How to work from home during containment
For two decades now, many people have been working from home without leaving every day for a jobsite. This has been possible because of the remarkable evolution in the ICT world. For many in Cameroon, working away from the work place is a new thing. They were used to going to their offices until this deathly virus came out of nowhere. For some companies, their doors have been closed. For others, part of their activities can still be done but mostly online. The need of telecommuting is now compulsory. The Covid-19 has redefine our working habits. So, how can we successfully work from home?
1-Psychological preparation
Above all, someone that will be working at home needs to prepare his/her mind. He or She needs to know that the working conditions will not be the same as in the office or away from the house. When we are in the office, the environment and everything around tell us that we are in a professional milieu and it’s all about work work work. At home, thing are very different with kids playing around, with tempting activities like movies, gaming, etc. At times, we feel like we’re on holidays and it’s difficult to focus.
We should not forget to avoid visitors when there’s work to do. Whether we like it or not they will be a distraction and our performances will not be the same; they’ll drop. Our work can be delayed or be of poor quality. The social distancing measures put in place by our government should be a perfect excuse to keep people away from us.
2-Getting the necessary tools for work
For companies to sustain with their personnels situated at different geographic positions, they need to Telecommute. These employees therefore need: Equipment, Internet, Apps (programs)/Websites and online storage.
a- Equipment
When we talk about equipment here, it all about the necessary devices (electronic). These devices vary according to the type of work someone has to do. We can be needing: Multimedia phones, a personal computer, camera, Power banks (should in case), etc. As I earlier said, the capacities of each device depends on the task to be taken and also on the financial power of each company. But be careful not to get the worst qualities.
b- Internet
After you got your equipment, the next thing to go about is an internet connection: It’s the best way two people can work together from different points. It gives many advantages such as calls (both audio and video), files transfer (audio, videos, text, images, etc.), streaming, online meetings (conferences, workshops, sales, seminars, etc.) Make sure you go in for the best and not the cheapest network. It is true some provider are on promotion due to the Covid-19 but be careful. If not, you’ll have data but won’t be able to work fast.
c- Applications (programs)/Websites
To work online, there are website with Apps that you need to store on your devices for specific tasks. The choice is often made based on their easiness. We have apps that are commonly known and others that are mostly used by professionals.
-Whatsapp: good for instant messaging and files transfer but limited for video conference;
-Telegram: good for instant messaging and files transfer but limited for video conference;
-Zoom: in Cameroon, the app is topping the list of apps used for professional group chats. It is available in free and paid versions, and easy to use. It can create online meetings, training and technical assistance, on video, create meeting rooms and texts exchange thanks to its business instant messaging where you can share files. The free version of Zoom accepts up to 100 participants for a limited time of 40 minutes per conference. The voice and video qualities are good. With the paid version, you can invite more participants, connect Zoom to Skype for Business and obtain a personalized URL and even record meetings;
- 8 × 8 Meetings: another great web conference tool. Simple to use and above all free. No registration required. Access the 8 × 8 Meetings platform and click on “start meetings” and that’s it. It is available in web, desktop and mobile versions;
-Skype: the legendary tool. It has almost the same functions as Zoom (calling, instant messaging, etc.);
- WeChat: we have been using this app in our company before the containment due to the fact that our main office is based in China and the Internet is the only way to link our two offices. It’s good for calls (audio/video) but not very flexible for file transfer;
-LinkedIn: Since social distancing has been adopted in most countries, this professional media helps in networking. We can continue the search for potential company managers that can be interested by the services we render for a B to B (Business to Business) or a B to C (Business to Consumer);
-Facebook: you can use to keep in touch with your community (clients) online as it offers promotion (Adverts) possibilities and instant messaging to;
-Twitter: you can use to keep in touch with your community (clients) online as it offers promotion (Adverts) possibilities;
-Instagram: you can use to keep in touch with your community (clients) online as it offers promotion (Adverts) possibilities and instant messaging to. Don’t forget this network is meant for picture sharing.
d- Online storage
With online storage, we need not worry about space shortage should in case our devices can not contain many files. This technology gives us the possibility to manipulate a large volume of Data. It is called Cloud.
Cloud has a great storage capacity online for files. Companies can use it to store files and share the access links with employees so that they can download directly. This is because most apps have limited seize of files that can be sent. But note that, the storage capacities here differ according to your version (free or paid). We have One Drive, Google Drive and Dropbox. Also make sure your connection is good.
The Covid-19 has already taken thousands of lives and the number of dead keeps growing fast. There’s nothing worth life and we all know that but let’s try to look at the situation from another angle. The impact of the coronavirus in the professional milieu in Cameroon is remarkable. Many firms and businesses have now fasten their steps and taken into consideration telecommuting in their managing strategies because of the social distancing that has limited the number of people to be in a position at the same time. Many now work from home. One thing we should be sure of, is that work will never be the same again after this pandemic.
How do we continue working despite de social distancing measures put in place by our government?
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