I started my first fully remote position in the beginning of February and never thought of the opportunities being remote would present to me. What I once saw as a burden I now see as a benefit. From what I spend my time on during breaks, to the physical location where I work from, there are so many different positive aspects that I could have never foreseen. Last year when working from home first began, I adopted a puppy. You cannot begin to imagine how much stress relief comes from having a little fluff ball wondering around you while you work, occasionally nibbling on your foot, or asking to be pet. There are so many tools available to make working from home productive, and several reasons to consider either working from home yourself or allowing your employees to do so.
Work from Home Breaks
Back when I used to work in an office, breaks consisted of snacks and coffee refills, brief topical conversations, and occasionally a round of foosball (I was lucky that my old office had such amenities). Working from home allows me to use my breaks for many new things. I jump in the pool, take my dog for a stroll to get the mail, play a quick game on my Xbox, raid my fridge, and so many other things. There is a world of opportunity when you have your whole life within a walk of where you work instead of a commute away. Also, it is worth noting that my entire team can see when I am on break thanks to Microsoft Teams. No more wondering around the office looking for a colleague whose input you need immediately.
Work from Home Tools
Utilizing the power of the cloud combined with the suite of Microsoft Products, I have been able to do anything and everything I would in a traditional office. I can track my hours worked, collaborate on documents, PowerPoints, and spreadsheets with as many people as I like, and even have virtual meetings with anyone inside or outside the company. Something that I really enjoy is our weekly Finchloom All Employees Meeting where we get to see and catch up with one another; it is a great chance to cool down from the week.
Microsoft Teams and SharePoint are quintessential tools for a work from anywhere setup. I can always see who is available to meet with or message and can share anything and everything through Teams and SharePoint. No longer do I have to walk up a couple flights of stairs to see if a colleague is available just to have to walk back to my desk when they are not at theirs. If there is a green bubble next to their icon in Teams, I usually get a response almost immediately, and if not, my message is waiting there for when they are available to respond. Teams would get the first seed in my March Madness Microsoft Products bracket hands down.
No More Commute!
Have you taken the time to average out the amount of time each day you spend commuting to your job? According to the Census Bureau, Americans spend about 51 minutes per day traveling back and forth to and from their jobs. This adds up to a whopping 204 hours a year! Think about all the things you could do with almost 9 days of time. My preference, getting an extra 25 minutes of sleep each morning, and taking the pup to the dog park in the afternoons/evenings.
Work from Anywhere
With Microsoft Security protecting your employees and your data regardless of where they are, they can truly work from anywhere. Since I have ‘worked from home’, I have spent time working from the beach, an RV, my parents house, several hotels, and even several states! The flexibility of working from anywhere is amazing for someone like me. I spend the mornings traveling to a new destination, and as long as there is Wi-Fi once I get there, I am all set! Traveling on a Friday morning instead of a Saturday makes the weekend feel so much longer, plus I can spend 3 nights away from home instead of 2 because of the ability to travel home Monday morning. Nothing prevents me from taking an extended road trip as long as I can work during my allotted hours. My next goal is to work more outdoors. I have been eyeing a couple of national parks for a while now, and once I figure out the internet logistics, I will be teams chatting my colleagues from a forest, or the top of a mountain perhaps.
The work from home movement is here to stay, and the work from anywhere movement is just beginning. Finchloom, utilizing Microsoft tools and programs allows companies of any size to embrace their employees want to work from anywhere without sacrificing productivity. The ability to collaborate live on all the office apps makes migration to off-premises work simple. If your company wants to explore the variety of opportunities that the Cloud creates, contact Finchloom today to learn how you can easily integrate Microsoft solutions into your business, and allow your employees the flexibility to work from anywhere.