Flexibility is one of the cornerstones of our business - for our employees as well as our customers - so occasional working from home has always been a key part of Zego life. However, as much of the world adjusts to working remotely full-time, we’re getting our Zegons to share how they organise their workspaces, their favourite things about remote working and some tips on how to make the most of working at home.
First up, introduce yourself! Who are you, and what’s your role at Zego?
My name is Inès and I’ve been leading the expansion of the Zego business in France since October 2019. My day-to-day focuses on sales and client-facing interactions with French customers, prospects or business partners, as well as looking after my team and planning for the future of our business in France.
What’s your favourite thing about working remotely?
The thing I love about working remotely is being able to work wherever I want. In my case, this means being based in the countryside, where I get to spend most of my lunches outside in the sun with my husband.
Is there anything you’ve found frustrating about working remotely? How have you overcome this?
The most frustrating thing for me is being away from the team - I love those informal moments during the day where you catch up with your colleagues over coffee or lunch. Thankfully, we have the tools and discipline to recreate these moments of conviviality. For example, in the French team, we gather every morning for a 15-30 minute coffee to catch up, and discuss our priorities for the day. In the end, you almost get more time with your team working remotely than you actually would do in the office some days. Each person takes the responsibility to block this time in the diary to meet, greet and get prepared for the day to come.
What have you been doing to maintain both mental and physical wellbeing?
Mental and physical wellbeing are really connected for me. I try to work out every day, even if it’s just ten minutes before dinner, but I must confess that I don’t always take the time to do it! What is key for me to maintain my mental wellbeing is to have a dedicated space for work (I have my own little table just for me), and to clean out the table at the end of every day to ensure I have a clear end of the day cut off point. It sounds really simple, but it allows me to focus on something other than work once the day is over. Before I started doing this, I was just carrying on checking emails and Slack all evening, so work never finished!
Do you have any tips for other people working remotely?
It can be really tough working from home sometimes - both physically and emotionally. Some days will be good, and other days will be less so. The most important things I’d say from my experience are the following:
- Keep a dedicated, clean space for work if you possibly can.
- Plan, plan, plan: it’s more important than ever to be super organised and clear on your priorities, to plan every day so that you don’t lose track of what you need to do.
- Communicate your plans: people are achieving a lot working from home, but some of us aren’t great at communicating it. This can bring silos across teams, duplication of work, and a lack of coordination. In the end, this leads to frustration among team members. We don’t have the casual day-to-day chat at the office amongst colleagues anymore, so it’s on us to find other ways to keep the same level of communication as before, and even more!