6 essential skills to work from home

Amid all the negative aspects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, one aspect that shined the most was working from home. Almost all institutions and organisations were forced to resort to working from in order to make sure most industries were still moving forward. Even though it took some adjusting for a lot, most have adapted to it and are enjoying the benefits alongside the cons of working from home. 

People are now more interested in jobs that can be done from home, away from the harmful aspects of going out during the pandemic. However, working from home might sound easy but on the contrary, it is quite hard since there's no proper guideline to it. So if you want to land a job and work from home, these are few skills that are absolutely essential. 

Effective Communication Skills

Most organisations were against working from home because of the lack of face to face communication. Being able to just look behind your shoulder and ask for cues, suggestions and guidelines, which is why having effective communication skills is very important.

Employees will have to effectively be quite fluent in using emails, online chat, video meeting as a means to communicate. Use the positive aspect of technology and to make sure that you can convey what you mean clearly and concisely.

Tech Savvy

Being tech savvy is probably the most important if not one of the most important skills to possess to have a better working from home experience. Since all the work, communication will be done online, workers need to be familiar with apps such as Zoom, Google - Meet, Docs, Slides, Sheets. These apps will allow users to work better in synergy. 

Critical Thinking

Colleagues and teams act as sounding boards for new ideas. But at home with nobody to assist you'll need to be able to think creatively on your own while working at home. You need to be able to function independently with very few rules to make it as a home-based worker.

Proactiveness

Since working home allows you to be in your comfort zone for an extended period of time, it can also make you lazy. Employees will need to be self-motivated and vigilant to remain on track because they won't have a supervisor looking over their shoulder.

Professionalism 

One of the underrated skills to possess to be able to work from home and be good at it is to be as professional as possible. Just because they are at home doesn't necessarily mean they need to be in bed. Set up a table, make a separate workstation which not only brings a sense of professionalism to the work they are doing but also keeps a separate space for them to take on video meeting calls. Be fluent in work etiquette even if you are home, let your supervisor know when you are away from the laptop. 

Organised and Balanced

One of the most difficult aspects of working at home is keeping balance. Alongside office work there will be other side tasks that might catch your attention. This is where employees need to be able to create  a balanced and organised routine to keep themselves on track without losing valuable time. They will need to be very structured, from filing systems and regular to-do lists, to keeping track of finances and emails, to help keep them on track.