Career Advice

Work from home comes along with many benefits however, many are unaware of all the drawbacks one may face. How important are your work ethics when working remotely? 

Distractions

An office environment often eliminates most of the distractions employees may come across and help them focus on their work. However, remote working does not accommodate that and employees are forced to share their work space with; children, spouse, parents or pets. Not only the sharing, but miscellaneous items, such as television, netflix or a gaming console may just be irresistible to avoid for some.

What employee’s can do: Keep themselves away from these distractions during their working hours. Turn a corner or a room into an office setting that does not have anything that can be a distraction. Ask family members for those with whom the space is shared to not disturb you during your working hours. This way, an office like a workstation will improve concentration and increase work efficiency.

Isolation

No matter how happy an employee is in their solitude, humans crave to feel connected and be a part of daily happenings in the place they work. Working remotely means that one no longer has to commute, meet people or discuss ideas over breaks on a daily basis. This makes it even harder to feel a sense of connection with the outer world. If it gets worse with time, isolation could result in mental health issues such as anxiety, stress or depression.

What employee’s can do: Spend a day or few hours working from a busy area with people nearby, such as a cafe or a library. Co-working facilities have also been trendy which tend to offer an office-like working environment and the feel of human contact. With modern technology, video calls with co-workers while working on projects and sharing ideas over the internet can eliminate the feel of complete loneliness.

Work efficiency

While trying to keep balance between the home and work life, an employee’s work efficiency can severely be affected. Assuming they do not have to commute or get distracted by co-workers, employees may think they have a lot more time or they can work more. However, this is not true. If employees do not allocate their time or track their work appropriately, they may end up struggling to keep up with the workload and eventually compromising work efficiency. 

What employee’s can do: Before starting your work, set a realistic target of what needs to be completed. Allocate how much time is required to complete a particular task and stay on track. If it is difficult to do it yourself, ask a senior or a co-worker to check up on your progress. Use time management softwares and set reminders to help stay consistent with quality of work.

Networking

Networking is very essential, especially when your career has just begun. Without establishing in-person connections, it will be very difficult to become a part of a network. This leaves telecommuters at a major disadvantage as their options are limited to job boards such as LinkedIn. Without day to day interactions with company employees, it would be extremely difficult to learn about new work opportunities which can advance your career. 

What employee’s can do: Meet your co-workers once a week and keep in touch with them to be updated with all company matters. Take one day out of the week to build your network either by joining meetup groups or attending seminars. LinkedIn also has groups based on different industries and interests which could be a great medium to build connections.

Step 1: Prepare for Work Day the Night Before

Take a shower: For those that do not like morning showers and want the extra time for sleep, taking a shower the night before is the best option. Showers at night also help to improve sleep quality, giving you more energy for work. However, this does not mean that you MUST take a shower the night before. If you are a morning person, you can take your shower in the morning.

Prepare an outfit: Before going to bed, make sure you pick your outfit for the next day. This will leave you stress free and speed up your process to get out of the house.

Set a wake up alarm: Do NOT forget to set an alarm before dozing off. Even if you do not need an alarm to wake up, you should always set alarms so that you do not forget to wake up or be late for work. Oversleeping will not only get you late for work, but it will also mess up your entire work schedule. 

Get your sleep: For adults aged 18 to 65 years old, sleep of at least 7 hours to a maximum of 9 hours is recommended. A good sleep can start your day with positivity and energize your entire day. Before sleeping, avoid taking a caffeine which can interrupt your sleeping pattern.

Step 2: Prepare for Work Day

Get ready: If you have not taken a shower the night before, start your morning with a shower. Take care of your personal hygiene matters and freshen up. Get dressed in the outfit you had chosen the night before and groom yourself. Grooming yourself to look smart and neat is very important as this will boost your confidence at your workplace and make a good impression on people around you. 

Exercise or Meditate: Some people may prefer to do this before dressing up while some may choose to do it after. Try to do a quick workout in the morning before your work. This will improve your blood circulation and energize your body. Meditation is very good if you need to organise your thoughts or improve your concentration before going to work. This does not have to be for a very long time but at least 10 minutes is recommended. 

Breakfast: This is one of the most important meals that can fuel your entire workday. A healthy breakfast will not only energize your day but will also keep you in a good mood. 

