Work from Home Challenges and Solutions

The smell of coffee is in the air, people are bustling around the office, and you just now settling into your desk ready to tackle today’s challenges. This is what a typical day was like before many of us started working from home and I don’t think any of us were ready for the challenges we would face. In this article, we are going to take a long look at the new challenges that were faced and ways to combat them.

Productivity Problem

The first and foremost problem that will be faced when you first begin working from home is what I like to call the productivity problem. When you are in the office there are fewer things to distract you than when you are at home. This can cause productivity to drop, which in turn is bad for the company.

The best way I have found to combat this is to try to find a room/corner of your home that you can work in without any distractions. I personally have a second room with all the supplies I would need to work throughout the day. This second room allows me to essentially “cut” myself off from the rest of the house and focus on work.

Burnout Dilemma

The second problem causes a kind of paradox when paired with the first problem. I find that people either get hit with the first problem or this second problem. This problem usually propagates when someone is unable to step away from work and burns themselves out. The second problem is a bit

harder to tackle because it involves taking a step back from work. My solution to this problem is to schedule your breaks and lunchtime and follow it to the letter. It can be very hard to follow your schedule because some people will feel guilty for not working the whole time they are home, but you have to remember if your burnout you will feel bad and be very unproductive.

Absent Accessories

The last problem that we will tackle is missing equipment. Without failure anytime there is a task that you need a specific tool for, that tool will be missing. In the office this usually isn’t as big of a deal, you can simply just go get the tool from storage. However, if you are stuck working from home this becomes a much larger problem. If you are unable to go to the office, it will have to be mailed to you which takes up valuable time. I believe the best way to combat this lies with the company. Similar to go bags during a disaster scenario, a company should have pre-made bags that can be given/taken to remote workers. This will ensure that they have all the tools to do their jobs.

Thanks for Reading,

Connor Spangler,
Security Analyst
Jacksonville, Florida