Working Through the Covid-19 Pandemic in Your Pajamas

Working Through the Covid-19 Pandemic in Your Pajamas

Pandemics are nothing new. In a globalized world where travel is cheap and easy, diseases have a high tendency of spreading quickly worldwide. But, it is not every day we experience a global pandemic of airborne flu with such severe symptoms. That is why the only way to mitigate Covid-19 pandemic consequences is to practice social distancing and work from home, at least for a while.

Although healthy people are not in mortal danger directly, they are still at risk from a domino effect. Namely, the need to hospitalize so many people who are at risk will mean fewer medical resources for emergencies.

But, working from home is not as easy as it sounds. Setting up a home office is more than simply placing your laptop on an actual table for once. You will need to bypass traffic shaping and convince your ‘quarantine buddies’ that you are actually at work.

Thankfully, by using a couple of online tools and a premium VPN provider like Le VPN, you will be able to focus more on the mental and emotional issues that come from working from home, and not the technical ones.

Will Remote Working Be One of Covid-19 Pandemic Consequences?

Working Through the Covid-19 Pandemic in Your Pajamas. | Le VPN

Probably not.

While many people can do their job from home, and telecommuting is the way of the future, bosses like having people to boss around, and that will never change. Once there is a vaccine for Covid-19, or we simply build up immunity as a species, most of us will be expected to get back to our office.

But, there is a possibility that some organizers will realize the benefits of having their workers not come to work. Organizing a workspace costs money, time, and resources, and some might be tempted to delegate that to their employee’s homes. Companies like Microsoft have already been practicing it for a while, removing allocated office space and incentivizing employees to come to the office a few times a week for important meetings only. Will this pandemic be a kick for others to follow Microsoft’s example?

Finally, some employers might want to invest in their worker’s smart home security, as that not only protects the person but the business as well.

How Much Does it Cost to Work from Home?

If we do a cost/benefit analysis, we will see that for the person working from home, the monetary benefit should be the same, provided that they live alone.

In the case that you are living with multiple people, such as your children, then the extra hour or more not spent in traffic may be a pure blessing.

Quick math: If you have an hour of commute on both sides and work for $15 an hour, that ends up being $7,200 per year of your time. Additionally, there is gas, and for the average American, that is about $4 a day just to get to work, or $1,200 a year.

Quarantine Workload

Always remember that your workload at home is the same as in the office. Your employer or your clients will still expect the same results regardless of the pandemic. While you may do most of your work in your underwear, which is a huge benefit for some of us, you still need to do it on time.

Additionally, there is a risk of overreliance on the technology you have at home. One of 5 problems with dependence on technology is that we tend to believe that our tech can do everything and will never fail.

You should always have a redundancy, possibly of lower-tech, that you can fall onto if your main devices fail.

You are NOT at Home

Remember that, while you are physically in your private domicile, you are not at home, you are at work. Don’t let people distract you from your responsibilities just because you are still in your pajamas.

Home Office Setup

Setting up a home office is much easier than most people think. You just need a good table, a good chair, and a reliable desktop or laptop computer.

Some companies like Amazon in Europe went ahead and equipped their employees with all the necessary equipment for remote work from home just in time before the lockdown in France and other countries. But these are exceptions, and most of us need to rely on yourselves.

Pick out a table that you can rest your hands on without slouching. And, if you have an office chair that will always be your best pick. If not, any chair that has a hard back-rest and is of adequate height will do.

Protect Your Devices

Use a VPN for connected devices so that there are no people who might snoop on your work. There is no need to compromise your employer’s cybersecurity or your own.

Hackers know that a lot of people will be working from home in the next few days and will try to use this fact against us. We should take extra care not to believe any suspicious links or visit dodgy websites, especially while we are working.

Also, you may want to use a different VPN server when you are not working. If your workplace becomes compromised, you don’t want your home devices to suffer.

Trick Your Mind

Some people might have a hard time switching from their ‘home mode’ to their ‘work mode,’ leading to a fall in productivity. In these cases, there are tricks that you can do to fool your mind into thinking you are at work.

Primarily, dress yourself, shoes, and all. This will instantly pull you out of your sleepy mode. Also, there are ‘office sounds’ on YouTube that you can play as background noise. It actually works.

Conclusion

The Covid-19 pandemic is a serious medical emergency for the whole world. But, it doesn’t need to be a catastrophe for your working habits. Set up a simple home office and connect to a Le VPN server to protect your devices.

Once that is done, you only need to solve the procrastination issue. Regretfully, there is neither an app nor a vaccine so far that can solve that. That one is up to you.

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Written by Vuk Mujović @VukMujovic

Vuk Mujović is the founder of MacTíre Consulting, an analyst, data management expert, and a long-term writer on all things business & tech. He authored blogs, articles, and opinion pieces aimed to help both companies and individuals achieve growth without compromising their security. Vuk is a regular guest author to Le VPN Blog since January 2018, where he gives his expert opinion on the topics related to cybersecurity, privacy, online freedom, and personal data protection. He also often shares his tips and best practices in relation to internet security and digital safety of private individuals and small businesses, including some additional applications of using a VPN service.

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