Empathy beyond Tools: the “Solo-Worker” dilemma

How to better manage Remote Working at Time of Crisis

It is useless to deny it. Beyond the hardness of the disease, the battle of covid-19 is bringing its side-effects in any possible area.

Those who have a job like ours - where laptops and wi-fi are enough - are apparently facilitated in these moments of crisis. Remote working, video lectures, remote consultancies, shared keynotes, calls, etc. are part of our everyday activity. But there is something that goes beyond the system of replicating physical meetings through a video conference app. And it is called EMPATHY.

No technology will never replace the warmth and omni-sensoriality of in-person communication, like an informal chat with colleagues and pals. And it is in these very moments that we realize the essence and importance of these forms of socialization and contact.

Indeed, someone would have fought in the past in order to work from home, others would now pay for their desks, their offices, their routines. Today, due to the current, worldly recognized pandemy, we are all almost forced to work remotely. In other words, from home. It is a period of challenging tedium, unbreakable distraction, and loneliness since we are forced to stay away from each other and from our families too.

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FREE GUIDE: HOW TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE

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Everything is gonna be alright!

Most people used to spend their working days in close proximity to their boss, meaning communication is easy and effortless. But that’s all out the window with remote work and communication problems are even more likely to occur if your company isn’t used to remote working. Your manager may not be used to manage people virtually, or your company may not have a ready-to-go suite of tools for letting workers working remotely, like chat apps (e.g. Slack) or video conferencing apps (e.g. Zoom, Skype, and similar).

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Remote Working from home can be unstructured and isolating.  A 2019 study accomplished on 2,500 remote workers by the online brand development agency Buffer found that loneliness was the second-most reported challenge, after the well-known issue of difficulties in unplugging after work (something we all experience most of the time). experienced by 19% of respondents. Loneliness can make people feel less motivated and less productive, especially when they work from home.

Difficulties in communications stand in third place. So whenever you have to communicate with your boss and/or team from home, it is helpful the use of richer communication channels, namely face-to-face and instant tools., In other words, video calls!

Many tools can ensure the continuation of our activities and jobs during this difficult time and we are sharing a selection with you now.  Thanks to these solutions and software, video calls, management tasks, conversations with different workgroups, organization of collaborative projects, etc. will be less challenging.

So, here our favorite FREE tools... Hopefully, they can let you overtake this period!

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Video Conference

― Whereby

Features

• All-in-browser
• Up to 4 Participants
• Custom and unique URL for your rooms - whereby.com/yourname
• Desktop & Mobile App
• Screen Sharing
• Lock Room
• YouTube integration - Open YouTube videos to play for everyone in the room.

― Roundee

Features

• All-in-browser
• Up to 14 Participants
• Permanent URL
• Lock Room
• Mobile and Desktop support
• Chat, File Share, Note Share, Screen-Share

― Zoom

Features

• Up to 100 participants
• Unlimited 1 to 1 meeting
• 40 mins limit on group meetings
• Unlimited number of meetings
• Online support

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Screen / Video Recording

― Loom

• Easy and free screen recorder for Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks. Record your camera and screen with audio directly from your Chrome browser.

― Screencastify

• Screencastify is the #1 free screen recorder for Chrome. No download required. Record, edit and share videos in seconds.

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Task / Project Management

― Trello

• Infinitely flexible. Incredibly easy to use. Great mobile apps. It's free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details.

― Bitrix24

• Bitrix24 is a free CRM, project management, communication, and collaboration platform, available in the cloud. It is a united work space that handles the many aspects of daily operations.

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Messaging / Collaborations

― Slack

• Slack is where the workflows. It's where the people you need, the information you share, and the tools you use come together to get things done. Organize conversations, share files, and get answers faster in Slack. Keep your whole team in the loop by messaging in open spaces called channels.

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[Bonus Tools]

How about resting?

As you can see from the infographic, remote workers identified in unplugging from work as the first challenge to deal with. We suggest using a mind-calming app to destress after work, regaining your mind’s freedom to be at home. Yep, it's time to meditate!

Here the most common two:

― Calm

― HeadSpace

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Still curious about how to turn off your brain? Ok, here 10 apps for clearing your mind up.

Happy meditation!

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