At the beginning of February, Storm Ciara caused a lot of damage in many regions of Europe and shut down passenger traffic of all kinds. But such an exceptional situation also has its good side: many companies have experienced how efficient employees in home office mode can be. Those few days can now be seen as a "foretaste" of what the spread of the coronavirus is bringing almost worldwide. Many people are in quarantine - voluntarily or involuntarily. Where possible, some companies allow employees who are able to work to relocate their activities to their homes.
Regardless of storms and epidemics, this model has been considered in many places for some time now. There are already studies on the resulting increase in productivity of some companies, improved quality of life for employees and environmental benefits. Many employers who decide to introduce this possibility proactively offer preparatory training to their employees. Because mobile working means both advantages and difficulties. Translators could actually become speakers for such preparatory courses, as they are pioneers in this field. In a translation agency it is often common and desired that freelancers or employees are mobile. Translators who live in the country of their working language have a livelier relationship with that language. Time management can become more efficient because employees can perform other tasks during periods of low workload. There are also global advantages: Working in a home office can support an environmentally friendly attitude and a healthy lifestyle. CO2 emissions and traffic are reduced by eliminating the need to travel to work. But working from home can also become a challenge: The blurred boundaries between leisure and working time and the pressure to be productive can become stress factors.
Through the blog, we would like to look at these different aspects of the home office model from time to time and share experiences, ideas and tips about them.
Cover photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay
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