We are officially less than two weeks away from exiting the Circuit Breaker. With the latest update on the ministry advisory, it seems like only about a third of us will be able to return to the workplace, the rest will still be working from home.

Covid-19 response measures are bringing many businesses to work on the digital platform. Working from home has become a new norm for all of us including students, who brought their learning home. How are you juggling between work and your daily lives? Are you prepared to “get comfortable with the uncomfortable”?

If you are one of those co-workers who are able to return to work from 2nd June, here are some things you can look into when you’re back at work:

1. Maintain regular communication with your clients/colleagues

Even with the easing of restrictions, it is prudent for businesses to still practice remote working and telecommuting within their internal teams. We must adapt and get accustomed to the limited workforce. Proactive communication between teams via video/phone conference can help minimize miscommunication as compared to only using text messages.

Stay engaged with your partners and clients, let them know that you are back to work at your workplace. Understanding their needs and giving extra support helps a lot during this period. Physical meeting durations should be shortened if cannot be avoided. Alternatively, conduct your discussions virtually.

2. Relook into your physical workspace setup

With the enforcement of safe distancing, it is unavoidable that businesses have to consider reconfiguring their workspaces. This is especially important for smaller enterprises that have limited perimeters to work with. It is also a good time to look into removing unnecessary office equipment that are not in use. Resources re-planning can help you to further identify whether your workflow matches your current needs.

No one knows what’s going to happen in the months ahead and if you still have a little more budget to spare, do consider tools that has good portability and are able to help facilitate work-from-home capabilities as well.

3. Consider reviewing your IT infrastructure needs

After the two-month-long episode of working from home, we believe many businesses have identified loopholes within their business continuity plans. It is also challenging for some to fully transit into their business operations digitally. It is always not too late to reconsider reviewing your infrastructure as we move along the various phases of change.

With the uncertainties ahead always be prepared for sudden operational disruptions. Here’s what you can consider adopting:

• Secured platform to host video conferencing/voice calls. This is to enable more seamless communication between your employees and clients no matter where they are.

• Cloud-based storage capabilities to facilitate remote collaboration and usage of shared resources.

• Operational IT support services; where constant support is provided for your businesses even when you are working from home.

• Ensure that all security gaps are looked into to prevent cyber-attacks.

• Comprehensive hardware and software refresh.

• Prepare and educate staff on good IT habits and practices while they work from home. You can find out more here. 

For those who are required to work directly from your homes, hang in there! Just know that things are only going to get better over time.

Stay home, stay safe!

Author

Nora Fong

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