5 tips for remote work

However, remote work also presents its own challenges, requiring employees to have the right skills and habits to work effectively. In this article, StudentJob will give you some specific advice for working remotely effectively. Read on!

Ensure your rights are protected when working remotely.

Benefits should always be a top priority when you're looking for a job, and this is even more important for remote work, online work, or remote jobs.

Why is that? Because labor laws don't have many regulations regarding remote work, as employers can be foreign companies, outside the control of the state, and your interests will entirely depend on your employment contract with the company.

When working remotely, your benefits may differ from those of other employees in the office. Therefore, you should ensure you are entitled to benefits such as social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, allowances, overtime pay, vacation days, etc., before signing an employment contract.

You should consider doing the following to protect your rights:

1. Find out about the company's standard benefits.  Most companies offer a number of standard benefits to all employees, including those on internships, probationary periods, and full-time positions. These benefits typically include health insurance, unemployment insurance, vacation time, holidays, etc. Find out what benefits your company offers through their human resources department.

2. Ask about benefits specifically for remote workers.  Some companies offer additional benefits for remote employees. Important benefits that affect work include work equipment (computer, monitor, headphones, etc.), internet, phone bills, work software, etc. Ask your employer or direct manager about these benefits to avoid spending too much of your personal budget on company-related expenses.

3. Carefully read your employment contract.  Your employment contract will clearly state all the benefits you are entitled to. Read the contract carefully to ensure you understand your benefits. If there are any errors in the employment contract or you are unclear about your entitlements, you should contact the human resources department for clarification and verification.

Furthermore, for those of you who have no prior work experience at a company or business, you should refer to Law No. 45/2019/QH14 of the National Assembly: the Labor Code, as officially issued by the government. Make sure to remember the basic rights you are guaranteed to receive as a full-time employee working remotely.

Planning and managing work effectively

Our next piece of advice for working remotely is that you should plan and manage your work effectively. Let's break down the issue we're trying to address:

Work plan:  Your work plan will be based on KPIs or targets that your manager wants you to achieve within a certain period, usually one week, one month, or one quarter.

Remote work is easily affected by the relaxed and less strictly controlled environment compared to the office. This comfort can lead to missed deadlines or a decline in work quality, impacting the overall business results. According to a CNBC article, managers are "frustrated and disoriented" when it comes to remote work, as employees fail to meet targets and it is difficult to manage them in this format.

Therefore, when working remotely, make sure you are doing your job accurately and efficiently (otherwise you could be fired). Ensure you have a specific work plan, including:

1. Tasks to be completed during the quarter.  This includes: tasks to be done in each month, and results or progress to be achieved in each month of the quarter.
2. Tasks to be completed during the month.  This includes: tasks to be done each week, and the results or progress to be achieved each week of the month.
3. Tasks to be completed during the week.  This includes: tasks to be done each day, and the results or progress to be achieved each day of the week.

Let's look at an example to give you a clearer understanding of the importance of planning in your work:

Situation:  You are a customer service representative for a company that provides software for the education sector. Your supervisor has assigned you a task in the first quarter of 2024 to complete at least 200 customer support tickets for product assistance via email.

You can create a simple plan based on that information. The tasks you will need to do are:

1. Read customer emails.
2. Identify the problem the customer is facing.
3. Handle the issue yourself or contact the department responsible for handling it to resolve it.
4. Respond and wait for confirmation from the customer.
5. The ticket will be closed after confirmation or if the customer does not respond.

That completes one support ticket. You can easily calculate that you need to complete an average of 60 tickets per month to achieve your Q1 2024 target, which means you support an average of 15 customer tickets per week. And you will need to plan accordingly to reach that goal.

Additionally, you need to assess whether the plan is on track. For example, if you only assisted 10 customers in the first week, you should probably review and adjust the tasks you need to perform to achieve the overall plan. Therefore, you must  manage your tasks effectively .

To plan and manage your work effectively while working remotely, you should hone your planning and problem-solving skills. When you have an overall view of your work, your efficiency will increase, thus ensuring the success of your remote work.

Create an effective remote working environment.

A good environment will create favorable conditions to help you focus and work more efficiently. To achieve this, the workspace needs to be designed to be comfortable and convenient.

A workspace needs to be quiet, comfortable, and well-lit. You should choose a quiet corner in your home with a window overlooking the outside to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere. According to the National Institutes of Health in the US, fresh air improves mood, energizes the body, increases concentration, and reduces stress.

