A number of weeks have passed since we have been Working From Home due to COVID-19 and as we continue we’re all learing tips and tricks to get through this. We connected with Christina Janzer, Head of User Research at Slack to talk about how we can work from home, stay connected with colleagues and partners, what to do about video conferencing while at home and more. You can figure out what works well by checking out Slack’s Remote tips as we continue navigating this part of our lives.
ATHLEISURE MAG: For those who are used to working outside of their homes and those that have flexible workspaces where they work from home, have a number of meetings in other places, go to events etc - being homebound definitely has their challenges for these groups, what can we do to get into a mindset of home spaces versus work spaces?
CHRISTINA JANZER: That’s a great question and I think that you touched on it a bit. It’s really important to at first, establish a routine so that you can maintain your work-life balance. So the main thing is to do the little things like getting dressed in the morning just like you would do when you’re going to work. Figuring out a dedicated work area that’s in your home so that you can be the most productive to get work done. I think that anything that you can do like that, can go a very long way. You also want to make sure that you take breaks throughout the day and making sure that you have a set time that you start work as well as when you end work. It’s important to have that balance as I see peopel who work straight through from the time to get up to the time that they go to bed because they don’t have that me time which is so important. That’s the first thing that I would tell people so that I can have that separation.
AM: What should people do when it comes to not having face-to-face interactions with co-workers or others that you are used to being with in your day?
CJ: When you’re in an office you have that hub of activity, but when you’re remote, people feel like they’re out of the loop and disconnected - ultimately, they feel less engaged. It’s important to create that space whether it’s quick interaction or ways to get that interaction. I think that managers play a huge role in this way whether they’re doing 1-on-1 check-ins to direct reports over video. Over video, there are lots of great video conference solutions that enable that face-to-face interaction that happens so easily in this medium. There’s Zoom, we have Slack Calls - these are great ways to keep that going and to have that space to do so. Erring on the side of communicating and over-communicating -make sure that you’re really clear on what you’re working on and what you’re looking for in your projects. This way you will get the support and help that you need from your colleagues.
The face-to-face interaction helps with the actual work, but I think that it also helps for when you feel like you’re missing on the communal aspects and the water cooler moments. It allows for those informal moments as well that takes place. What we’ve done is that we have created channels in Slack that are social in nature. So we’ll post silly things that are happening throughout the day, what people are eating for lunch, books that they’re reading and what TV shows that they are watching. The other day, we did the push up contest - so it was great to create social ways that we can still stay connected and it’s just as important.
AM: We love using Slack for a number of things from the project aspect as well as having an area to play catch-up. When we were on sets, we could share some #BTS content for those that were back at the office so they still felt that they were in the loop even though they weren’t there.
CJ: The team morale aspect of it is so important. It’s not just about helping people feel good and to have social connections, but it also leads to increased productivity and great team work. Not taking that stuff for granted is so important. We’re planning a virtual game night with my team and I think that that will allow people to have that social connection that they also need with one another.
AM: That’s such a great use and on that point, does Slack have a video component within the platform that can be used?
CJ: Yeah absolutely. We have Slack Calls and you can do both video and audio. We also have a really great integration with Zoom, another video conferencing service out there. There are a lot of great options out there that can be used. With us being home for the last 4 weeks, I have really relied on video to stay connected with my team. It’s not the same as being next to them, but it’s very close.
AM: What tips do you have as we all know or have seen video with kids running into view, dogs barking or various backgrounds. What tips do you have in order to make the best video conference meetings that we can to manage our new envirnoments?
CJ: I’ve been in that situation many times as I have 3 little kids at home! I think we all need to be open about the fact that we are in these challenging situations right now. I encourage my team not to hide those things. When they have their kid around, I ask them to bring them into the camera and to introduce them - whatever we can do to normalize the chaos that we are all living in. It just makes people much more comfortable in this situation because we’re all in this together and it’s not unique to any one person.
But I think that there are also other things to consider in terms of making sure that you have as much of a schedule as possible. If there is a really important meeting where your kids are going to be disruptive, whatever you can do to move it around your schedule to work for you is important. My husband and I have a strict calendar so I’m on kid duty for these hours and work duties on other hours. He also has the same. There isn’t an exact solution, but you have to take the time to try to figure it out because this is no longer a sprint, it’s a marathon. We all just have to figure it out.
AM: In this time where many of us are working from home, some were caught having to turn their spaces into a workplace. Some companies may opt to allow working from home even after this quarantine passes and just in case we may find ourselves coming back to this again due to future waves, what kind of a checklist should we have so that we can build the best office for ourselves?
CJ: I think every individual is different, we all have different space needs. If you have a dedicated room to make an office - that’s amazing. If you don’t, do what you can do to make your space the most productive as possible. For me, I put in a standing desk so I can stand throughout the day and not be seated all day. It’s also important to carve out portions of your time for little rituals like breaks to take a walk and to make sure that you’re getting outside whenever possible. Everyone is different, but let’s just assume that this is going to be happening for awhile and it’s a marathon and not a sprint. We need to prioritize everyone as well as what I need and we need to be transparent about that. By doing this, we will be able to get through this together.
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