Parent Post
The year 2020 changed
The year 2020 changed many things for the human world; the way we work was an important one. Millions of people transitioned to remote working culture, and it has slowly become the new normal.
Can the new ways of remote working be applied when you start working from the office?
Yes, there were a lot of new experiences and a couple of takeaways that you can carry forward when you make a move to your cabins.
Accept multitaskingMaybe all parts
Accept multitasking
Maybe all parts of the meeting or presentation are not important to you. So how do you use your time when you are not focussing?
Multitasking and doing something more productive could be the solution. For example, you can be present in the meeting but focus on something more relevant. And once there is an important context, you can give your complete attention.
Companies can also practice this outside the remote culture. People who aren’t a part of the core team should be allowed to work on their laptops during the meeting and participate actively only when required.
Companies heading back to the office would benefit from continuing to trust their employees like they do when everyone’s remote.
Just have fewer meetings.Meetings
Just have fewer meetings.
Meetings can be extremely time-consuming. And remote teams understood it quite well.
Meetings can eat up a lot of time, and it’s worth considering whether that time is well invested—or if you could accomplish the same thing without a meeting. This fits well in the office and in video calls.
Say “go ahead” when
Say “go ahead” when you overlap someone.
How many times have you been on Zoom calls where you’re speaking something and then hear another person over you? Pretty common, huh?!
The reason is lag in video meetings. The result: people talk over each other without meaning to.
An effective way to deal with it is by saying “go ahead” and then letting the other person speak. Once done speaking, the person further asks the teammate to speak.
There is no lag in real life, but going out of your way to let other people speak is a good thing, and so is following up to make sure everyone’s been heard.
Schedule time for socializing.There’s
Schedule time for socializing.
There’s an awkward gap at the beginning of every video meeting; everyone is logging in and figuring out stuff.
This time can be used to have an informal conversation before beginning the discussion. Water cooler conversations or waving at the end of calls are other ways to make meetings more fun.
This practice is worth taking ahead when we go back to the office.
Intentionally allow space for informal conversations during in-person meetings. Encourage people to show up before the scheduled time to have a small chat or discuss the agenda.