In addition, you need to be fully equipped with the necessary tools for the job to ensure efficiency. You should also pay attention to keeping your workspace neat and organized. Or perhaps decorating your workspace according to your preferences will help you feel more comfortable and motivated while working.

If you're still undecided, you can refer to StudentJob's article "5 Steps to Setting Up an Ergonomic Workspace" for an overview of how to arrange your workspace when working remotely. Or, for a more focused approach, you can check out an ActivTrak blog post titled "7 Steps to Creating an Effective Remote Work Environment." Hopefully, these articles sharing practical experience on designing a remote work environment will be helpful to you.

Minimizing distractions in the workspace, such as noise, phone notifications, and other factors, is crucial for enhancing concentration. You can also apply the Pomodoro technique to your work to limit unnecessary distractions.

Regularly communicate with colleagues and clients.

Regular communication with colleagues and clients will help you coordinate work effectively. Employers also value communication and teamwork skills as two of the most important qualities for effective work, in addition to professional expertise. This is especially crucial if you plan to or are currently working remotely. This includes:

1. Communicating about workplace matters.  Through group applications such as Zalo, Skype, etc.
2. Communicate job details  through team collaboration applications such as Asana, Trello, Teamwork, etc.
3. Communicate with customers.  Through email, phone, etc.

Being able to communicate effectively will help you integrate into the company environment, gather the necessary information for your work, and promote communication and customer service. Here are some ways you can consider improving your communication skills and ability to interact with colleagues while working remotely:

1. Utilize effective online communication tools.  Use platforms like Zalo, Skype, Asana, Trello, Teamwork, and email to maintain communication with colleagues and clients. If you work in a crowded environment, Bluetooth headsets or other tools to help you focus may be necessary.

2. Provide clear, concise, and easily understandable information when communicating at work.  In remote work, providing clear, concise, and easily understandable information is crucial for maintaining effective communication with colleagues. You need to organize information systematically and logically. Categorize information into paragraphs or sections for easy tracking. Choose clear and understandable language, avoiding unnecessary jargon. The ultimate goal is to convey opinions and information as clearly as possible.

3. Answer questions and provide feedback promptly.  Getting information or answers quickly will keep the work running smoothly. If you don't have an answer yet, you can send a reminder message for a specific time, ensuring team members are aware of the progress you're making.

Therefore, even when working remotely, workplace communication remains a crucial aspect to consider, especially when working in an office. When communicating online, you can't use gestures and body language constantly; instead, you must use appropriate language to convey your message effectively.

Maintain a work-life balance.

Remote work offers many benefits, but also presents some challenges, such as difficulty balancing work and life. When working remotely, it's easy to get caught up in work and forget about spending time with yourself and your family. There are several reasons why remote work can make it difficult to balance work and life:

1. There's no clear separation between work and life.  When working in an office, you can easily distinguish between work time and rest time. However, when working remotely, you're juggling work and household chores like cooking, doing laundry, or dealing with family matters. This can make it difficult to differentiate between work and personal life.

2. Lack of social interaction.  When working in an office, you have the opportunity to communicate and interact directly with colleagues every day. Small conversations help you feel connected to your work and colleagues. However, when working remotely, you may feel lonely and lack social interaction. This lack of social interaction can lead to fatigue, boredom, and stress, which are undesirable in a work environment.

3. Difficulty managing time.  When working in an office, it's easier to manage your time because everyone works and takes breaks together. However, when working remotely, you may be distracted by other activities, making it difficult to manage your time and complete your work. This is also a factor we mentioned in the introduction.

Balancing work and life is essential for your health and well-being. You should try applying the tips above to balance work and life when working remotely. By applying these tips, you can work remotely more effectively and confidently. It's important to note that everyone has their own working style, so the most important thing is to examine and adjust your personal strategy to find what works best for you. 

9 tips for working from home effectively.

In the office, your colleagues are often the biggest distraction. They drop by your desk, chat with you, and invite you to lunch. Interaction between colleagues is good, but it can also be a source of distraction.

However, when we work from home, we ourselves are the primary source of distraction. Because we are free, there is no one supervising us. You don't necessarily have to feel pressured to complete the work 'by this time'. 

But if we delay too long, the workload piles up and it will lead to a loss of control. Additionally, some employees feel their productivity is lower when working from home. 

