You’ll likely already have some experience working or studying from home. Some students might enjoy it, whereas others might find it difficult. 

There are some benefits to working from home, including:

  • No commute
  • Fewer distractions than an open-plan office
  • More time for hobbies, such as fitness, reading, or cooking.

However, remote working does come with challenges:

  • Communication requires more effort
  • You might feel lonely or isolated
  • It can be difficult to build relationships with colleagues when you’re working virtually.

Whatever your experience, remember to be kind to yourself. If you do need some extra support, please reach out to the On Placement Support Team. There are also some great resources listed in the Wellbeing section.

Setting up your work environment

Here are a few things to consider when setting up your work-from-home environment:

  • You may be lucky enough to have a designated space at home all ready to go, such as an office. If not, perhaps you could re-organise a space, such as the spare room or your bedroom. Ideally, you’d have a desk that is your designated work space. 
  • Ideally, you’d have a desk that is your designated workspace. If you are doing a work placement, your company should complete a Display Screen equipment (DSE) assessment to make sure you are working safely and with the right equipment. You might want to check with them if they are able to provide you with the equipment you need or help subsidise the cost. 
  • Try to position yourself where you’ll be free from interruptions. If you have to share the space with others in your home, try coordinating meetings so that you’re not all in the same room at the same time. 
  • Phones are great, but they can interrupt your workflow. You could put your phone in another room, or if you want to have it near you, put it on aeroplane mode so that you don’t get distracted. 
  • WiFi – you’ll need it! It might drop out every now and again, that’s normal. Do whatever you can to get it back up and running. If it stops working and won’t come back on, or you’re repeatedly having problems with it, let your line manager or supervisor know as soon as possible. If it’s becoming a longer-term problem, you might want to consider switching to a different provider. 
Expectations

It’s important to be clear on what your placement provider expects of you, and what you expect of them. If you’re ever unsure about something, ask to have a discussion with your line manager or supervisor.

Here are some points to consider:

  • What support is your placement provider going to give you?
  • Is it clear how you will be supervised? Who should you speak to if you have a problem at work? Is there someone you can speak to if your line manager is unavailable?
  • Will they provide you with all the necessary equipment and resources for you to carry out your role? This could include things like a laptop or a piece of software.
  • Are there any policies and procedures you need to be aware of? This could include things like storing or accessing information, GDPR, expenses, holiday, or reporting a sickness. 
  • Are there any costs supported by the placement provider?
  • It is good practice for your placement provider to carry out Display Screen Equipment (DSE) reviews and provide you with adequate Health and Safety and insurance provisions.
Working hours

Working remotely can blur the boundaries between your work and home life. Have a think about the following:

  • Do you know what the working hours are? When do you need to be available? Speak to your line manager to make sure you understand the core working hours if there are any.
  • It’s important to take regular breaks throughout the day, including lunch. When you start your placement, ask your line manager if they’d like you to let them know when you’re taking a break so that they know where you are. 
  • It is important to set boundaries between your work and personal life. Things you can do to help you create those boundaries could include removing yourself from your work area once you have finished for the day, or getting in a daily walk that you otherwise may have missed with no commute.
Staying motivated

Staying motivated whilst working on a task might become challenging when you’re working from home. Find tools and techniques that help you to stay on track. 

Make a list

Make a list of your outstanding tasks and identify your priorities to get some focus. It’s a good idea to share this with your manager, or any other colleagues who might need to know what you’re working on. 

Procrastinating? Figure out why

If you’re procrastinating, explore why that might be. Are you unsure of what you have to do? Is it too difficult? Is it boring? Have a chat with your line manager if you need further guidance, or if you want some additional tasks to give a different dimension to your workload.

Use a playlist

There are lots of playlists specifically designed to help concentration on streaming services like Spotify. These often feature chilled or instrumental tracks to help get you in the zone. If ambient noise is your thing, why not look up playlists full of soothing rain or nature sounds?

Use the Pomodoro Technique 

The Pomodoro Technique is a great tool to focus your mind and boost productivity. It’s a popular time management method that requires you to alternate focused work sessions with short breaks. 

  • You choose a task
  • Set a timer (the suggested time is 25 minutes)
  • Work on that task until your time is up (avoiding distractions!
  • Take a five-minute break. 

Having a 25-minute window focuses your mind so that you can get the task done! 

Professionalism

Knowing the company culture and team dynamics may be harder to understand virtually. That said, it’s important to be professional at all times.

Dress code

Ensure that how you dress while you work from home is suitable for your organisation’s dress code. You might have to stand up unexpectedly during a video call, and it won’t look very professional if you’re in your pyjama bottoms.  

Use of language and emojis

Be mindful of the language you use in calls or on a team chat. Some organisations will be more formal with this than others. It may be that it’s considered unprofessional to use emojis or GIFs in a chat function. Bear in mind that chat logs are sometimes downloaded to contribute to meeting notes. On some platforms, this will include private messages sent between meeting participants. Clarify with your line manager to make sure you know what’s appropriate.

Social interaction

Engaging in social interaction with colleagues is really important, not just for wellbeing and team morale, but to forge the working relationships that you may need to perform your role. Consider getting involved in virtual social events such as coffee catch-ups.

Forming relationships with colleagues

It can be difficult to form relationships with colleagues when you’re working from home. Here are a few things you could do that might help.

Schedule video catch-ups

It’s much easier to build relationships face-to-face than it is by email. That’s not to say you should book a meeting every time you need a quick question answering, but making sure you incorporate some video contact into your communication will make a big difference. Be sure to schedule some face-to-face catch-ups on whichever online platform your organisation uses.

Turn your camera on in meetings

The human touch is definitely lost in meetings where you don’t have your cameras on. You’ll definitely feel more connected if you can see each other’s faces.

Communicate regularly

It can be easy to feel like you’re on your own when you work from home, but it doesn’t need to be like that. Keep in touch with your colleagues, even if it’s just to ask someone for their opinion on something, or have a quick five-minute brainstorm. You can also keep your line manager in the loop with how you’re getting on with your projects or tasks. If you’ve not spoken to your manager for a while, drop them an email and ask to schedule in a catch-up meeting so that you can update them on your work, and chat about how things are going.  

Tell someone how you’re feeling

If you’re feeling isolated while you’re working from home, it’s really important that you speak to someone about it. It might be that your manager has no idea that you feel like that, so they don’t know to help you. Explain how you feel, and see if there’s anything they can suggest that would help you to feel included. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to your manager, have a chat with one of your other colleagues.

Ask questions

When you’re working remotely, you miss out on office small talk by the kettle. You won’t know that Fatima’s been binge-watching The Flight Attendant, or that Andy’s bought a pizza oven. Take an interest in people’s lives to strengthen your working relationships. It can be as simple as asking someone how their weekend was, how their day is going, or if they’ve watched anything good on Netflix lately.

Book a day in the office

Working from home was a necessity during the lockdown period but now the world has opened up again, it might be possible to arrange a day in the office. Hybrid working may be just the ticket to building confidence in your social skills and your social circle!