Remote work isn’t going away, and for many people, that’s appreciated. Yet, in all situations, remote work has to continue to accomplish key goals of the company including ensuring high productivity and maintaining a strong work/life balance.
Remote employees tend to work more hours than those who report to the office every day, with many working well beyond 40 hours a week. Recent studies have even found that employees are working about 10% more than they are required to. As an administrative professional, neither you nor your employees should be expected to work beyond federal guidelines.
Yet, there are often a few common problems that get in the way of this. One of them is the need for immediate and ongoing communication. Another is working outside of typical and expected office hours. There’s also the complication of overseeing virtual teams and bringing people together for meetings and conversations when it works for everyone.
How do you create a highly productive team in a remote work setting, then? Consider these strategies for setting authentic, effective strategies.
#1: Establish Clear Expectations for Work Hours
Establish work hour requirements. Communicate what your work hours are to your team and leadership. Ensure they know that you will be focused specifically on work tasks during those hours.
Then, use tools like calendar blocks to help you maintain those hours. Ensure that anything you do is scheduled within those work hours.
#2: Know When to Put the Messages Down
With hours established, it is critical to communicate from the start that messages are answered within those work hours. That means that when someone sends a text message at 10 pm, they realize you’re not going to answer it.
Once you have a timeline set like this, stick with it. As soon as you start checking emails and messages off the clock, people begin to count on you doing so. That’s a precedent you do not want to set.
#3: Prioritize Tasks
It’s not uncommon for professionals to find themselves with too much work to do within a day’s time. Yet, you have to remember those work hours. If you were working in a factory and being paid for 40 hours a week, you would not be working at home and would only have a few hours to catch up.
To achieve productivity goals, set realistic objectives to start with and then prioritize work based on what needs to get done or is most important at that moment. Ensure your team understands those priorities as well.
#4: Ensure There Is a Dedicated Workspace
To create more of a work/life balance in a home or other office space, ensure there is a dedicated area that will serve as your workspace. Within these areas, maintain all of your work materials, and don’t be tempted to head to the couch mid-day.
By doing this, you are increasing productivity while also ensuring that your work is not encroaching on your day-to-day life an other obligations.
#5: Establish Mental Boundaries Too
For some administrative professionals, this is the hardest part of the process. Creating a mental boundary is not simple, but it can be critical to your satisfaction with your job and your ongoing ability to meet your objectives.
Start by ensuring you have time off when you do not work but also do not think about work. Next, build activities outside of your work tasks that help to define you and bring you happiness. Communicate with team members about your availability and when they can reach you outside of work (and when they should not). Don’t check those emails before going to bed.
How to Get Started with Establishing Remote Work Boundaries
With those strategies in mind, consider the following steps to help you build a stronger balance.
- Consider what is occurring right now that is the most problematic. This is likely where you want to start. It could be working all of the time or being unproductive.
- Discuss your needs with your manager or leadership. Ensure that they know your objective is to be the best possible leader within your company but to do that, you need to facilitate some changes in the way you are leading and managing remote working.
- Sit down with your team to update them on your goals to create a better remote work strategy for the team. Work together to set hours, discuss frustrations and needs, and communicate all of the boundaries you have.
Communication is key to creating boundaries that stick. When you apply these principles to your current work style, chances are that you’ll get the support you need from your team and leadership, and you’ll be in a better position to be successful, productive, and even happy with your work and life structure.