Social distancing due to Covid-19 has made working from home increasingly common. So how can you adapt and achieve maximum productivity while working from home? Check out these tips from Tanca!

1. List the tasks for the day.

When working in an office, the mandatory work schedule can help you wake up early and feel ready for work even before arriving at the office. However, at home, the journey from bed to desk can be much more strenuous.

But there's a way to make this situation easier: write down a to-do list as soon as you wake up. Just start on the first task on time, and you can move on to the others more easily. Otherwise, you'll prolong breakfast and let laziness erode your motivation.

2. Perform tasks as usual.

The mental connection between the workplace and the office can help you work more efficiently.

When working from home, do everything you need to prepare for a normal workday: Set your alarm, make (or go for) coffee, and dress appropriately. 

Don't turn WFH (work from home) into HFH (holidays from home), whether you're an employee or an employer. Therefore, act professionally, respect yourself, and perform your duties as usual. Be proactive in regularly updating your progress and communicate and report to your boss; don't wait for your boss to call.  Your attire and work posture can be somewhat relaxed, but don't be overly sloppy; you'll be easily tempted by social media, games, movies, etc.

3. Adjust the time appropriately.

Working from home, you are your own manager. Without proper time management throughout the day, you can quickly lose focus or become exhausted.

To stay on schedule, segment your work and time slots throughout the day. You can divide your 8-hour workday into different time slots with specific goals and results to achieve within each slot. Ideally, divide it into 8 slots, each lasting 1 hour, including short breaks and light exercise for 5-10 minutes after each hour. 

If you have an online calendar, create personalized events and reminders to let you know when to get things done and start new tasks. Google Calendar makes this easy.

4. Choose a suitable workspace.

Just because you don't work in an office doesn't mean you can't have a proper workspace. A separate workspace doesn't necessarily have to be a dedicated office with a closed door (which is often not an option in small living spaces). It should be an area that helps you mentally prepare for work, whether it's a private room or a small desk in the corner of your living room.

Create a professional workspace with a quiet, airy environment, isolated from the hustle and bustle of life, just like you're in your own company office.  Additionally, don't hesitate to invest a little in suitable furniture, Wi-Fi, a computer, software, and online meeting equipment when needed.

Ideally, it would be a place you don't go to relax like a bedroom or sofa, and a place where other family members won't disturb you. 

5. Avoid using social media whenever possible. 

Social media is designed to be easy to open and browse quickly. However, this convenience can be detrimental to your productivity.

To prevent the easy use of social media while working from home, remove them from your browser shortcuts and log out of all accounts. You might even consider working primarily in private mode, or if you're using Chrome, an "Incognito" browser window is a good option. 

This ensures that you won't be tempted to take too many breaks during the day.

6. Work when you are most productive.

No one works from morning till night; your motivation will naturally decrease or become inconsistent throughout the day. Therefore, when working from home, it's important to know when you'll be most productive and plan important tasks around that time.

Save the more challenging tasks for when you're highly productive. Use the slow spots of the day to complete logistical tasks and easier jobs. Verily magazine calls these "small acts of success," and they can help you build momentum for the more demanding projects that await you later.

7. Inform everyone about your working hours.

Most importantly, make sure everyone in your family (children, parents, spouse, etc.) knows that when you're working, you won't be available to help with small juice box-related issues or idle chatter. 

Shared spaces can get noisy, so if your workspace isn't separate from common areas, consider buying some noise-canceling headphones to signal to those around you that you don't want to be disturbed and avoid being drawn into ongoing conversations.

If you're going to try to do housework while working, choose what you can actually accomplish. Taking out the trash is a way to get away from your desk for a quick break, but it's probably not practical if you're trying to wash a pile of dishes.

8. Interact with colleagues online.

Remember: You're working from home, not on the moon. So interact with your colleagues. Messaging and meeting tools like Telegram, Zoom, Skype, etc., can help you easily connect with colleagues and remind you how your work is contributing to the overall team picture.

9. Choose a time to end your work-from-home day.

You may hear a lot that working from home will establish a work-life balance, but be wary of that assumption. Without discipline, you can get so caught up in your work, in a relaxed environment, that you completely lose track of time.

When you're at the office, colleagues packing up and leaving will remind you to do the same or urge you to quickly finish your last tasks. So if you're at home, set an alarm at the end of the day to know that your typical workday is coming to an end. 

You don't necessarily have to stop at that moment, but this reminder can help you start the process of saving time and pausing work in the evening.

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