Category Archives: work

Working From Home? Are you ready? Prepared? 2020 Edition

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Here are six takeaways to make sure that you are ready to work from home and avoid making mistakes working from home. Thanks to mass media and social media, you may be led to believe the world is not a safe place to live in. (Hint: it’s not true, the world is actually safer than it has been, the statistics prove so, including the United States.)

However, with the coronavirus (COVID-19), you won’t know when your employer is going to consider asking you to not show up to the office but work from home. It can be very sudden and you should be prepared.

I understand that an office is simply not necessary to go to work if you are a knowledge worker; it’s an easy way for an employer to cut overhead costs, and make it flexible for workers to work anywhere they feel like it. However, we must avoid being ableist during these extenuating circumstances. Moving forward, here are six takeaways to help you prepare. From my experience having my first professional job involved teleworking, I know what it’s like working from home and for some it’s a wonder and for others it’s not a pleasant experience. For me, I prefer seeing people. Others have may have no choice between either office experience.

Make Sure You Have an Ergonomic Setup

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Depending on your employer, you may or may not have the support for ergonomic desks and chairs. This comfort is where you may want to spend money (from $300 and upwards) for a high-quality ergonomic chair. Imagine sitting in that chair for 52 weeks or more than 250 days or more than 2000 hours each year. You deserve a chair that lasts for a long time and will be worth every single penny for your back and comfort.

If sitting is not your preference, perhaps a standing desk is your choice. These are expensive, but completely worth having.

Without an ergonomic setup at home, you may cause injury to your body when you least expect it. There is a reason for those accommodations to ensure that you sit correctly and prevent any unnecessary body discomfort that could become permanent after time. This paragraph serves as advice from a young professional to new and young professionals.

Make Space For You

While working from home may sound luxurious, you need a space in your house that is dedicated to work. With email being actively attached to our pockets, it’s hard to keep work away from home. Now that work is at home, whether your situation is telework, home business, or relegated to working from home because of circumstances beyond your control, you deserve a work space that is separate from the home.

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If that’s not possible to carve out a room, ensure that a desk is reserved only for work and just work. Mingling between home and work business can have problems where you might make mistakes. Also if you have family, the desk is a domain where you get to work and it won’t be distracted by the busy thrill of working from home.

Get a Reliable Internet Service

And with a reliable internet service, a backup in case your primary internet service goes offline. While home internet is fairly reliable, there are times when the internet goes out, slows to a crawl because of bandwidth capacity, and it might take a while to fully get back online. Consider the time it might take to recover after a storm, power outage, or error from the ISP.

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In those cases, what do you do? Choose a mobile data plan that offers tethering or a service that offers affordable tethering. While it might not substitute for intense internet, it can suffice for email and chat programs. It might not be great for transferring large files or conducting high-definition video conferencing.

From my experience, data tethering isn’t exciting and I’ve done it while riding as a passenger in a car across Texas where data service was not reliable. I was able to get work done, however I would have preferred being connected to a reliable service. Your region may have many different internet service providers with a varying degree of service quality.

Set Yourself Boundaries

Going back to carving out your own space, it’s helpful to set up boundaries so you are not constantly bogged down with the whims of living and working at home. It might be nice to work from home and avoid the commute to the office, yet you are faced with challenges that you might not see at work. These include pets, chores, children, family, errands, etc. It’s kind of funny to think that you have to set boundaries, but essential to get work done.

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These boundaries don’t have to be strict, but it ensures that you get the most out of your work without being distracted. It can tend to be distracting if there are mounting responsibilities at home where working from home is not productive. I’ll let you use your best judgement here because every home situation is different.

For me, I had to set limits to what I could not do at home. With the internet and working from home, it’s very possible to find avenues of distraction that aren’t productive. It might be great once in a while to take a break from focusing on work, but it depends on your home situation.

