Keep calm and work from home: Here's how to do it right

IF YOU LIVE and work in Spain right now and your job is of the type you can do from home, it's very likely your firm will be telling you tomorrow – if it hasn't already – that you should keep calm, stay indoors and open your laptop. Although the government has decided not to oblige companies by law to have their staff work from home, if your rôle permits it, you have a very good case to request it and are strongly advised to do so.

In the event you have to go into work, wear a mask – even if it's one you bought from the DIY shop for last time you did some tile-cutting or drilling – they're not perfect, but if you cannot get your hands on a proper surgical mask, it'll help. Also, stay at least one to two metres from all your colleagues, and take your own hand sanitiser (you can get it at the supermarket or chemist) if your firm does not have its own on the premises, or if it's been plundered by everyone else. Surgical gloves – nylon if you're allergic to latex – are also ideal.

If you're running a bar or restaurant, you won't be allowed to open, but can still do home deliveries – the same applies about masks and keeping a distance from customers you deliver to, but it can be a way of helping you continue to earn money until the shutdown is over.

For those of you who are already planning to get your workstations in place at home from tomorrow morning, this may be something you're used to already, or it may be complete new territory – so here's what the experts in Spain say about how to get your job done effectively without going into the office.

In fact, it could be good news for Spanish workers, since if it functions well nationwide, companies may be more willing to allow it long-term or permanently, or at least for part of the week – which could be ideal if you have family commitments, such as small children or elderly relatives, and may give you freedom to choose your 'office' in future (a café, the park, a hotel room with Wi-Fi on any continent, or a relative's home if you're visiting your country of origin).

 

Employees can legally work from home, but cannot be forced to

The ministry of work and social economy has issued a guide to working from home for novices, which recalls that, in accordance with Article 13 of the Workers' Statute, a written contract should be drawn up allowing 'distance working'. This does in fact mean that if you have a job with a contract rather than being self-employed, it does not impede you from home-working – your firm is quite at liberty to give you licence to do so if it would suit you and the company.

But no company can force you to work from home if that's not already part of your usual job description, and they cannot change your employment conditions unilaterally. Working away from the office, without supervision (nobody to give you guidelines in person, or ask advice of, and also taking on a great deal more responsibility) constitutes a major change in the terms of your employment agreement, which can only be made with your full, willing consent. Even collective bargaining through unions cannot impose home-working on the whole team.

For most employees, being given the chance to work from home is a bonus rather than an penance, and firms should be encouraged to allow it to provide flexibility for staff with major commitments outside work – but if it wasn't agreed when you took the job on, you don't have to agree to it now (although it's highly recommended at the moment).

Equally, any flexibility provided by your firm, or legally required of them, such as working hours to suit school pick-up times and time off for children's or other dependants' illness, must remain in place whilst you are working from home, the ministry states.

 

Staying connected (without the distractions)

Focusing can be difficult in an environment that's usually conducive to relaxation and being off duty, or to other, pressing and less-relaxing duties that are not part of your paid job description. But most home-workers who manage to do so say they are more productive away from the office than in it; no idle chatting about who got voted out on Supervivientes or La Isla de las Tentaciones (for those without Spanish TV, they're the national equivalent of I'm a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here!, and Love Island). No hanging around the coffee machine or water cooler talking about your weekend, or moaning about the fact it's Monday morning (or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or...)

Background noise that can distract is also eliminated – and you can set your own background noise that helps you work, such as soft music. Nothing you want to get up and dance to or sing your heart out to whilst posing with a biro as a microphone; 'easy listening' or classical music is ideal, something that's pleasant but doesn't 'move' you. Remember, it's background noise, not foreground.

That said, relationships with colleagues are a crucial part of a productive, healthy, satisfying working life and, whilst in some cultures, talking about anything other than immediate business-related issues in the workplace is considered inappropriate, in others – Spain included – bonding with your workmates, and hopefully becoming friends who meet whilst off duty, too, is considered even more important to most employees than their level of pay or the actual job they're doing. For this reason, home-working can feel isolating; but to keep you in the loop, feel part of the show and connected to humans, the ministry of work strongly recommends you still keep contact with your team-mates when you're on the job at home. You're all adults, so you can work out for yourselves when you need a mental break and a bit of time to chat online, or even on the phone; you're not being paid to keep a seat warm for X hours a day, you're being paid for what you actually do, so taking a few minutes out to talk to those you normally spend more of your life with than your own family can in fact increase your productivity. Even just emailing the team to wish them a good morning and a goodnight can make you all feel as though you're 'in this together'.

