Hello everyone,
Hope you are all staying safe and active. You have probably already had this question … I am interested in putting together a Work From Home Policy. Is anyone willing to offer advice or share what they have for us to customise it? Thanks in advance. Cheers (literally, right?!) Michelle
@terrihandy Hi Terri, Is this something that you might be able to help me with or guide me to a resource? Thank you 
Hi Michelle,
Not sure if you are still looking however below is what I put out in the first instance:
To all staff,
COVID-19, more commonly known as Coronavirus, is very much front and centre in our thoughts at the moment and it is likely to stay that way for some considerable time. At Integrity, we have a duty of care to ensure we help protect our employees and as such, we would like to inform you of some actions to take to help stop this virus from spreading.
The link below contains information about the coronavirus direct from the Australian Government Department of Health.
WASH YOUR HANDS
Thoroughly wash hands with soap and water regularly, especially after visits to areas with high contamination risk such as shopping centres, public transport, etc.
CATCH IT - BIN IT - KILL IT
The “Catch It, Bin It, Kill It” slogan relates to coughs and sneezes. Ensure you have enough of your own tissues. Please follow the slogan and bin your used tissues and then wash your hands.
AVOID CONTAMINATION
No unnecessary contact. This includes hand shakes, high-5’s and hugs.
IN SUMMARY
• Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, for at least 20 seconds with soap and water.
• Avoid contact as much as possible.
• Please ensure you have a supply of tissues with you and use them to catch all coughs and sneezes, bin the tissue and wash your hands with soap and water, (20 seconds) or use a sanitiser to kill the virus.
As the CEO expressed in this mornings’ meeting, we will work under the current arrangements until further notice. To that end, there are a couple of things to remember about working from home:
1. Constant Distractions
You may deal with distractions no matter where you work. The main issue with work from home distractions is that it’s often more difficult to bounce back. Whether it’s your phone, television, loved ones, or the doorbell suddenly ringing, it’s important to minimise distractions as much as you can.
It’s best to identify your most common distractions then block them out or position your day to avoid them. When trying to focus on work avoid your own social media sites and the like.
You can also design your home office to be a place that motivates you to be productive. As an example, do not have a TV nearby turned on.
2. Overworking (Not Knowing When to Quit)
Another common work from home time trap to avoid is overworking syndrome. Just because you can set your own hours doesn’t mean you will really work less. A lot of people who work from home admit to working more hours than necessary.
This is often due to the fact that you’re either not working efficiently during your normal hours or you just can’t disconnect and officially end your workday. It’s easy to pick up your computer and work during evenings and weekends when you could be resting and spending time with your family.
Working extra hours isn’t always worth it. According to the 80/20 rule, about 80% of your results often come from the first 20% of your efforts.
To stop overworking yourself to no avail, get on a schedule when you work from home. Decide when you’ll wake up, what your routine will look like, when you’ll start working, when you’ll take breaks and when you’ll call it quits for the day.
Typically, I like to work between 8 am to 5 pm most days. Some days, I do work evenings if something comes up during the middle of the day but I prefer to keep a pretty consistent schedule.
3. Taking a Complete DIY Approach to Everything
This is one of the time traps you may encounter that is not always so openly talked about. When you work from home, you do have to be good at working independently and being self-motivated.
This doesn’t mean that you have to do everything by yourself. If you’re struggling with a task or have questions about what you’re doing, ask someone for help.
If you work on a remote team, ask for help and advice during meetings or reach out to other team members during the work day. When you’re confused about a project, get clarity so you don’t waste your time going through a ton of trial and error.
Summary
Working from home can be more time consuming than you think. You need to stay focused and have a plan. Be mindful of these 3 common work from home time traps to avoid, so you can work efficiently and get more done in less time while at home.
Cheers Russ
No problems at all.
Happy to help mate. Hopefully it helped!!
Hi @adamhooley, Thank you, yes I did.
Much appreciated
TBH I was after a policy that guided our staff on accountability, but after watching the video I realised we kind of have that in place already as we do have KPIs monitored and discussed on a weekly basis. So, I think, as Business owners, directors, managers etc, there needs to be some trust in the team to fulfil their role. In all honesty, there is only one staff member that we are not confident will put in the hours but we are monitoring her time on our system to ensure she meets the expectation. It seems a much more effective way of assessing the situation and not wasting our time in general with the staff - we have so much more important things to do!
Thanks again.