Make a Schedule

This seems like a silly suggestion, but I am reminding you here. Make a schedule. It’s very easy to skip lunch, miss out on appointments, or do work once you get your second wind for the night. Make your schedule and keep it. Much like how many of us have meetings and conference calls during the day, make it an opportunity to change your routine so you don’t feel burned out sitting in the same area of the house all day long working. Make a schedule.

Set a schedule to visit with friends and stick to them. Since the commute from home to the office is just a hallway, how about make time for friends after work? It can be a pleasant experience in order to adjust while working at home. Now that the pandemic is shutting things down, consider changing it up by enjoying time with friends via text message, video chat, and even that genuine phone call. People have smartphones, be smart and use the phone part! Even a walk around the block or the park can be a relief from staying cooped up indoors for what may turn out to feel like an eternity.

Go Outside Once in a While

One thing I noticed very early on when working from home: I would never go outside. This may seem trivial at first, but I would never even make it out the door for days. While this may seem extreme, you may not notice it unless you have social activities, pets (read: dogs), or children. The longest I would stay inside would be nearly four days. This is weird of me to say this, but it really didn’t help me that I would work at home and keep myself entertained at home, and only leave the house if I needed food or had a social activity. That is no way to live.

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Make yourself available for your friends if you get into that situation. It might not be asking for much if you are mobile and if the weather allows, for you to step out for lunch, take a walk, or make it a habit to invite friends to dinner or events (when you or your friends are not sick). You deserve a healthy lifestyle where you can be happy while working from home.

Conclusion

Working from home is a wonderful dream and many of us professionals have the ability and freedom to do so. What I suggest is to look into these factors before you jump into working from home. You may feel that working from home is luxurious, a dream, but there are reasons why some folks work from home because of their circumstances. You might encounter realities where you might form unsavory habits that cause you to slack by teleworking. I know there are horror stories of folks not dressing up, only wear underwear, or staying in pajamas all day. If you get the opportunity because of your job, consider cherishing this temporary privilege to work from home and present that kind of ethic when you log on from home to go to work.

Need More Guidance?

What is GDPR? How does GDPR affect me?

The long and winding road of the GDPR is finally here. Since May 25, 2018, your digital operations may need some tidying up to keep up in good relations with Europe.

road in South America with a broken rail.

Let’s help you not go off the rails with the GDPR.

One of the most monumental regulations to affect the internet is the GDPR. But what is it and if you own a website, how can you make sure that you are not locked out of the European Union market?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation.

Okay, so what does this mean? From the surface, it pertains to how businesses collect personal data and how they plan to use it.

You’ve probably seen many websites send out emails and notices about GDPR and even mailing lists asking you to re-sign up for their newsletters. They are being proactive to make sure that you have received notice about new regulation that affects their business operation.

Not my problem…

Pfft, that’s for big business to figure out and it doesn’t apply to my small business. I very much dislike saying this, but if you are located anywhere around the world and do direct business in Europe (such as serve a website with advertisement, sell products, etc), you are regulated by European legislation. Sorry, not sorry.

(Continue singing Demi Lovato’s Sorry Not Sorry as you wander into the world of the GDPR).

You may argue that you are not bound by regulation in Europe in your home country and claim sovereignty, however Europe regulates the last-mile(s) (or more appropriately the last-kilometer[s]) of connection to people in Europe. If you’re not compliant with GDPR, then your website might not be available to people living in Europe. Consider losing a huge audience share because you aren’t compliant with GDPR. Think $$$. You don’t need to do much.

As far as regulation is concerned, the European Commission (EC) has a GDPR website that is extremely informative about the rules for businesses and organizations as well as rights for citizens. (I kind of think of this in a worldview where we are slowly converging digital media regulation and I welcome every bit of it–especially when we see new privacy regulations show up such as the right to be forgotten).

Think of the GDPR as a way to treat collecting and using private data in an ethical way.

