Companies in the COVID era often boast that they quickly switched to remote work, because they have the right infrastructure and meet security requirements. It turns out that’s not the point. 80% of digital transformations fail (according to Deloitte data) — and it’s not because someone could not connect to the corporate VPN!
People. The critical aspect of successful digital transformation is the people/experts involved (their skills). Does this mean that most experts should not be called that because 80% of digital transformations fail? No! The level of competence among people in the IT market is very high, and it is challenging to distinguish who is better than others.
So, technology and people don’t guarantee the success of your project. A key element is missing: the right attitude and rituals.
Keep the rhythm. Put on real pants.
Many people have been working remotely for years. And I bet the vast majority will tell you that the hardest part of working from home is separating work life from home life. Admit it. It’s tempting: finally, you don’t have to dry your hair in a rush before going to the office, and you can reply to emails in pajamas. And for a few days, it is quite a pleasant change. But after some time you realize that you haven’t changed your sweatpants in two weeks, you catch the nights at work, because you start the days with three washing cycles, and your morning routine stretched to noon.
That is why it is so important to keep the rhythm previously imposed by the office as much as possible. There’s more. If you had rituals at work that you needed to maintain your energy, these rituals should prevail when working from home.
Grab your coffee and chat with your colleagues
If you have begun your mornings chatting with friends at the espresso machine, now also make your favorite coffee and write to Jane instead of cleaning the bathroom or sorting your console games in alphabetical order. If you always put on your makeup and do your hair before leaving for the office, don’t give up on it for the next few weeks.
One thing that is missing from that is the contact with other people you had at the office. Fortunately, technology comes to the rescue. If you have already gone through the whole ritual of entering the office as you usually do, then nothing prevents you from organizing a video conference instead of just a voice conversation. You don’t have to be ashamed of your hairstyle or general appearance. By acting this way, you suddenly notice that your work from home is practically no different from work from an office.
Not only that. Such rituals will also help you to separate the times you work from home and those in which you rest in this house. But I will write about it in the next article.
