The most common home office mistake employees can make

Both the company and its employees benefit from working from home. However, if you get the communication wrong both parties will succumb. Here is the most common mistake can make.

According to the recently published Stanford survey, working from home can benefit the company in reduced office expenses, more efficient time management and fewer sick days. However, working from home also poses some risks. Many remote workers suffer from loneliness and the employees’ performance is soften harder to measure. Researchers at the Stanford Institute therefore recommend one thing: A good balance between working days in the office and at home.

A dangerous tool: E-Mail

At the HR conference „Hiring Success“, Evernote General Manager Beat Bühlmann spoke about the biggest mistake an employee working from home can make.

During his extensive observation of various remote teams there always seemed to be one common problem – communication. When urgent problems occurred in a given project, many employees working from home would simply send an e-mail to address the problem. And that’s exactly where the mistake lies.

Not every employee immediately opens their digital mailbox every time a mail pings-in. And this is important to keep in mind: Because a lot of time can elapse before the request actually reaches the colleague and in the meantime the problem is likely to have grown worse.

“You have to realise when it makes sense to send an e-mail and when it doesn’t,” says Bühlmann. “You wouldn’t send an e-mail to the fire department when your house is on fire either, would you?”

It’s just as important to understand, that some situations simply need more than words. It’s often the notes in between the lines that let your colleagues know how urgent and important a situation is.

Experts advise

…home office employees should simply grab the phone when things get important. This prevents misunderstandings and, on the other hand, makes everything much faster. E-mails often lack the soft face accompanying harsh-sounding words. Communication is not just about words. Long live direct conversation!

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