Do your hair, do not wear pajamas

09 APRiL 2020

Prof. Burcu Güneri Çangarlı, Acting Dean of Faculty of Business, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), shared some practical tips for those who must work from home due to coronavirus measures, and warned about “pajama” and “hairdo”. Prof. Çangarlı, who pointed out the importance of selection of clothes to adapt to working from home, said, “You don’t need to dress as you are going to work, do make-up or wear a tie. However, doing your hair or wearing casual clothes you would wear outside would help you adapt to working from home. Wearing pajamas or daily clothes would make it hard to get motivated to work.”

Prof. Burcu Güneri Çangarlı stated that it was very important to manage time efficiently, maintain the team spirit, and increase performance while working from home. Indicating that working from home is a new experience for many people, Prof. Çangarlı gave some easy daily tips.

CREATE YOUR ROUTINE

Prof. Çangarlı said, “Create a daily routine that works for you. Make your to-do-list in the morning. Prioritize urgent and important tasks. Improve your guessing skills regarding how much time to spare for housework, children, and self. Perfectionism is nothing but a habit of secretly delaying. There will always be a few sentences to be added, a design to be improved, or a report to be detailed. Do not be too much of a perfectionist. Some people concentrate and be more productive at night, and some during the day. Set your work plans based on your energy routine. Our brains like routines. Be sure to add small guilty pleasures to your routine. For example, you can reward yourself with a cup of coffee, or watch an episode of a series you like after a hard work.”

WATCH OUT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Prof. Çangarlı stated the following: “The uncertainty caused by the coronavirus and being deprived of face-to-face socialization resulted in increased social media traffic. Keep your phone away from your work area when you must concentrate while working. Turn off the notifications, both on your phone and computer. Set a specific amount of time for social media and follow this rule. Be aware of what is at stake when you fail to do your job. Remember your responsibilities to your coworkers. Working from home should not mean that you must handle everything on your own. Communicate with your teammates and manager to get support.”

FOCUS ON RESULTS RATHER THAN TIME

Prof. Çangarlı also pointed that managers needed to consider the result rather than worktimes during this period. Prof. Çangarlı made the following recommendations to the managers: “Remember that people work with you are also facing extraordinary circumstances. Focus on the outcome rather than workhours. See if they completed the task or not. Set clear, realistic and concrete goals for them. Set aside difficult tasks for some other time. Professional and self-development training would be very beneficial. During this time, you and your team can have online training for a small cost. There are also free webinars available. This way, you would maintain the team spirit and socialize through quality time. Make sure your employees know that you support them. When identifying goals, work terms, leaves, explain your workers the reasons. Be open to get suggestions from them as it will strength their trust and commitment to you.”

TIPS

1) Create a daily routine, prioritize things.

2) Do not be perfectionist.

3) Create routines based on your energy.

4) Indulge in guilty pleasures.

5) Limit time spent on social media.

6) Be open to help, you are not alone.