your coworkers know that you are having work done if you believe the noise may come through on audio.
• Ask your contractors up front about how they handle “conveniences”, such as whether they will have a port-a-potty on site or where they will pull power from. If they don’t have a plan, insist that they make one, or you will have plenty of company.
•  Designate a time where you will check in with the crew on any questions, such as your lunch break. This will minimize the ad hoc requests and allow you to conduct routine progress checks.
• Consider alternative work locations. For the time the work is being performed, you may want to work from the office, a friend’s house, or a local coffee shop where your interruptions and noise levels will be less.

Working from home during a project has its advantages. You can keep an eye on the progress, sign for the legal things, and ensure your property is respected in every way necessary. I’m glad I was here. But I’m more proud that I didn’t kill anyone and didn’t lose my job during the craziness, and lived to help others avoid it in the future.

Working While Sick

You've heard it dozens of times before... Your employer and coworkers say that if you are sick, you should stay home. They don't want your funk! They don't want to be grossed out by seeing or hearing what you are dealing with, and they certainly don't want to catch it, so they want you as far away as possible.

Why do you still go to work when you're in these rough conditions? You need that paycheck! You also don't want to burn through your paid time off (PTO) being sick because you want those days for vacation. And you may have meetings and deadlines that you'd miss and set forth a chain reaction that would take days and weeks to recover from. Doesn't that make you feel important?

Despite all of your valid reasons, your office mates are still right. You shouldn't be in the office. And this is yet another reason that working from home is the cure for what ails you.

When you work from home, no one is there to catch your germs. No one has to listen to the sounds you make (coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose, or worse...) You are containing your germs to you!

There are creature comforts of working from home as well. If you need to sleep in a little longer, no one will notice if you didn't get dressed, fix your hair, put on makeup, or skip your morning workout. If you are having a fever or cold chills, you are able to adjust the thermostat appropriately and dress to match, including sporting that awesome Snuggie you try to deny you have. If you need to take medication throughout the day, you aren't raising any eyebrows. And you truly cannot articulate the value of having your own, private restroom. Even your lunch time becomes more valuable as you can catch a quick nap, run to the doctor, refill a prescription, fix a bowl of soup, or otherwise help yourself get well.

Here's the best part: You're able to do all of this AND work. BOOM!

All of this assumes that you have some cognitive ability to add value, of course. There are some illnesses that you can work through, and some you shouldn't. Sometimes 50% of you at work is better than 0%, but in other cases you should just focus on a complete mend so that you can come back to work strong sooner. Check out my prior blog about allowing yourself to actually call in sick.

In a time where HR measures corporate wellness by the number of "unhealthy days", companies are trying to maximize productivity, and employees are using their vacation time to actually take vacation, being able to NOT take a sick day has increasing value. And that drives up the already valuable nature of working at home.

Work like Gidget

In January, I wrote about finding your reason to work at home. At the time, my reason largely revolved around Gidget, our doxy, who was struggling with old age and health problems, and how working from home allowed me to give her more years and more support in that time. Sadly, our little Gidget went to puppy heaven this past weekend. Our hearts are truly broken and there is an emptiness in my work from home right now.

But, I want to remember the good times. And those good times can help us all work at home a little better. So, let's reminisce about the Futz for a bit...

Gidget was a miniature dachshund, but there was nothing small about her attitude. She acted like a big dog and had no fear. She'd take on any opponent without hesitation because she knew she was a bad @$$. She once took on a Great Dane for picking on her doxy sister, and no one was coming close to mommy without her permission.

Gidget was playful. She LOVED her tennis ball. We had to build barriers under the couch to block the balls from getting stuck. She would play all day and night, and even sleep with her ball when we let her. She knew that life was short and she should have a ball, literally, while she was here. Gidget was also a big ham. She knew how to have a good time, laugh, and make others laugh. She was sneaky, and silly, and a bundle of crazy that eventually earned her the nickname "Futz".

