The Ultimate Checklist for Transitioning to Remote Work
If you don't work remotely already, you're more likely than ever before to have the option, according to a 2022 study.
Owl Labs reports that two-thirds of workers state their company offers a flexible remote working policy, ranging from occasional work-from-home days to fully remote working contracts.Âą
While research suggests that remote workers are more productive than office workers, and a flexible remote working policy is increasingly essential for companies hoping to attract top talent, the shift from office to elsewhere comes with unique challenges. Transitioning to a remote work environment involves more than just a change of location; it requires adjustments in technology, daily routines, and even mindset.
For remote employees, the transition to off-site work involves a few steps: negotiating the terms of remote work, aligning the decision with the needs of others at home, setting up a remote work environment and following any remote work guidelines provided by employers. Even when employers provide specific remote work policies, however, the transition for workers comes with major considerations and adjustments - at home, and at work.
This checklist will guide you through everything you need to consider while transitioning to remote work.
How to Use the Remote Work Checklist
This checklist is designed to help remote workers transition smoothly to off-site work by providing actionable tips and guidelines. Whether you are moving to a remote role on a regular basis, managing a lifestyle change, or accommodating parental leave, this list will be beneficial. It addresses various aspects of working remotely, including worklife balance, health conditions, and setting up a productive workspace. By following this checklist, remote teams can maintain productivity and wellbeing, ensuring a seamless transition.
The checklist will help you prepare comprehensively, from setting up the right technology to ensuring your work environment is safe and conducive to productivity. Additionally, it covers essential aspects like security, home dynamics, and maintaining effective communication. Let's dive into each section of the checklist to ensure you're fully prepared for a successful remote work experience.
Complete Checklist to Transition to Remote Work
To ensure a smooth transition to remote work, it's crucial to address several key areas, from technology to personal wellbeing. Below, we break down the essential components of a remote work environment, providing a comprehensive checklist to guide you.
Environmental Safety
Creating a safe work environment should be one of your first priorities when transitioning to remote work. Goodbye comfy office chairs, break rooms, and A/C! When working remotely, don't underestimate the importance of setting up your workspace with ergonomic furniture to prevent overuse injuries like tendinitis, neck pain and eye strain.
Find an ergonomic desk and office chair: Arrange your desk and chair to support good posture, preventing neck and back pain. Adjust the height of your chair and monitor so that your eyes are level with the top of the screen. A raising and lowering desk can help you to set the height of your computer to your eye level while seated or standing, for more flexible working options.
Ensure appropriate lighting: Use natural light when possible and supplement with desk lamps to reduce eye strain. Position your desk near a window to benefit from natural light, but avoid glare by using curtains or blinds.
Minimize noise disturbances: Use noise-canceling headphones or soundproofing techniques to reduce distractions. Consider a white noise machine if you have a particularly noisy household.
Take regular breaks: Schedule short breaks to stretch and move around, maintaining your physical health. Follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to reduce eye strain.
Security
Securing your virtual workplace is crucial to protecting company data and your personal information. Your company may have outlined specific security measures that you need to take while working off-site, so check these before taking further steps to improve your security.
Use private networks: Avoid public Wi-Fi; instead, use a secure, private network for work-related tasks. Set up a dedicated home network for work if possible.
Up your password security: Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication on all work accounts. Regularly update your passwords and security software.
Use VPNs to access your company server: Utilize VPNs to connect to company servers securely. Ensure your VPN is always active when accessing company resources.
Check approved integrations: Only use company-approved software integrations to ensure compatibility and security. Avoid downloading or installing unverified applications on your work devices.
Home Dynamics
When your home becomes your office, fewer boundaries separate your professional and personal life. You may find that you're more influenced by what's going on at home during your workday, and loved ones at home may also feel the impact of your worklife in the home. Take time to consider the boun
Talk to your loved ones: Discuss your plans to work remotely with loved ones and friends you may share living space with, and outline what you need to work effectively. Set clear expectations about when you are available and when you need uninterrupted work time.
Set boundaries: Create clear boundaries to help you stay focused and avoid burnout. Designate a specific area in your home as your office space and keep work activities confined to that area.
Plan childcare and sickdays in advance: In collaboration with your partner, arrange childcare away from your workspace during working hours whenever possible to ensure that you can focus. Make a plan for who will stay home with your child on sickdays. While it can be tempting to work while caring for your child on sick days, juggling these responsibilities is a recipe for role conflict, and increases your risk of burnout over time if it becomes a habit. Consider hiring a babysitter or getting help from family to care for your child on sickdays.
Discuss activities in shared spaces: If sharing a workspace, coordinate schedules to avoid meeting conflicts. Establish a schedule that ensures quiet, uninterrupted work time as well as time for meetings.
Workplace Benefits & Tax Implications
Understanding your workplace benefits and the tax implications of working from home can help you maximize your situation.
Understand your role location: If you imagine that going remote means working from the beach, wait before buying those plane tickets. If you're employed by a company, your role will have specific location requirements for tax purposes - even if it's fully remote. Ensure that you understand these location requirements before planning significant time abroad.
Research your benefits: Check if your employer offers any benefits specifically for remote workers like a stipend for setting up your home office.
Track expenses: Keep track of work-related expenses for potential tax deductions. Save receipts for items like office supplies, internet bills, and utility costs related to your home office.
Understand tax laws: Research how remote work affects your state and federal tax obligations. Some fixed expenses, like rent or mortgage, might be deductible if you have a home office set up exclusively for work. If you're self-employed, your country of residence will typically determine your tax status when working remotely, so read up on tax laws in your country before leaving the office.
