Episode 2: Working from home or living at work?

The majority of working women are working from home these days. But are we really? A friend of mine coined a new phrase for the way we work and I couldn’t agree with it more. COVID-19 has forced us to all live at work, without leaving our homes!
Working from home has made it difficult to establish boundaries, work hours, set realistic expectations and maintain any type of work-life balance.
We no longer have scheduled lunch dates with colleagues or a commute home to listen to a podcast or just unwind.
We are always “at work” and it’s taking a toll.
Every year, McKinsey and Company, a global consulting company, issues a “Women in the Workplace” study where they survey more than 40,000 people on their workplace experiences and conduct more than 45 interviews to dive deeper on the issues. This year’s study is concerning. Alarming. It found that ONE in FOUR women are contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable just six months ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce entirely.
Ladies…let that sink in. 25% of working women are contemplating leaving the workplace. That is troubling and is creating an emergency for corporate America. And more importantly, for working women everywhere.
This can’t happen. Women have worked so hard to get to where they are today. To educate ourselves, work our way up the corporate ladder, to demand fair pay and equal opportunity for senior management positions. We can’t give this up.
What can we do? We need to act and act now. You can’t afford to wait. Here are some tips for recreating your work from home life and to stop living at work. You don’t need to quite your job. 
1.  Schedule a call with your boss. Today. Discuss how COVID-19 has impacted your work life and identify what is no longer working for you. Is it possible to work hours other than 9-5pm? Is it possible to have “on call” hours for meetings and calls? Are there other ways to accomplish your tasks? 
It is better to have a conversation like this in person, but if it’s not possible, schedule a call and be prepared to send a follow-up email. Do not create a problem for your boss. Rather, frame the conversation by:
a.  Discussing your issue;
b.  Proposing your solution;
c.  Requesting a follow-up call in 30 days to reassess
d.  Writing your proposed new schedule in a follow-up email.
2.  Create a functional work space. Look at where you are working right now. On a dining room table? Kitchen table? STOP! Please don’t do an important Zoom call from your kitchen. Pick a corner of a room (not your bedroom) and set up a professional space. Even if it’s in your partially finished basement. 
A dedicated work area that you can leave each day is critical. Stop working on your laptop from your couch. This is a bad habit. Your couch is for napping and watching bad TV. Instead, only work from one area in your home.
3.  Time blocking. This is critical for planning your day. You need to block out times of the day for important tasks. Instead, only work from one area in your home and set a timer to work in 25-minute periods. Then take a five-minute break. This is called the Pomodoro technique and it works. The human brain can’t pay attention for more than 25 minutes. There is even an app to help you track your time.&

The majority of working women are working from home these days. But are we really? A friend of mine coined a new phrase for the way we work and I couldn’t agree with it more. COVID-19 has forced us to all live at work, without leaving our homes!

Working from home has made it difficult to establish boundaries, work hours, set realistic expectations and maintain any type of work-life balance.

We no longer have scheduled lunch dates with colleagues or a commute home to listen to a podcast or just unwind.

We are always “at work” and it’s taking a toll.

Every year, McKinsey and Company, a global consulting company, issues a “Women in the Workplace” study where they survey more than 40,000 people on their workplace experiences and conduct more than 45 interviews to dive deeper on the issues. This year’s study is concerning. Alarming. It found that ONE in FOUR women are contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable just six months ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce entirely.

Ladies…let that sink in. 25% of working women are contemplating leaving the workplace. That is troubling and is creating an emergency for corporate America. And more importantly, for working women everywhere.

This can’t happen. Women have worked so hard to get to where they are today. To educate ourselves, work our way up the corporate ladder, to demand fair pay and equal opportunity for senior management positions. We can’t give this up.

What can we do? We need to act and act now. You can’t afford to wait. Here are some tips for recreating your work from home life and to stop living at work. You don’t need to quite your job. 

1.  Schedule a call with your boss. Today. Discuss how COVID-19 has impacted your work life and identify what is no longer working for you. Is it possible to work hours other than 9-5pm? Is it possible to have “on call” hours for meetings and calls? Are there other ways to accomplish your tasks? 

It is better to have a conversation like this in person, but if it’s not possible, schedule a call and be prepared to send a follow-up email. Do not create a problem for your boss. Rather, frame the conversation by:

a.  Discussing your issue;

b.  Proposing your solution;

c.  Requesting a follow-up call in 30 days to reassess

d.  Writing your proposed new schedule in a follow-up email.

2.  Create a functional work space. Look at where you are working right now. On a dining room table? Kitchen table? STOP! Please don’t do an important Zoom call from your kitchen. Pick a corner of a room (not your bedroom) and set up a professional space. Even if it’s in your partially finished basement. 

A dedicated work area that you can leave each day is critical. Stop working on your laptop from your couch. This is a bad habit. Your couch is for napping and watching bad TV. Instead, only work from one area in your home.

3.  Time blocking. This is critical for planning your day. You need to block out times of the day for important tasks. Instead, only work from one area in your home and set a timer to work in 25-minute periods. Then take a five-minute break. This is called the Pomodoro technique and it works. The human brain can’t pay attention for more than 25 minutes. There is even an app to help you track your time.&