Gidget loved her family. She protected them and wanted to be with them all the time. We would practically step on her because she was always getting underfoot in her stealth-mode. She used to climb up on the back of the couch and sit on my shoulder, both to watch and protect me from whatever, and to snuggle right into my neck. And she never grew out of being poppy's little baby.

Despite the best training, Gidget was always a yapper. Her bark could break glass and ring in your head until it ached. Any noise would set her off. Or her imagination. We'd beg her to be quiet, but she demanded to be heard. I miss that noise right now...

I could go on and on about the memories and personality of Gidget. She was one-of-a-kind. But I'll stop with one more: She was so thankful that mommy worked at home. She would have struggled and left us much sooner if I had not. And, even in her sickest days, she would still let me know how much it meant to her that I was here. Whether that was a pathetic kiss, a request to be held, begging for treats, or just that look in her eyes... She always said thank you and I love you. And I always said it back.

Work at home puts many challenges before us. Just remember to work, and live, like Gidget. Don't...

• Be afraid to live big
• Let the big dogs in the office push you around 
• Work so much that you don't have fun
• Neglect your family
• Sit in silence; speak up, often, and boldly
• Forget to say Thank You and I Love You
• Lose your 'why' (you work from home)
• Ever take your work from home status for granted

Until we meet again...

Only a leap from the lion's head...

I often get asked how I ended up working from home full time, so let's tell that story:

I had been with my employer for around 6 years and worked my way up to the highly sought-after management role that came with the even more coveted office. You know the one - The space with 4 real walls and a door that opens and closes. No longer in the open floor cube farm. I even had a window! Life was good.

My leader then changed to one with a more agile, modern view of the world, which led to the ability to periodically work from home. Those sporadic occasions turned into a committed one-day a week at home. And in preparation for a changing and more dynamic work space, that crept up to two days a week.

We had heard that our new work space would be "agile", meaning more flexible for the people working a few days at home. Less dedicated space, more collaboration space. Our little slice of the south was starting to sound more like Silicon Valley. Who wouldn't be excited?!

It was time to move, and our new digs weren't ready, and we were to be placed in temporary housing. The only problem was that due to its temp nature, there was very little space to go around (and it wasn't all that pretty either!) To condense space, some teams were asked if they would be willing to go all-in on being "agile" - meaning no dedicated desks, reduced footprint, and more time at home. Since this was going to be the wave of the future, and my team liked to think we were trendsetters, we volunteered.

Our temp space took us down to less than half of the desks we had before. And as for me, I lost my glorious office. So here we were, in a wicked game of musical chairs where the music had stopped and there weren't enough seats. We created a schedule for our little area documenting who was coming into the office on which days, because too many people would mean someone was sitting on the floor. We got the equipment set up at each cube so that no matter what type of machine you connected with, you'd be able to work from any of our desks. We created lockers for people to pack up all of their personal items at the end of the day. We basically created a hotel and reservation system.

The result was an increase in the number of days people were at home. But some other interesting ramifications sprouted up. People felt like they were homeless nomads. Whether at work or at home, each day you would have to pack up everything. You were never rooted. Especially in the office, where that wasn't "your" desk, and someone else would be there tomorrow. People wasted time setting up and tearing down each day to promote the clean desk guidelines in the office. And moreover, people weren't getting the benefit of being physically present in the work space because their coworkers weren't there when they were.

This led to the question: "If I never see the people I work with, what is the value of coming to the office?"

That was a pivotal point. I felt the same as my team. So we began to ask that question to leaders and let our feelings be known. With understanding and support from a great leader, we went off the grid. My team became unofficially full-time at-home workers. No one else knew about it. We were conducting an experiment. Could we keep our business partners satisfied with their service from home? Let's not tell them and find out...

Obviously we know how the story ends. Customers said they received better service. There was no negative reaction when people found out. And the rest is history. Four years of working from home later, and it still works.