Consult a tax professional: For personalized advice, consider consulting a tax advisor. They can help you navigate complex tax regulations and maximize your deductions.
Communication
Effective communication is vital for remote teams to stay connected and productive.
Set team communication standards: Set clear guidelines for how and when to communicate with team members. Agree on preferred communication platforms and response times. Are you expected to check and respond to emails every day? Then set 30 minutes every morning to clear your inbox, and let your team know this is when they can expect a reply.
Schedule regular check-ins: Schedule regular meetings to stay updated on tasks and projects. Use video calls for a more personal touch and to avoid misunderstandings.
Use software for remote work: Communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams are great for instant messaging and collaboration. Google Drive or another file management system can help you to share documents, reports and spreadsheets.
Use project management tools: Remote teams can keep track of projects with project management tools like Trello or Asana to track assignments and deadlines.
Scheduling
Flexibility is seen as one the major benefits of working remotely for many. Thoughtfully scheduling your tasks, projects, and meetings will help you make the most of this freedom. Make sure you're equipped to manage your time effectively, track tasks and projects, and align work responsibilities with what's happening at home. Here are a few scheduling tips to support smooth sailing:
Manage tasks: Use a task management system like Simplish to prioritize and organize your work. Break down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks.
Print and post your work schedule: If you have a hybrid schedule or will be in and out of your home office, it’s a great idea to visualize your hybrid work schedule with a simple printed calendar. Post it on the fridge to remind you and your household where you’ll be and when during the week.
Improve your time management: Use a technique like time blocking to create specific time slots for focused work, meetings, and breaks. Use techniques like Pomodoro to stay productive.
Track deadlines: Keep a close eye on deadlines and plan your work accordingly. Use calendar reminders to stay on top of important dates.
Use Google Calendar: Sync your schedule with Google Calendar to keep track of meetings and deadlines. Share your calendar with colleagues to coordinate availability.
Tune into your unique productivity cycle: If possible, arrange working hours that suit your peak productivity times. Communicate your working hours to your team to manage expectations.
Tools & Equipment
Having the right equipment is essential for a productive remote work setup. This section emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive work-from-home equipment checklist.
Invest in reliable internet: Ensure you have a fast and reliable internet connection to avoid disruptions. Consider upgrading your plan if necessary.
Get a web camera for video calls: Use a high-quality web camera for clear video communication. Test your camera setup before important meetings.
Get an office phone: If you don't already have access to a company cell phone, the transition to working remotely is a great time to get one. Using an office phone during working hours set up for basic communication with colleagues (e.g. without social media apps) can help you limit the temptation to check your notifications, reply to personal emails or scroll through news.
Get a second computer monitor: Adding a second or even third screen to your office setup can significantly improve the comfort and flexibility of your on-screen workflow. Multiple screens allow you to spread out tabs that you click between when working on complex projects and tasks, while easing the strain that staring straight ahead at one screen can create over a long work day.
Consider an anti-fatigue standing mat: If you stand regularly at your desk on a hard surface, consider getting a cushy anti-fatigue mat to ease joint strain. These mats make standing up to stretch your legs more appealing throughout the day.
Wellbeing
Remote work presents both challenges and opportunities for wellbeing. Research has shown that burnout is most common among hybrid workers who are shuttling between the office and remote work.² That being said, you can also burnout while working from home. Here are a few general tips to ensure your wellbeing while working remotely:
Identify workplace stress: Identify stressors and find ways to mitigate them, such as through mindfulness or exercise. Take regular breaks and avoid overworking.
Take advantage of workplace wellbeing benefits: Your company may offer a wellness stipend or other benefits to support remote employee well-being, so make sure you're aware of these before you head out of the office. Take advantage of virtual fitness classes or wellness challenges.
Engage in continuous learning: Engage in continuous learning to keep your skills sharp and stay motivated. Take courses, attend webinars, and attend workshops - in person if possible to balance your screen-time.
Limit screen-time outside of work hours: If you're already spending 8+ hours on your computer during work days, it's essential to give your nervous system a break from screen-fry after working hours. Limit social media and Netflix to an hour, and disconnect from work completely during your off-hours.
Social Connection
Maintaining strong social connections can be challenging in remote workplaces, but is essential for a strong company culture and personal satisfaction.
Attend live workplace events: There's no replacement for meeting up in person with colleagues to have a good chat. Schedule attendance at live workplace events, meetups and conferences in advance so you can look forward to meeting colleagues in-person and arrange important discussions to happen face-to-face.
Plan an active social life: Even if you regularly see colleagues on-screen, you may find yourself missing human to human contact. Plan regular, recurring social events into your week to nourish your social needs. Organize an accountability group that meets regularly, take a group fitness class, or join a book club.
Consider co-working: Even if you're set on working 100% from your home office, it's important to research local co-working spaces before switching entirely to the home office. Not only do co-working spaces offer everything you need to work remotely, but they also provide a sense of community for remote workers. There may be days when you just can't work from home for whatever reason, and figuring out an alternate workplace on the fly can add to stress.
By following this ultimate remote work checklist, you'll be well-prepared to transition smoothly to a remote work environment, ensuring both productivity and personal wellbeing. Transitioning to remote work requires thoughtful planning and adaptation, but with the right strategies and tools, you can thrive in a remote work setting.
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1. "The State of Remote Work 2022." Owl Labs. Global Workplace Analytics, 2022. Accessed June 8, 2024. Owl Labs Report.
2. McQuaid, Michelle. “The Surprising Truths About Hybrid Work and Burnout.” Psychology Today, October 20, 2022. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/functioning-flourishing/202210/the-surprising-truths-about-hybrid-work-and-burnout.