The importance of punctuality when working remotely
The importance of punctuality when working remotely
Working remotely certainly has its perks. If you're at home, you can stay in your PJs all day long and even get a few chores done. However, there are also downsides, and being punctual is definitely one of them.
I have always been a punctual person. Whenever something occurred that didn't allow me to finish something on time, I always made sure to let the people involved know about it.
And yet somehow, this is still perceived as a weakness. Of course, clients will always appreciate punctuality, but I've always seen other people almost refuse to be on time, be it for when they go out with their friends, appointments, or any other aspect that involves you being on time.
I still remember all those years ago when people I used to hang out with were constantly 30 to 45 minutes late. Aside from being punctual, I am also patient it seems.
But I digress. Working remotely has seen an increase in popularity in recent months because of the global pandemic. And I am fairly certain a lot of people might have been tempted to take it easier than usual. And I'm here to tell you why that's not a good idea.
When working from home, there really is no one checking how you organize your program and what you are doing. That's why it's important to show integrity. By that, I mean always be on time in meetings and strive to finish everything on time. Because guess what. You may end up actually enjoying working from home, but if the results are not in your favor (i.e. your managers see that your productivity has decreased and that you constantly fail to meet deadlines and appointment times), you may end up out of a job entirely.
Of course, this definitely goes both ways. I've seen LinkedIn being full of weird meeting ideas that did nothing but seemingly waste everyone's time. And the idea all came from managers who thought that just because everyone was working from home, they could spend an indefinite amount of time in meetings. If you're a manager that does this, please stop. Respect your team member's time and personal space. Once all the meeting points have been discussed, it's time for everyone to get back to work.
I've often thought that being on time is a weakness. In time though, I realized it is not. So if you're like me, don't ever think that this is a weakness. Finishing stuff when you say you were going to finish it is not a bad thing.
Time management takes on a whole new context when you are the overseer of your day, and likely the scheduler of your workweek. Being successful in a flexible role requires great self-discipline.