Review what your workday will look like: This is a very important task that has to be done before going to work. Look at all your appointments and tasks that have to be completed in the entire day. Allocate time to each task and create a schedule that is realistic and detailed. 

Leave for work: As soon as you are done with everything else, leave for work depending on how long it will take to get there. Try to get to your office 15 minutes before your work begins so that you can prepare and set up your work desk.

Step 3: Productive Work Day

Greet your co-workers: The 15 minutes you arrive before your work starts, also use it to greet your co-workers. This will make you feel positive and empowered. It will also assist in creating a good relationship with your co-workers.

Be unreachable once your work starts: Make sure you avoid all distractions and switch your phone to silent so that you can give your full concentration to your work. This is the best proven way to get things done effectively. Avoid gossiping and talking to your co-workers about things not related to your work. This will affect your productivity and produce inefficient work.

Stick to your schedule:  Follow the schedule you had created earlier in the morning. End your meetings or complete your task within the time frame you had created. Do not engage in other tasks that will delay your other scheduled events. This includes saying ‘No’ to unreasonable requests. By this you will get all your things done that had been planned for the day. 

Take breaks and eat well: Fit in short breaks at intervals so that your body gets relaxed and your mind can charge itself. This is a good way to boost your energy and increase your work productivity. Eat your lunch or grab a coffee when it is your lunch time or break. This will keep you fresh at the workplace and let you focus on your work.

Retail

The coronavirus pandemic had left everyone under panic over essential supplies resulting in chaos in grocery stores and other essential businesses. Panic buying had made it very hard for essential business service employees as the rush was out of control. This had led to many grocery stores hiring essential frontline workers overnight. Currently, in the times of pandemic, the retail industry has remained to be the most in demand in Canada. Post pandemic, this industry will remain to be in demand as well because the needs of customers will remain constant.

Following are the most in-demand work positions in a retail store:

• Cashiers
• Shelf Stockers / Fulfillment
• Store Cleaners
• Store Clerks

Telecommunications

After the chaos of panic buying, telecommunications remain to be the most used service in times of the pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 had compelled everyone to practice physical distancing, thus relying more on communicating through their phones or laptops using the internet. Employees of many organizations were told to work from home instead of reporting to their offices. This has led to excess use of internet services leaving all network providers exhausted. As these network service providers attempt to keep up with the fast demand of providing services, companies are now hiring employees to keep up the pace.

Following are some of the work positions currently in demand in the telecommunication sector:

• Customer service (Call Centre Positions)
• Hardware installation positions
• Repair and Maintenance positions

Healthcare

Without raising any questions, heroes of the entire COVID-19 pandemic are the frontline healthcare workers! As the number of cases rise, more and more healthcare workers are needed. The Canadian healthcare sector has always been low on support staff and the pandemic has created a panic situation like no other. With many healthcare workers overworking and straining themselves, hospitals are desperately looking for skilled workers. Post pandemic, these jobs will also remain to be one of the most in demand as no vaccine has been found and people will remain as vulnerable to the virus as they currently are.

Following are work positions most in demand in the healthcare sector:  

• Nurses
• Respiratory specialists
• Physicians
• Paramedics
• Healthcare Administrators 

Technology & IT

Technology and the IT sector is one of the areas which has lost the least amount of employees due to its flexibility and ever developing nature. With emergency being declared in many provinces of Canada and people forced to stay home, the digital channels are experiencing very high volumes. Every organisation has turned to providing services through these digital channels in order to practice physical social distancing and survive in the time of the pandemic. The high volumes are therefore creating many job opportunities for people seeking employment. One of the best benefits for Information Technology jobs is that they can be carried out very effectively from home.

Following are some of the work positions popular in the Technology and IT sectors:

• IT specialist
• Software Developers
• Support Professionals
• Systems Administrators

  

Banking, Finance & Insurance

With the sudden emergence of the Coronavirus, many canadian were left with no time to plan their finances. Many businesses have been forced to shut down while others have lost their permanent jobs. To add more onto all this, the economy has taken the biggest downfall leaving people concerned about managing their finances. Canandians have now opted to consult with fianincal personnels to take advice on overcoming the financial volatility in the market. This practice amongst Canadians has created many work positions that need financial advisors and representatives with experience and the right skills.

Following are the work positions most in-demand in the Banking and Finance sector:

• Financial Representatives
• Financial Advisors
• Customer Service Professionals
• Mortgage Specialists

 

• Financial Planners