Out of Office: How To Stay Connected, Happy and Healthy

Over the decades, the ideas of office culture have changed drastically. From ergonomics, to safety, to employee health, employers are constantly evolving their working space strategies. In the last five years especially, offices have embraced unconventional policies such as dog-friendly environments, unlimited paid time off, and even unstructured space allowing employees control over their desk setup. And with most offices encouraging work from home or frequent off-site travel, the entire concept of a physical office might be truly outdated. So what do you do if you find yourself out of the office more than you are in it?

With the freedom of non-traditional workspaces comes a different set of obstacles, such as keeping yourself connected to your team, staying focused, keeping yourself healthy, and managing a significant amount of time away from home. As someone who works remotely 80% of the time and travels the other 20%, it’s important to me to have a great system in place. I polled several of my professional contacts and colleagues to uncover their best practices for staying productive when you’re remote or traveling.

“For me, it’s key to have a home base. While this is typically a hotel, there are loads of ways to make it feel more personal. Firstly, I only stay in familiar hotels in safe places. Secondly, I arrive a day early so I can settle in, unpack my suitcase, put up a few photos of my wife and children, and have a nice meal. Third, I let local friends know when I’m traveling. I get so burned out eating take-out and restaurant food, so I relish the opportunities to see friendly faces over a home-cooked meal. It really keeps me sane.”- Lynn, Project Manager, travels 3 weeks out of each month

“When I travel, I feel really disconnected from my co-workers. I do a majority of the field research and most of my reporting is via email. There are weeks where I won’t speak to anyone on my team for several days in a row. Not only do I miss the lab gossip, but I end up feeling like I can’t catch up with their work. To that end, I now schedule Skype and FaceTime calls every single day, even if it’s just ten minutes of us talking about Top Chef. I’ve also started a work Instagram so the team can see what I’m physically doing instead of just reviewing what can, quite honestly, be pretty boring reports. I think it’s essential to take advantage of technology and redefine what an office environment can be. Labs are unique to begin with, so it feels crucial to manage any potential disconnects.” -Able, Geologist, travels 3-6 times per month

“I spend about 2-3 hours in my car every single day. Three things make this tolerable: caring for my body, caring for my brain, and taking care of my personal life. In terms of my body, I stretch for 30 minutes each morning, period. I have to keep myself active to sit for that long! When I reach my client, I take a few minutes to do a few more stretches. I often drive in comfortable, casual clothing, so I make a point to be early enough so I can change into something professional. I also get massages every other week, since I get very sore sitting all day. For my brain, I take advantage of the downtime while driving to learn something. My library had Spanish language learning tapes, which I did over the course of last year. I’m now conversationally fluent! I do a lot of books on tape, a mixture of professional development and fun reading because it gets boring, and I love podcasts. For my personal life, I take a three-day weekend once a month to catch up on household chores, see my boyfriend, and sleep in my own bed. It’s mandatory.”-David Michael, Account Executive, travels weekly

“So, I’m on a plane at least eight times a month. Before I committed to my health, I was sick basically all the time. Not only was I perpetually exhausted, but my immune system was shot. I talked with my doctor, who was pretty sick of seeing me to be honest, and she suggested sublingual vitamins, acupuncture, and vacations. I always make sure to have hand sanitizer, Emergen-C, vitamins, and other self-care items in my bag. I give myself a day to acclimate to new time zones, avoid alcohol, and force myself into bed by 9pm. I cannot stress how important it is to care for yourself. If the hotel you’re staying in has a gym, USE IT. Follow along to an exercise video on YouTube, whatever, just build in time to focus on your health. Do not work when you’re sick, and do not sacrifice your health for a job—no one expects that of you!” –Harlan, Visual Merchandiser, travels 3-4 times per month

Make some time to review your work environment and figure out what’s working and what’s not working—then take some of the advice our experts shared. And if you have some amazing tips and tricks for staying sane in an alternative work space, let us know in the comments!