With the current lockdown in place, the topic of working from home has suddenly become extremely important. Now practically everyone is putting in the hours while wearing their pajamas, fundamentally changing what it means to have a career.
Working from home, however, isn’t always the most pleasant of experiences. Sure – you don’t have to endure the daily commute or office politics – but you have to deal with new risks.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at how to work from home without worrying all the time. Here’s what to do.
Set Up Taxes With Your Accountant
The first thing you’ll want to do is set up your accounts and taxes with your accountant. If you’re self-employed or doing work on the side, the matter of the IRS can affect your wellbeing. While you can file yourself, getting a professional to do it for you makes a lot more sense. Plus, it frees you up to concentrate on your work instead.
Get Insurance
Working from home might be less risky than going to an office, but that doesn’t mean that you’re completely safe from threats. Customers, for instance, may still sue you for negligence. Or you could accidentally say something defamatory, provoking a lawsuit.
Insurance, therefore, is vital. At the very least, you’ll want public liability insurance that covers you against professional negligence. You may also want to insure your premises as a business address, just in case your insurer doesn’t cover your residence for this purpose.
Get Your Mail Sent To A Different Address
Having all your business correspondence sent to your home address is a security risk and something that can play on your mind. You know, for instance, that your address is publicly available on your website and social media accounts, meaning that potentially anybody could come knocking.
Physical Address, therefore, recommends that people who work from home separate their work addresses from their home. Don’t worry: you don’t need to set up an office. Instead, you just rent a third-party mailbox service. The operator will then either forward your mail confidentially to your home address or open and scan your letters, sending them via email as they arrive.
Having a second address like this – something called a “virtual address” – solves a large number of problems. You avoid having to disclose your home address all the time. And it makes your business appear larger and more professional than it really is.
Give Your Colleagues Some Slack
While some of us work individually, the vast majority of us are part of a larger team. When you’re all in the office, you can see what other people are doing with their time. Supervision is easy.
When people work from home, though, you have no idea what they’re doing most of the time. And that in itself can be a source of worry.
The best solution is to give your colleagues some slack. Most will work diligently even without you breathing down their neck. After all, they want you to continue employing them.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.