So now you know. But so what? Why does my story matter? I took a leap of faith. My team was piloting that "agile" work space notion. The infrastructure wasn't ready. The culture wasn't ready. Many days were very tough emotionally and productivity-wise. Each day was a surprise battle waiting. Simply put, those initial "agile" weeks downright sucked.

We knew it wasn't ready and jumped in anyway. We struggled daily, but didn't give up. We took a leap of faith that, while we didn't see it then, a net would appear and catch us if we fell. "Only a leap from the lion's head will he prove his worth." For those that know this quote, you will also recall that after this leap of faith, waiting on the other end was the Holy Grail. And sure enough, so was ours.

I never thought that working in an "agile" environment would lead to being at home full time, and the movement that started thereafter. I never thought I'd become an evangelist for work-at-home or a guide to so many. I never thought that my life would have changed so much for the better. All because I took a deep breath and leapt.

Don't Fade Away

We've all had those work relationships where your coworkers become your best friends and family. Heck, you often see them more than your other friends and family! You talk everyday about what is going on in each other's lives, you eat lunch together, you celebrate life's big moments, you create inside jokes, and often you choose to hang out after hours as a result. These coworkers aren't just people you work with, they are your people. Or, so you think...

When you change jobs, do these relationships stick? Are they ever the same? Usually you exchange email addresses and may friend each other on Facebook and promise to stay in touch. You may even do so for a while. But there's something different. And, over time, that person who you considered near and dear is all but a memory. You didn't want to cut them out. You didn't actively do anything to "break up" with them. So what happened?

Most work relationships are formed out of convenience. Because you are sitting next to someone every day, it's easy to talk to them, see their photos, notice changes in their appearance, and share in casual downtime moments. You didn't have to work for it. And the minute you, or they, did - well, that's just too much effort! You transitioned from convenient to conscious.

This same thing happens to relationships when you move from an in-office worker to an at-home worker. (It's even harder when you never started in the office and are building off nothing!) Your relationship with your coworkers and even your leaders was often convenient. Staff meetings were in person. Lunches were physical gatherings. Pictures were real photos hanging on your cube wall. Hugs and handshakes were shared. Your relationship had tangible components within an arms reach and mindless recognition.

Now that you are at home, each of these interactions is harder. You may feel like you are losing touch, and the people you thought were your closest friends are now out of sight, out of mind. How do you keep your relationships from dwindling away and becoming just another memory? There are two primary components to keeping what you had (or starting something new): Convenience and Effort.

We have already established that many of these relationships formed out of convenience in the first place. It stands to reason that keeping them alive must also be convenient. It is important to create an environment where relationships are welcome and come naturally. Some ideas:

• Call instead of email. Your voice, tone, inflection, accent, etc. share information about you with others and establish a human connection.
• Use your video camera. Take it up a notch and add real video chat instead of just a phone call. Software and hardware that are easy to use and readily available are the keys to making this as natural as traditional face-to-face conversations.
• Allow time in your meetings for chatter. Start your meeting with casual conversation, catching up or getting to know those on the line. You already have people on the phone, which makes it truly convenient to interact and reestablish those relationships.
• Utilize social networking applications, and mobile ones where available. These are already second nature to most people, so using these tools is meeting people where they are already engaging.
• Employ other modern communication techniques such as instant message and text. These are quick and easy, and another solution already common practice in personal communications.

Let's face it. No matter how convenient you make it, there will still be effort involved. It's just not the same casual convenience you had before. Both parties must have a desire to keep (or build) the relationship. A fire will die out if not tended.

With a little bit of effort and convenient communal areas, you can keep your relationships just as strong as they were when you previously sat next to your coworker. You may even find that your relationship is deeper and more meaningful as a result of intentional interaction as opposed to convenient conversions.

