Top tips for managing a remote office
When it comes to advice for working remotely, New Jersey’s lawyers have quite a few tips that touch on everything from attire (“Change out of your PJs!”) to the importance of human connection to software endorsements. There are even a couple of rueful admissions, such as “I should have learned to do this a long time ago.”
Hundreds of attorneys who responded to a recent New Jersey State Bar Association survey on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their practice, were asked to offer advice to help fellow members of the legal profession. Here’s a sampling:
On separating work time from home life when working in the home office
- “Maintain the same routine at home as in the office.”
- “Dress and prepare as if you are actually going to work, to get in the work mindset.”
- “Have a designated workspace separate from your sleeping/eating/recreational areas.”
- “Give yourself a divide between work and home — go for a walk, take a shower, etc. before interacting with family.”
- “Keep a separate email address for personal matters.”
On maintaining a human connection with staff and clients
- Have “regularly scheduled meetings to voice concerns, updates, issues etc.” Some even suggested “virtual coffee breaks to promote social connection for well-being of staff.”
- “Have regular ‘face-to-face’ check-ins with staff about how they're managing their stress.”
- “Be available. Respond to all inquiries, even those that prior to the virus restrictions you might have ignored. Provide expedient services. Be more communicative than usual. Track the health of clients and their families. Ask about family-owned businesses, careers, etc.”
- “Pick up the phone and call colleagues, adversaries and clients. Everyone feels better hearing a live voice.”
- “It's most important to maintain constant and consistent communication with your staff and clients, as well as the agencies and courts, as needed. We've long had the technology to work remotely, we simply have to adapt to working remotely from each other.”
On technology
- “Use Microsoft Teams.”
- “Using Slack to communicate with the team.”
- “Zoom is everything.”
- “Make sure your background looks professional for video calls.”
- But not everyone was a fan of Zoom. “Stop Zoom conference calls. They take too long, come with no solutions, most participants do not listen, and it costs valuable work time. If you want to talk, pick up the phone.”
On factoring in down time and managing stress
- “Get up and away from the damn thing every once in a while.”
- “Recognize your weekends as weekends and work your normal hours Monday to Friday.”
- “Remember to take breaks and to shut down when it's time to shut down.”
- “Stop watching the news.”