Thank you to VGC teams across the country who are working from home to support our workforce and clients.
Payroll, HR, procurement, projects, recruitment, operations, HSQE, finance and all our other team members are making sure we deliver on our promises.
Particular thanks go to our IT team members who are supporting everyone, while dealing with their own challenges.
For most people, it is a new way of working. It isn’t always easy, and each person has their own challenges to manage.
Ways to make working at home successful
- Routine – Get into a home-working routine. Dress and be at your desk in time for the working day to start. Prioritise jobs, arrange contact with colleagues – and set appropriate short breaks for yourself.
- Work space – Find a place to work, with adequate light, if possible away from your main home area. You should keep your elbows parallel with your keyboard – you might need a cushion on your chair. Try alternating chairs to sit in a different position every few hours.
- Exercise – Every 25 minutes get up and stretch, climb the stairs, or walk around to get the blood flowing. Get out for fresh air once a day (keep two metres away from other people, though!) If you have a garden, now is a great time to prepare for the summer.
- Minimise distraction – You’ll work better if you can focus on just one thing at a time. Get rid of the apps which distract you, and set time aside for the big tasks.
- Communicate – Remember to talk to other people, to socialise as well as talk about work. Use MS Teams as well as email, to help feel connected. Ask how someone is and really listen to their answers.
- Managing and monitoring – As a manager, think about what you need from your team members. Do you need to monitor working hours, or output, or both?
- Food – Plan your food for the working week at the weekends. Include healthy snacks to limit your chocolate intake!
Photograph above: senior recruitment consultant Heena Chatrath running a candidate pooling workshop this week.
Working from home with children can be tough.
Here are some resources to keep children occupied during this period.
- Joe Wicks is doing a PE session for children every weekday morning from 09:00 – 09:30. Get your children moving and ready for the day ahead.
- Change 4 Life has useful indoor activities for children when you cannot go outside
- Ted Ed has a range of lessons for children to try next you while you get on with work.
- Younger children who are learning to read could benefit from Reading Eggs, which has a free 30-day trial
- Try an online art class or club to encourage them to get creative. If they prefer, creative writing worksheets could be inspirational.
- Encourage them to enter the VGC art competition (open from 16:00 on 14 April until midnight on Sunday 10 May).
Other links
The BBC has collated some tools to help people who are working from home.
Try to keep mentally healthy – see our web page on looking after your mental health during this difficult time.
