Spread ideas, not germs. Why employees should work from home.
It’s first thing in the morning and the colleague that sits beside you shuffles in sniffling and coughing. You want to express concern for her but all you are really thinking is ‘you better not get me sick’. This January has really taken a toll on our immune systems…everyone around me seems to be sick. I’m not a germophobe but I really do wish those who are inflicted with a cough, fever, or cold of any sorts would please JUST STAY HOME. “No, but I’m fine and I don’t think I’m contagious anymore” they claim…um, you don’t sound fine and you still may be contagious.
So, why don’t people just stay home? Guilt? Martyrdom? Parents feel it the most. They have the double whammy of both caring for their sick kids and for themselves. They often worry about the optics of being away from the office. In reality, everyone wants you or your kids to get better…and they really don’t want to catch whatever it is you have.
Does this sound familiar?
Your kid wakes up with a cold and needs to stay home from school. You don’t have child care so you think you need to take the day off. Well you don’t. A common acronym used at Cisco is “wfh” which stands for working from home. You can still get your work done, stay connected to your teams, conduct meetings and care for your child. More and more organizations offer “wfh” tools that allow employees to be operational and productive even at home.
What tools do you need to stay productive while at home?
Cisco has developed a checklist of tools your organization should have including:
- VPN to gain access to your company’s network (AnyConnect)
- Web conferencing application to conduct meetings (WebEx)
- Team work application to message and file share (Spark)
Two steps you can do to determine if your organization is prepared:
- Use the five-step Cisco Preparedness Checklist and determine which tools you currently have and what you need?
- Use these tools and empower your employees to do the same.
Be well, stay warm and please stay at home!
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2 Comments
I totally agree.
You can achieve just as much from home, even more because you don’t sit in traffic on the way to the office.
And when you do have a bug yourself you can still tap the keys and stay in touch.
There are still come companies that don’t buy into that. They want to see you there.
Well said – Cisco enables our customers to work from home & we should embrace the technology, especially when sick!