With the start of school fast approaching and the vast majority of us staring down project managing virtual school for our children for at least the next few months, many of us who work from home find ourselves asking, “So how is this REALLY going to work?” There seems to be the notion that because we work from home we are more available to make sure little Susie makes her 8:30 Canvas Class meeting while Chad has his elective begin at 9 and Maggie has her combo Math/Science video call at 9:30. And while it is true that because I work from home, I can be there to scream “GET ON YOUR CHROMEBOOK!”, the keyword in the phrase “work from home”, is, in fact, WORK. But if we have heard it once, we have heard it a million times these are unprecedented times.
Thankfully, for those of us working from home at MPWRSource, we have instituted Flextime. However, having a flexible schedule does not exactly mean work when you want for as long as you want. After all, there are still client meetings to be had over video conference and if I am working on an article in my chosen flex time of 10pm-1am, chances are I will NOT be getting any immediate feedback from a colleague.
And there is the rub…
So how exactly does flextime work?
Flextime is a flexible hours schedule that allows workers to alter workday start and finish times. The total working time required of employees on flextime schedules is the same as that required under traditional work schedules.
Flexible scheduling allows you to work when you are most productive, provides for a greater work-life balance, and accommodates many of the challenges presented during Covid-19 times.
Are you a night owl? Work at midnight.
Have kids you have to PM virtual learning? Work in pockets that accommodate their schedule.
Need to go see the doctor? Pick up those hours later that night or Sunday afternoon.
This, of course, requires establishing a work culture that involves trust. Supervisors must trust that work will be completed in a timely manner and workers must keep that trust by not abusing the flexibility. After all, some meetings WILL be during regular business hours. Questions will need to be answered in a timely fashion and that can be complicated if we are all working different “shifts”.
Enter “ON CALL” thinking and maximizing business communication applications like Microsoft Teams or Slack.
For MPWRSource, this means that during regular business hours (M-F, 9-5), the Superhero Squad is expected to be “on call” regardless of each team member’s working status. We use Microsoft Teams to empower this. This means making sure Teams is on a team member’s phone and their phone is on their person with notifications turned on. If we receive a message on Teams, we are expected to respond to it within ONE HOUR.
Wait? I thought you said the Superhero Squad could work when they wanted. They can. So, the response can be, “I am taking my kids to the doctor and don’t expect to be back to work until 2:00 pm. If this is not an emergency, may I get back to you then?” This helps avoid miscommunications and frustrated clients.
It also means using the status update available in Microsoft Teams, almost like one updates a status on Facebook.
Not only can an individual status be updated to read things like “Masked up and at grocery store” or “Drowning in 3rd grade zoom calls—send help or wine”, you can also control the color status that makes for an easy quick glance way to alert your team members of your availability.
Available is when you are active and don’t have anything in your calendar. It means you are working and available to respond to messages quickly and can receive phone calls.
Busy is when you want to focus on something, and you do want notifications to pop up. If you’re in a meeting or a call, Teams will automatically change your status to IN A MEETING or IN A CALL when not set to Do Not Disturb.
Do Not Disturb is when you want to focus or present your screen and do NOT want notifications to pop up. If you are presenting with a client, SET YOUR STATUS TO DO NOT DISTURB.
Be Right Back is when you want to appear you’re temporarily away. It is NEVER set automatically. THIS IS YOUR FRIEND. THIS IS YOUR ON CALL STATUS.
Appear Away is when you need to work without responding right away.
No matter whether or not you are in a pandemic, working from home, or working in an office, it is always a good idea to master your schedule versus having your schedule master you. We hope our tips and tricks help you find the right work-life balance we all long for.