The DOs and DONT’S of Work From Home

Working from home can be super rewarding! The commute is short, the food is great and the dress code is pretty much non-existent. There is so much freedom that comes with having a home-based job, but as the old adage goes, with great freedom, come great responsibility.

Having an online job is tricky, if you want to keep your clients and maintain a good reputation, there are some DOs and DON’Ts that you should keep in mind:

DO !

Do make sure you have updated systems, a good Internet Service Provider, and quality gadgets such as a top performing headset for example. These are the tools of your trade. An engineer would not build a house with rusty nails or rotting wood, neither should your systems be out of date. Invest in back-ups as well.

Do keep trackers, save back-ups, take screenshots, and generally keep track of your work. This will not only ensure that you can answer any queries should an issue arise, but you can rest easy and know that you can always backtrack and figure out where something may have gone wrong, or present proof that all was done properly on your end. In short, cover your bases.

Do keep an open and constant line of communication with your company POC. Since you work online, they cannot easily look over your shoulder or drop by your office to have a chat, keeping open and honest communication will foster more trust in your working relationship, it is easy to lose trust for someone who they cannot see or physically be in the presence of, so keep that trust and keep communicating.

Do utilize your resources. You have best friends and they are called search engines. You can learn anything and everything online from how to make a brownie in the microwave to coding for a website, creating a blog and everything in between. If you take the time, you will find what you need.

DON’T !

Don’t be a slacker.
It is easy to lose focus and be side tracked by that cute puppy video that your friend posted on your wall, or by those pointless but super fun Buzzfeed quizzes (because you MUST know what vegetable you are!). Make good use of your time and don’t get distracted. You may want to block certain sites while you work or set up a work tracker just to be sure you avoid temptation. Avoid frequent breaks and DO NOT sleep on the job

Think Before You Act.
Do not post things on your Facebook or Twitter that might lead you to lose your job, do not post a million selfies when you are supposed to be working. Remember, you work online, therefore your POC is online as well, it is so easy to check and see what you have been doing while you are expected to be working, there are too many stories out there, of people who lose their jobs due to their online behavior.

Don’t take it for granted.
A lot of people would kill to be able to work from home, treat it like the treasure that it is and make yourself a valuable asset to whoever you are working for. This is not a game, do not squander this chance.
If you work just as hard as you would work in an office, the benefits will be bountiful.