The 7 steps for GDPR

The EC has provided a useful handout with 7 Steps to get ready for the GDPR.

From that handout, here are six headlines to consider (the seventh headline makes no sense, but I’ll explain later).

  1. Check the personal data you collect and process, the purpose for which you do it and on which legal basis
  2. Inform your customers, employees and other individuals when you collect their personal data
  3. Keep the personal data for only as long as necessary
  4. Secure the personal data you are processing
  5. Keep documentation on your data processing activities
  6. Make sure your sub-contractor respects the rules
  7. Check if you are concerned by the provisions below

Check the personal data you collect and process…

On the surface, this list helps you figure out how to make sure that you are handling private information in a proper way. Given the problems with security breaches, this is great relief for your personal lives. It may make life a momentary hell for businesses, but these are easily achievable for any business.

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It is not hard to get up to speed with the GDPR.

The first step is to make sure that you understand what kind of personal data you collect and process and why. For example, do you collect names, email addresses, and contact information? Perfect. What do you use it for? How do you use it? How long do you intend to keep it?

Inform your customers…when you collect their personal data…

The second step is how you tell your visitors, employees, and anyone else that you are collecting their personal data. That might be something like a statement that says “I’m collecting your personal data (like email addresses) to help my business and that I plan to use your information (such as sending you an email) in my marketing campaigns.” Other data can include something like analytics data that gathers demographic and usage information on a website that you visit. The more complex your systems are (like tracking cookies, sub-systems on a website, and remarketing efforts should be clearly explained and it can be something like: “we use tracking cookies and if you have self-identified yourself on our website through means of logging in, we might use data from that login step to market relevant information to you via email, advertisement, etc…”).

Ever get that reminder email a few hours or days after browsing Amazon for an item or searching for a plane ticket on Southwest Airlines? That’s remarketing and it’s pretty damn effective (and very specific down the item or destination) to get you to make the purchase. Even ads tend to follow you on different devices or browsers are becoming more and more present.

screenshot of Southwest Airlines emails

Kind of weird…I didn’t book a ticket just yet, but Southwest insists I do so anyway.

In addition, your employees deserve to know how their data is being used. It’s as simple as being honest why, what, where, when, who, and how their data is accessed.

Keep personal data for only as long as necessary…

The third step is very important because it helps purge private data because why would you want to ever keep every piece of data forever? This steps also helps with efforts such as the right to be forgotten. As a society, we are data hoarders. Advances in data storage, business policy, liability, and the such has facilitated in this gold mine of data that in some cases is rather useless and in other cases close to a surveillance state. This also helps make sure that you have data for as long as necessary, such as if you do business with a customer. If you no longer do business with a customer for a while, why would you need to keep their information? Think of it as a nice way to Spring Clean your Rolodex. That seems like a nice thing to do anyway!

Secure the personal data you are processing…

The fourth step is to secure that personal data. Given that there have been many breaches, how are you making sure that your information is kept safe?

  • Are your passwords strong enough (or not used repeatedly on different systems).
  • Do you use two-factor authentication on sensitive systems?
  • Is your information security hygiene healthy?
  • Are you practicing Safe Security Measures?
  • Are you practicing Same Password Abstinence with systems that use the same login username?
  • Are you encrypting your data if someone steals your physical devices (laptop, USB drives, etc.)?

These may sound like punny innuendo jokes around, but information security is important! Just be smart about it so you aren’t embarrassed! If you need a good place to start, secure your passwords using a Password Manager like 1Password

Keep documentation on your data processing activities…

The fifth step is pretty easy: just write it down. Hire a technical writer to help you document your processes. It can be as simple as this: list the systems you use for private information, what do they collect, how often, how long are they saved, and what you plan to do with that data.

Make sure your sub-contractor respects the rules…

The sixth step is serious because you use companies to process data. As a business, you rely on other tools, software, and systems to get the data you need. They in-turn have to follow the same rules you do. Consider them as your partner and if they aren’t playing nicely or get infected, you need to tell them to go away or tell them to fix their problems.

