Tips and Tricks for Working Remotely From a Human Resources Student

Remote or virtual teams are known in the human resource community to be equivalent to in-person teams. However, there are a few caveats that should be noted. First, remote teams often struggle with having the same sense of motivation and connection that in-person teams might feel (St-Onge, 2017). Second, working from home brings its own set of challenges that are unique to each worker, according to their living circumstances.

As a way to try and help those who may not have quite figured out their set up yet, I’ve compiled my favourite tips I share with anyone and everyone I meet.

Tip 1: Have a set Workstation!

Think about it this way. When you get to work in the office, you set all your things at your desk and get started with your day. The same should apply when you’re working remotely. Having a set workstation can really help get you through the day, remaining focused and on the task at hand.

That being said, don’t be afraid to work from different areas either, like your front porch, a balcony, or on the couch. It can be nice to have a change of scenery. Though with these locations, you might not have the most ergonomic workstation. If you want more information on ergonomic workspaces check out this resource from the University of Ottawa.

Tip 2: Reach out to your colleagues.

This one is especially important when starting in a new team. When working remotely, getting to know your colleagues is vital to having a good experience. I don’t just mean knowing their job title either; get to know them as people and who they are outside of work. We’re all human and we love to talk about ourselves, so ask questions, follow-up, find your common ground. This will help immensely with adjusting to a new team, knowing whom to collaborate with, and staying motivated throughout the day.

It doesn’t have to be much either. Set yourself a short meeting with a colleague you haven’t spoken to and get to know them. It’ll make things so much easier.

Check out a list of questions here courtesy of Indeed!

Tip 3: Use schedules and lists to your advantage.

Lastly, this one is to help with productivity. Often, I find myself feeling a little scatterbrained and not knowing what I should work on in the moment.

This was until I started doing a few key things that really helped me stay on the ball.

I started making a to-do list at the beginning of each shift to stay on top of new and emerging priorities. Whenever I found myself desperately needing to get more work done, I would refer to my to-do list and my answers were there.

Similar to to-do lists, you can also try this trick from a friend of mine!

My friend named Eric uses his schedule to his advantage and books time to work on specific projects and tasks. This way, his day is planned out to a tee and there’s no more guesswork involved. I thought it was such a good idea that I couldn’t help but include it.

How about you, dear reader? What do you do to make the most out of your remote working experience?

I’d love to hear what your tips and tricks are for working remotely!

Send me a message on my socials or through my email and I might include it in this post after the fact.

I look forward to hearing from you, and as always, I hope you have a great day!

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