Top 5 Things to Avoid When Working Remotely

Suddenly found yourself working from home? Here’s my top 5 things to avoid when it comes to technology and connectivity in the home office…

By Aaron Tavakoli, EFI – With the recent #coronavirus outbreak, I’m seeing a daily barrage of posts and stories about people suddenly finding themselves working remotely as employers scramble to address the hysteria and potential threat to the office workplace.

As someone who’s been working from home for the past 10 years for multi-national companies, alongside teams of people who also work remotely, I’m pretty well qualified to weigh in on the subject. Don’t worry I’m not going to waste your time with painfully obvious recommendations and tips for a better home working experience – there’s plenty of that out there already. I’m here to tell you WHAT NOT TO DO, so you can avoid some of the mistakes I’ve witnessed along the way…

No matter how tempting, no matter how good you believe you are with the mute button, don’t get on a conference call while you’re in the toilet. With the privacy that comes with your home restroom – comes great responsibility. Resist the temptation to turn it into your conference room. Anyone who’s worked from home can tell you horror stories about people who thought they were on mute – but sadly weren’t. PRO-TIP: Conferencing apps like WebEx provide visual alerts to which participant is speaking… or making noises, so just DON’T DO IT.