Feeling isolated working from home? Here’s what you can do…
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
As we go into our 9th week of people working from home where possible, it is beginning to feel like normal, but it can also begin to feel very isolating. If you are someone who likes to talk and collaborate with others, you may feel you are missing out on those moments when you can turn to a colleague to ask a quick question or to brainstorm on an issue.
It can feel a bit isolating at times especially when you may have an hour or so with no meetings and are just working alone a project. There is no one to chat with about what you are working on. You can ask your dog but he seems to only care about going out for a walk.
Here are some ways you can feel more connected to your colleagues:
Chat rooms - These are a great way for teams to stay connected throughout the day. You can chat about business or you can make it fun. Chat about your families, what you are wearing (PJ’s anyone!), or make it a competition. Chat rooms can be created by teams, projects, and working groups.
Virtual coffee chats? Sure why not set up some time with a coworker or to network with someone new and do over a coffee break. Given we do not have the ability to do in person, we should continue to have these breaks. Set up the time in the calendar so you don’t forget.
Meetings about nothing - Remember Seinfeld, the show about nothing, why not have meetings about nothing. This is a great way to get to know your team members better just talking about nothing. Subjects will come up about how people are coping, what activities they are enjoying, and what they think about the future.
Zoom Happy hours have been trending. While they do take some time to get used to, it is a great way to unwind at the end of the day or the end of the week and has a beverage of your choice with your colleagues. Loosen up a bit and relieve some stress although it is best to keep it to one drink when you are with colleagues.
These are just a few ways to begin to feel less isolated when working from home. I’m a bit of a multitasker so when I have downtime, I tend to feel a bit bored and I sometimes suffer from FOMO. This is when the feeling of isolation kicks in.
Don’t worry a lot of folks are feeling this way right now. Try to think about the ways you can become more productive during the downtimes. What are the “quick wins” you can make when you have a few minutes to spare?
Things are starting to look as though we may open up in the near future. Companies are preparing for people to come back to work. We are not sure what it looks like yet, but it does appear that some part of working from home will still occur.
Working from home has proven to be productive and more companies are thinking about doing this in the future for some percentage of their employees. There are so many opportunities to think about now around working from home. It could really help companies lower costs on real estate while also adding opportunities to career mobility. Now companies can think about allowing people to move into positions that may be in other locations but now can be done from home.
It’s exciting to think about what the future holds even as we go through this challenging time. It hasn’t been easy, but we did learn a lot about the ability to work from home and now we can continue to look at ways that we can use it to our benefit.
For those of you who still do not like working from home, these tips will help you cope and will also help you continue to build relationships across your firm.
Here’s to your success!
Best,