Volunteer to be great

It is well documented that volunteering leads people to live happier, healthier, longer lives. Studies have shown that volunteering increases your brain function while also giving you an endorphin kick. Volunteering is a proven success factor for job hunting, resume building, career navigation, and college entrance. Additionally, volunteering gives back to communities in need - whatever the cause may be. Volunteering unites people, crossing lines of race, religion, politics, wealth, education, and the like. You might even say that volunteering is the thread that holds our fragile fabric of society together.

So why talk about that here? When you work remotely, you tend to isolate yourself and have less physical interaction with others. You may leave your house less, and your overall socialization diminishes. This can create feelings of isolation, loneliness, and depression. It devolves your general social skills and keeps you less aware of what is happening in "the real world". (For example, I have no idea what the price of gas is any longer!) This can create a downward spiral in your personal and professional life. It is of dire importance when you work at home that you seek out face-to-face, physical interactions and remain a part of the world revolving around you.

Volunteering is an outstanding avenue to make this connection. Through volunteering, you will meet new people and develop new relationships. Many volunteer opportunities also involve you getting out of your home and connecting to the outside world. Work may keep you tethered to your home office, staring at the same four walls every day and talking only to yourself, but volunteering can unlock those chains and release you into the wild to run free. This external interaction will allow you to feel a part of something bigger. You will feel more engaged with society, have new and strong connections to people, and fight back against the feelings of loneliness.

Work-at-home associates have an edge over in-office counterparts on getting involved with community causes. Because these associates are already time-affluent, the hours they are not spending in traffic, eating in a break room, and going to the dry-cleaner are bonus hours that can easily be diverted to volunteering. So not only will it improve your feeling of belonging, you won't be "giving up" your free time to do it!

So what are you waiting for? Go make a positive impact on the world, and be wowed by positive impact to your own world.

The real reason for working at home

Most people are familiar with the typical reasons people and employers have work working at home: saves commute time, less money on cloths and dry cleaning, less office real estate needed, environmental impact, etc. And these are all great reasons to get started. However, if you dig a little deeper, you will find that most folks have a deeper, more personal reason for working at home.

It’s important for people at-home to recognize this, so that they understand why protecting this privilege is so important to them. It’s probably even more important that people in-office are exposed to this, for each time they belittle the at-home experience, they are hurting so much more.

I personally became an at-home worker through a number of office circumstances. However, today’s primary reason for its importance is my older dog. Gidget is now 16.25 years old. And yes, we count months at this point! She has health problems, is mostly blind, and somewhat senile. She doesn’t remember where she is, she gets lost, and she panics. That is, when mommy isn’t around! Mommy has become her ability to keep calm. She doesn’t impact my work; she sleeps all day in the corner of my office. I don’t notice she is there, but she would absolutely notice if I wasn’t. On rare days when I have to go to the office, mass hysteria ensues, and I come home to a freaked out little baby and a giant mess (in more ways than one!) My husband and I are both convinced that if I wasn’t working at home, she wouldn’t still be with us. The ability to work at home has extended our time with our little girl and I am eternally grateful.

I have friends that have equally honorable reasons for being at home, if not more so. I have a colleague whose family was having such a hard time with local allergies and asthma that it was almost killing them. Their family moved out west to the dry air to be healthy. If they couldn’t work from home, they wouldn’t still be with our company. I know other folks that are at home to ensure their kids get to and from school safely. There are some that work at home because our company literally has no offices in their location, and if we want to keep their skills, it’s the only option. I know people that moved to be close to family. Another person works at home to take care of their ill husband, ensure he gets his medicine, respond to any emergencies, and more easily take him to the doctor. Others do the same for ailing parents. Some are at home because their commute is hours. A few have medical conditions that make an in-office job impractical or impossible.

As you can see, there is more to being work-at-home than meets the eye. When you provide proper resources and engagement to these individuals, you are not just impacting their work deliverables, but also the health and well-being of their entire family. Before asking someone to “just come in tomorrow” like it is no big deal, consider that it just might be, and then consider if working differently will help reach the same goal without disrupting their world.