Don’t be a Cambridge Analytica or work with one.

Check if you are concerned by the provisions below…

The seventh step is kind of confusing, but if you are a large organization with lots of information, you may need to appoint someone whose sole responsibility is to develop policy, guidance, and best practices to protect collected data. It may be helpful to have one person, team, or department that knows how to make sure your business is GDPR compliant. Depending on the extent of business you do in Europe, it is helpful to understand how data is handled beyond just the mass market email or tracking cookie found on a website.

What Now?

picture of a dog with a look of wonderment facing into the frame

What more do you need to do to make sure you are ready for GDPR?

In conclusion, follow your country’s own data retention and regulations as well as add another layer by following the GDPR. It’s not only good for you to work these details in early on, but keep on the lookout for other countries to enable similar types of regulation. Having many more countries on the same kinds of rules helps level the playing field for using the internet. In addition, this article has general tips to get you started. I suggest if you need more specifics, consider contacting a lawyer to help you out.

You can also get some help if you need some guidance from our friends at Automattic (creators of WordPress):

With those ideas in mind, best wishes getting your company to become compliant with the GDPR! As always, be ethical with your business practices. Let’s be great players as we continue shrinking the size of the world commerce and society when we are moving forward with progress and maturity about the information services age.

Oh, and finally: my privacy policy page.

Year Two: Master of Science Program

I’ve been hiding a bit from the larger world of technical communication because I have been quite busy plugging away at work and continuing my master of science program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the 2018 Society for Technical Communication Summit. This was purely my own decision.

Photo of Roger

What have I been working on?

In 2017, I had quite a year of fun projects at work, hobby, and school which I am continuing to improve my craft as a technical communicator. Here’s a rundown of what I have done:

Website Usability Study (Masters Program)

  • Conducted a usability study for a website
  • Understood various usability study methods

Possible Thesis Study (Masters Program)

  • Developed a prospectus to investigate and define the field of content strategy
  • Studied how technical communication and content strategy are intertwined co-fields

CNM.edu Website Team Project

  • Contributed to the UI/UX initial discovery phase
  • Performed card sorting exercises for a specific navigation function
  • Conducted back-end testing on a new template
  • Documented new processes for content contributors

Social Media Promotions

  • Ran regular advertisements for enrollment
  • Created different ad sets based on target audiences
  • Analyzed advertisement results to find a baseline
  • Improved consistency of posting for various social media channels I manage

WordPress Maintenance + Improvements

  • Reverse-engineered a few websites
  • Migrated websites from HTTP to HTTPS
  • Automated certain processes to simplify WordPress maintenance

Wait…what else?

Glad you asked! (Instead, I asked myself this question). I’ve been doing some awesome new marketing tactics as my work is moving toward the world of social media. But that doesn’t mean I’m losing my roots in technical communication. I know that the social world is a fun new role which I get to practice writing FAR more efficient than normal.

Instead of writing in long swooping sentences. How can I edit and distill information in a way that is high-impact, relevant, punchy, and still maintain that voice. It is a completely different animal and I’m gonna begin learning and honing that craft. I know that social media was my first foray in the professional world of technical communication (I co-presented in 2008 in Atlanta about social media). This time, after ten years, there is so much more to learn from social media since it is becoming something we see more often instead of traditional media.

Is Traditional Media Dead?

I am not sure traditional medias are out, but they are being transformed into their digital cousins. I can’t necessarily rule out traditional media. We still have paper and it’s being duplicated by digital. Rather than dying out, there is movement to make smaller productions and reset the expectations traditional media had. Most of this happens to be the shift to mobile devices. We are having to do more with fewer resources (primarily stretching our money further) and shift to trends. The data proves it. Google it. The library did a similar transformation years ago and the places that did so are thriving in a surprisingly positive way.