Disciplining Yourself if You Work From Home
Normally you would hear people sounding off that working from home is better than the office setting. Perhaps there is some sense to it but one thing that should be observed here is that of discipline. At home, you can choose to work and not to. You don’t have to worry about bosses roaming around and checking on you or finding the right position to relax. In short, you get the best of both worlds when you work from home.
But while that may be a dream to most, do remember that it can also affect you as a person. Not all people see the reason as to why it is harder to work from home. It is indeed something desirable but would you be productive when you choose to work from home?
The real answer lies on the person wanting to work from home. Ordinarily people fail to look beyond what it means to work at home and the consequences that arise from it. It is something new, especially for the people who have been working in an office setting. There will be some adjustment phases and on whether you would succeed or go down with it is something that may need thorough consideration.
Two thirds of workers would prefer to work from home, feeling they would be happier and more productive if they did, a new study has revealed.
Despite this, the survey by Plantronics found that three quarters of employees are offered no flexibility on where they work from by their job, reports the Press Association.
Make the Most of Your Slack Time
When you are at work, the usual 8 hour shift is normally not used up to the max. Actually, there are people in office who claim that 8 hours are not enough but if you observe them during the working hours, you may find them slacking off or taking their own sweet time to finish a day’s work.
One reason for this is that the mentality that one should work only on a limited basis depending on the ones stated in their job description and contract may be to blame. Not all people are enthusiastic to work more than what is expected of them. There are people who can work more than what is expected from them but choose not to since they will not be compensated for it anyway.
A logical choice perhaps but if you look at it, it is a wrong approach towards a business perspective. That is perhaps why most employees choose not to do more or impress management although there are some people who do it regardless of being rewarded or not. These are career-oriented people who want to prove something to themselves and of course gain that much longed for promotion.
So as a whole, there is a wide area of slack time in most jobs. It may not be generalized but certainly, not all people make use of the complete 8 hour shift. As long as they can be able finish their job, management cannot blame them for anything. Is that justifiable?
Reasons for Being Given Deadlines
Time is something that is not always on the side of any employee or worker. While it depends on the nature of your job, chances are you will be having problems with deadlines once paper work starts piling up. And once you fail to meet these deadlines which are pertinent for departmental efficiency, chances are you will be bear the brunt of the blame for its incompetence.
But while this may be an issue that many would blame on being overworked, there are some people who always believe in “you can always continue tomorrow” or perhaps “the deadline is far off”. Rarely would you see people today finishing ahead of time when it comes to deadlines. They believe they have all the time in the world to kill.
Normally you would be given a week or two to compile and finish a report on something like sales reports or revenues for a certain period. Sounds easy to do but it is really getting the data that will bear the brunt of the job as well as formatting it in a way that will make your superior understand the current performance of your company for evaluation. Even the seasoned employees who are used to making reports should not take this task lightly. This is because they also have to review and make sure that everything reported is accurate since one wrong figure will be critical for the entire report.
Hence deadlines are given for workers to adjust. The last day is not the only thing important. It is how you manage your time. Do not be afraid to finish the report early since you need to review it before presenting it.
That is the whole essence of measuring efficiency. It is not about how fast you accomplish your work. It is about accuracy and making sure that you produce what the boss is asking from you.
Health Still Matters in Work Production
We all want to prove a point as far as being successful in our careers but apparently most people these days forget one important thing, health. A person cannot go to work, be productive and last long in a profession if health is not taken care off. Apparently we all see that in most companies, annual physical exams are given not only as a privilege but to also make sure that a company’s labor force is healthy and free from potential health risks.
Overtime work or extending beyond the usual working hours is a common sight. But while your superior may acknowledge and praise you for your dedication to your work, you just have to consider as well by balancing diligence with work output. Of the two, efforts put into trying to achieve success in one aspect of work-related issues is commendable. But it can also mean incompetence since it may mean failure to meet deadlines as set beforehand. So in the end, you get a double black-eye, incompetence and poor health.
There are a lot of factors to consider if an employee is indeed suitable for a job. But there are also some thing to consider on an individual’s end such as:
1. Full understanding of the Job Scope
2. Ability to meet Deadlines
3. Output Capacity
4. Self-Discipline
Without a doubt the last one, self-discipline would depend on a person’s purpose in life. We can easily spot how dedicated and serious a person is through his lifestyle. A silent worker does not mean that he will not have a social life. Further, you also have to consider personal issues which may also affect performance.
In all, it boils down to being able to manage yourself as a worker and meeting the employer requirements. In the middle of it all, you have to stay healthy to survive it all. If not, you may just find yourself being among the people who are lacking to achieve anything both in personal and corporate drives.
Proactiveness for an Extra Dollar
I have always believed that we can do more than relying heavily on single jobs. While they are normally routine work, once you finish the usual 9 to 5 working hours, you normally want to get home and rest. Turn on the television and have your dinner and then go to sleep. But wait, isn’t there a lot of slack time here? Why not try to do something productive for a change.
Today, you have to work smarter and approach life by maximizing your time. This is not a requirement as taking on additional workload largely depends on a person’s drive to do more. Consider the time you eat, relax and sleep. You don’t normally need more than 12 hours to do all of these things.
For others, this may vary. People want a social life to build on and perhaps majority of it would be placed here. In short, not all people would consider being proactive and managing their time as important. As they say enjoy life to the fullest. You have a job and hence are earning. But the question is “Is it Enough?”
In this aspect, telecommute work or possibly doing some extra-curricular work as perhaps trading using the web would be a good recourse. We hear people doing it in eBay while others write for a living. There are a lot of things you can do to earn the extra buck. However before you start counting the greens, do remember to define your lifestyle. Forcing yourself into it will not reap any benefits and dividends for you when it comes to managing your time wisely.
Realign Yourself for More Work Ahead
Recession is apparent and for most companies downsizing their workforce these days, it seems that we as employees should be ready for more tasks to be assigned to us. Multitasking seems to be the solution that most management companies are looking at and for the average worker; they are left with not much of a choice considering they are lucky enough not to be among the people to be given the pink slip.
Not much of a choice eh? Well, considering the real world is indeed getting tighter and that companies can no longer sustain the usual extensive workforce to cope up with the times, we as employees can only do so much. While we may work ourselves to the maximum capacity, it is apparent that some companies just have to face reality and admit that they do not have the same luxury that they once had.
Businesses are faltering one after another and you may call it a chain reaction of sorts to keep a company’s head over water. Career wise, we have to make a choice; adjust to what is assigned to us or resign our fate towards management decision. Of the two, it seems apparent that the wise employee would choose the former considering it is hard to get a job these days.
A consolation on this end can be seen though. While we would restrain ourselves towards staying with what we do as a routine everyday, exposing ourselves to other areas in the mix can help us hone new skills which may evidently become a useful tool should we decide to work for a new organization later on. But for now, we just have to leave an open mind and make the most of what we can and are tasked to do.
Motivation Is Reason to Achieve
For most career-oriented individuals today, one of the most important things to have is motivation. Landing a job is one thing but loving it is another. You cannot excel in a certain position if your heart is not really into it. There is more to building a career with plain intent to earn and work.
A career-path can get places if it will be something that interests them. Fascination for a certain field like computers or marketing is something that can be accepted by anyone. However, success is a different story. Motivated employees take the initiative to study these careers in varying degrees. Once this is done involuntary, you will see the difference between a plain job and a promising career for people who embrace them with open arms.