 

Breaks are not skiving; they boost productivity

Which brings us on to rest and breaks. No doubt most of us have once worked in the type of office where getting up from your desk for any reason outside of a 'scheduled break', even to go to the toilet, is frowned upon and considered 'skiving'. Some companies even take this to the extreme of giving extra annual leave to non-smokers, reminding those who nip out for a fag every couple of hours that they are 'wasting company money' by smoking rather than working.

But, in fact, non-smokers should also be nipping out every couple of hours – yes, outside, not just to the bathroom. If your joints are stiff and achy, repetitive strain is starting to tell on your hands and wrists, your bottom hurts and your eyes are dry, you're not going to feel physically up to doing an excellent job. Likewise, no human can concentrate in full for longer than a set period of time – this differs from person to person, but an absolute maximum of two hours is recommended, depending upon the intensity of the job (simultaneous interpreters usually only work for 10 minutes in one hit, for example) – and you're, in fact, far less productive if you stay at your desk for hours on end rather than getting up and walking away from it for a few minutes at a time. Indoor environments, air-conditioning, neon lighting and no fresh air are not good for your health either (neither are swollen ankles and backache), so popping outside for the length of a cigarette if you don't smoke is still good practice.

And if you do, try to force yourself, when working at home, to take actual 'cigarette breaks' rather than lighting up at your desk, where you might find yourself working your way through a packet without realising. At other times, when we're not confined – but not right now – working in a café can help, since you're not legally allowed to smoke on the premises and have to break your stride to get up and light up outside.

 

Location is key (and tell everyone you're off-limits)

This also leads onto 'ventilating your workspace', as recommended by the ministry – it's warm enough in most of Spain at the moment that you can open the window for at least a few minutes at a time throughout the day, and the fresh air will help you stay alert and focused.

Where you work is more important than you think it is. The sofa is not ideal, neither is sitting up in bed with your computer on a pillow on your lap (unless you're actually physically incapacitated, such as having a broken limb, when the ability to do this can even be a bonus as you don't have to be off sick). Both these places are designed for relaxation, and however disciplined you believe you are, your brain will tell you you're not at work, you're chilling out, and will slow down.

Even kitchen tables may not be perfect – perhaps there's no harm in taking five seconds away from your desk to stretch your limbs and put the washing machine on, or you're in the right place to keep topping up your tea cup. But kitchens don't feel like offices, and your brain can't make the disconnection.

Ideally, the best place is a computer table, a room with very little to draw you away from your desk (sit with your back to the most interesting part of your bookshelf, your photo albums, CD collection or anything else you might feel more worthy of your attention). Lighting should be optimum, ideally natural (through a window), and if your kids, partner or anyone else is in the house, they should be told not to disturb you.

This can be another headache for habitual home-workers: Whilst nobody would expect them to drop everything in the middle of a normal day at the office, shop, restaurant, wherever, and 'just walk out' to do something else, the general public does not always accept that those who work from home actually do, in fact, work. There can be a tendency for people to treat you as though you're always available. Bear this in mind and work out your assertive strategy for refusal before your surname becomes 'Can-You-Just'.

 

Keep to the usual routine

Sticking to the usual office routine is also strongly advised – not just for keeping you focused during the working day, but to ensure work does not spill into your free time. When it's time to clock off, clock off. Shut your computer and do something else. And especially if you're finding it unsettling being outside your usual place of employment whilst doing your job, the ministry advises you to go through your usual morning ritual: Shower, breakfast, dress, even put your makeup on. It can be too easy to neglect even the simplest of daily necessities, like eating, personal hygiene, or even wearing anything other than pyjamas.

Some do, however, work in pyjamas and eat only when they're hungry, not when the clock says. This is fine as long as you know how to break out of it when you need to, and it doesn't become habit-forming.

Home-workers often say that they never realised how much of their office hours were habitually spent not doing any productive work, until they found themselves on their own at a desk in their houses. That's when most discover that there's no point putting in more hours a day than you need to in order to get your work done (unless it's to get ahead on the next task – but be careful, because you could find yourself working around the clock for the rest of your life to 'buy' yourself a bit of freedom later, which never comes). It's a common complaint among anyone who's worked from home in a past life that, as an employee, they have to be at their office desks eight hours a day when, most of the time, if they knuckled down, it could all be done in six, and then on the days when it takes nearer 10, they have more energy to complete it properly. That's why the ministry of work advises home-workers to set themselves concrete daily tasks and deadlines – tasks that you can measure, see the results of, and keep a check on throughout the day. Lists, even mobile phone Apps for organising your working day, setting goals and being realistic about what you can achieve and by when, are good tools and practices to stick to.

