On the Era of Remote Working

Remote working is not for everyone and probably not suitable for some industries. But in the time of crisis, we can still manage it while doing the social distancing and working from home.

I first wrote and posted this in Bahasa, in May 2018. I changed the article into English and added some more relevant tips after I received an email from Yunita Ong, an editor at LinkedIn focusing on news in Asia. Last February, she reached out to me and many other members to add perspectives on today’s global trending topics: #WorkFromHome.

During the coronavirus outbreak, more employees across Asia — from China, Singapore, Hong Kong to Japan, and now some of the employees in Jakarta — are working from home. Although many more people in Jakarta and some of the big cities in Indonesia are now getting used to remote working, the majority of companies here are still not familiar with the term. Some still believe in the psychology of having to get up, dress up, and go to the office to trick one’s brain into working; the others don’t have the amount of trust for other team members to work in different locations; but mostly because the nature of the business is not suitable for working remotely. As a result, they are not equipped with an effective system for working from home due to the emergency situation.

When I decided to go freelance in early 2016 after working in the media companies and digital agencies for almost 10 years, there were many considerations that almost refrained me from starting a new journey in my career. They were the uncertainties and challenges in managing the cash flow for sure. Many people think I can have more relaxed and flexible working hours, even work from anywhere I want! Sure I can work anywhere, but work in a cafe every day will definitely make me broke at the end of the month. My working hours are even longer (if I decided to take on several projects at the same time). I was ‘forced’ to be much more disciplined and optimize what I have because I have to rely on my own abilities many many times — familiar with the condition when you have to work on the project, while also do the invoicing, create all agreements, and all the paper works, or series of meetings or pitchings with potential clients?

Not once or twice, freelancers give bad impressions for companies that use their services: sometimes irresponsible, they somehow are prone to be missing in actions, and more difficult to be monitored. I also wrote this because of my personal experience. I sometimes have to deal with the negative stigma of being a freelance worker, I even experienced it myself when I have to collaborate with other fellow freelancers; witnessing fellow freelance workers who are too arrogant, not communicative, or unresponsive when it comes to the deadline day.

Working from home is a privilege but also a double-edged sword.

IMO, remote working does not mean that you can work freely. Discipline and deadline compliance must always be prioritized, in any workplace that supports your teamwork productivity and comfort.

Other than that, these are three tips you can try to stay productive and mentally healthy when you (have to) work from home:

1. Set a working desk/area — anywhere, just not on your bed

Yes, you can work from anywhere but your desk makes you more effective. Never, ever work from your bed, because it’s not good for your posture and also it won’t last long. It indeed would be effortless to spend all day in bed. But according to the Harvard Business Review’s Guide to Being More Productive: “Unless you are careful to maintain boundaries, you may start to feel like you’re always at work and losing a place to come home to.”

2. Maintain effective communication

Remote working/work from home doesn’t mean ‘no communication’ at all. You can update your work progress using your preferable apps, such as Slack or Trello and videoconferencing services like Google Hangouts Meet or Zoom. Face-to-face conversations using these digital tools can also help to get rid of the sense of isolation, while screen-sharing can help to get all people in your team or your clients on the same page.

3. Discipline & time management

When you don’t have any colleagues around, it’s easy to forget all the tasks. You can also lose the sense of time when working in a completely different space. Set your working time (make it no different from your usual working time at the office or your clients' working timeline), make a structured daily schedule and stick to it (believe me, it’s actually kinda hard when we’re alone because we’re most of the time influenced by other people), and have a break during lunchtime away from your laptop.

Good luck with the social distancing and stay safe everyone!

We are in this together, xx