How we make WFH work for us

Pre-pandemic, there weren’t many businesses that were fully remote. Fast forward to today, and it’s safe to say a lot of us wouldn’t accept a role that wasn’t (at least) hybrid.

We’ve been WFH from the very beginning. It’s part of who we are. It makes us more diverse and more flexible – and it’s definitely the reason behind some of our best work. But the remote life isn’t for everyone. In fact, WFH is something we have to work pretty hard at. Here’s how we’ve become better at working remotely.

Work-home, same-same – unless you spend most of your time at co-working spaces (which, by the way, we have a whole lot of love for). When your home doubles up as your workplace, you need to find a way to separate the two. We’re strict, we set boundaries, and we lean into the things that actually make us productive – like dedicated desk space and a cupboard full of those coffee beans we like. But we switch off when we have to. Because when you work from home, the last thing you want to do is take work home with you. So delete that Slack app from your phone and shut that laptop lid until tomorrow. You’ll thank us later.

Switching off at the end of the day is one thing, but making sure you show up that day is another. Yes, the freedom of working at home is amazing. But we don’t let that flexibility get in the way of our working day. Like all agencies, logging our hours helps us keep track of the time we’ve spent on-task. And if we know there are things that will lead us into temptation, then we shut them out until the working day’s done. It’s a great way to double the feel-good factor.

If someone needs something urgent from you, they can’t just walk over to your desk or collar you on the way to the kitchen. There’s a level of trust that comes with WFH, and that has to be respected. If you’re out for a few hours, then fine. Need to take a long lunch? Go for it – and mute your notifications while you’re at it. As a general rule, we always set our Slack statuses to say when we’ll be back. That way, our teammates know when to expect a response – and we get to actually enjoy our lunchtimes. But the number one thing we never do is just log off and leave teammates in the lurch. Seriously, not cool.

The WFH life can be a lonely one – especially for smaller teams. For those who are familiar with the world of freelance, it’s a dream. But if you don’t have a lot in the diary, you could go hours without seeing someone. That’s why we make a conscious effort to check in, only cancel facetime when we have to, and basically – just chat. What we’re having for dinner, the shows we’ve been binging, places we’re planning on going – it all gets a mention on S8 Slack.

When you work in an office, there’s usually a buzz about the place. Home life, well it can get a little samey sometimes – especially during the winter months when it feels like you start and finish work in the dark. That’s why we make an effort to try new hobbies, mix up those afternoon walks, and even get creative in the kitchen come lunchtime. The kind of things that force us to physically step away from the desk and take a break. Who cares if that lunch hour is a little longer than an hour? WFH enables you to do these things, so just embrace it.