 

Home-working with kids off school

What about if you have kids? It's a double whammy right now, because although working from home means not having to worry about childcare, schools are due to be shut from tomorrow for at least the next two weeks, so you could have your little ones under your feet whilst you're trying to do your usual day job. If ever you've taken your children into the office during school holidays, you may have an idea of what this is going to feel like. And, of course, with the restrictions in place, you cannot get a friend who's 'off' work because they can't do their job from home to come and entertain them. No socialising at all for the next fortnight, even in your own home – the likes of Facebook, Twitter, emails and so on have suddenly become a great idea, with even those who boycott them on principle having to admit that they will keep them from social isolation.

Spanish 'life coach' Magda Barceló says children should be prepared ahead of time; if your home-working life is temporary until the restrictions are lifted, sit the kids down and explain to them that this is an 'exceptional situation', that everyone in Spain is having to comply because it's to protect us all and keep us healthy, and stress the 'greater good' aspect of it. Even small children are capable of understanding and empathising when told a situation is for everybody's benefit and that a bit of sacrifice on their part will be helping other people; especially, at the moment, elderly people 'like (great-) grandma and (great-) granddad' – in fact, psychological experiments have found kids as young as 18 months often experience compassionate empathy.

Explain to them that even though mummy or daddy is at home, they're really at work, so they have to pretend they're not here between X hours of the day – although of course, if it's a real emergency, such as someone's fallen over and hurt themselves or feels sick, then that's different, but they mustn't come and pester you because they're bored, because their brother or sister is annoying them, or anything else they wouldn't expect mummy or daddy to come home from work purely to do.

Find them activities to occupy their day if their school has not sent them lots of homework to wade through (if they need help with it, they'll have to ask you after you've finished your working day). It can be a good time to get them interested in reading for pleasure, or getting them to write you a story or make you a collage or picture. Have them watch a film or read a book and describe it to you and ask questions about it after work; this helps broaden their cultural horizons and enquiring minds.

For older children – especially teenagers – is there anything in your job they can help you with? Filing and photocopying tend not to be typical office tasks these days, which you could always occupy the kids with if you had to take them to work during school holidays. But perhaps if you need to do some research online, you can ask them look things up for you, find some links, print some pages off, or maybe some data input. If it turns out you're not that busy after all, you could teach them the simpler aspects of your job – such as correct telephone manner. These are skills that will help them in later life. (Although, clearly, anything that's sensitive, specialist or requires a high level of accuracy or responsibility is not something your children can do. Give them the routine stuff that doesn't need any qualifications or experience – and schedule them to make you cups of tea at set times, have a quick five-minute break together, then pack them off back to their homework or the fun activities you've set them).

 

And above all...

'Life coach' Magda says not to get stressed, not to go into 'panic mode', and especially don't go nuts at the supermarket (remember those on the lowest incomes cannot afford to stock up, and if the own-brand goods are all gone to panic-buyers, their weekly shop comes in much more expensive). The government has guaranteed supplies will keep coming in – there's no famine, crops are still growing, delivery drivers are still working (albeit with extra precautions), most groceries in Spain are locally- or nationally-produced rather than imported, and supermarkets will remain open during their normal hours. Panic-buying only depletes the supply for everyone else, which is unfair and unnecessary, and forces people to travel to find their basics when they should be staying at home.

Magda says this could be a good opportunity for everyone to unwind, spend a bit more time with other members of the household (or pets, if you live alone), and will lead to us all appreciating social contact and freedom to enjoy the outdoors once it's over.

Stay safe, and don't be tempted to pop round to a friend's to moan about it over a glass of wine. Okay, you probably won't get caught. But that's not what it's about, is it? It's about everyone staying healthy and getting back to normality as quickly as possible.

And once it's under wraps, Spain will go back to being the life and soul of Planet Earth again, laughter and conversation will return to pavement cafés, fiestas to the streets, and you can catch up with your friends and family and repay each other your hug-debts, knowing neither of you will get infected.

Also, you'll start to see evidence of how community spirit and solidarity is alive and well in Spain – even when said community can't see each other in person. We'll keep you posted about that later this week.