TY - BOOK AU - Powers, Tara TI - Working from home for dummies SN - 9781119748496 U1 - 643.58 PY - 2020/// CY - New Jersey PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. KW - Internet videoconferencing KW - Telecommuting KW - Telecommuting--Management KW - Flexible work arrangements KW - Home offices--Management N1 - TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting Started with Working From Home 5 Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Workspace 7 Choosing the Right Spot in Your Home 8 Picking the best room 8 Creating an effective layout 10 Getting All the Equipment You Need 11 Desk and chair 12 Computer and monitor 13 Printer and scanner 14 Internet access 15 Phone service 15 Noise-cancelling headset and camera 15 Storage 16 Organizing Your Work Life (And Keeping It That Way) 16 Time 16 Workspace 17 Paperwork 17 Computers and other devices 18 Books and other reference materials 19 Adding Some Personal Touches 19 Chapter 2: Ensuring Success with Important Work-at-Home Skills and Behaviors 21 Setting Goals and Priorities 22 Starting with goals 23 Deciding on priorities 24 Managing Your Time Well 24 Creating and sticking to a schedule 25 Making to-do lists 27 Conquering procrastination 28 Establishing Routines 29 Being Your Own IT Department 30 Increasing Your Healthy Productivity 31 Watching Out for Distractions 32 Overcoming Isolation 33 Staying Positive and Motivated 34 Putting positivity into practice 35 Understanding personal motivation 37 Being a team player and knowing you matter 38 Making Sure You Still Have a Personal Life 39 Establishing expectations 39 Setting boundaries 39 Chapter 3: Following Virtual Team Meeting Etiquette 41 Checking Your Background 42 Looking Camera Ready 43 Minimizing Noise and Using the Mute Button 44 Speaking Clearly and Making Eye Contact 45 Remembering a Few Important Do’s and Don’ts 46 Engaging in virtual meeting best practices 46 Steering clear of common mistakes 48 Practicing Patience 49 Part 2: Staying in Touch with Slack 51 Chapter 4: Getting Started with Slack 53 Reviewing Slack’s Different Versions 53 Free plan 54 Standard plan 54 Plus plan 55 Enterprise Grid 55 Changing Your Slack Plan 56 Upgrading 56 Downgrading 56 Beginning Your Slack Journey with the Workspace 57 Creating a new Slack workspace 58 Signing in to an existing Slack workspace 59 Accessing your new workspace via a web browser 61 Using the Slack desktop app 62 Using the Slack mobile app 63 Introducing the Slack user interface 63 Summarizing Slack’s Different Roles and Permissions 66 Administrative roles 66 Non-administrative roles 68 Managing member roles 69 Enterprise Grid roles and permissions 72 Starting Your New Workspace off on the Right Foot 73 Expanding your existing workspace 73 Configuring your member profile and key account settings 76 Chapter 5: Targeting Your Communication with Slack Channels 79 Introducing Slack Channels 80 Exploring the Different Types of Slack Channels 81 Public channels 82 Private channels 83 Multi-workspace channels 83 Shared channels 85 Creating Public and Private Channels 86 Creating your first public channel 87 Building an intelligent channel structure 89 Viewing basic channel information 91 Adding Members to Existing Channels 93 Manual additions 93 Default workplace channels 94 Exploring Existing Public Channels 95 Communicating via Slack Channels 97 Posting simple channel messages 97 Understanding channel etiquette 98 Chapter 6: Entering the Wonderful World of Slack Messages 101 Understanding Slack Messages 102 Sending a message 102 Performing basic message actions 104 Formatting your messages 106 Finding people in your workspace to message 108 Editing messages 109 Deleting messages 110 Muting conversations 110 Setting message-specific reminders 111 Saving direct messages and channel messages 112 Pinning direct messages to conversations 113 Creating special types of messages 114 Converting group direct messages into private channels 118 Using threads to create topic-specific containers 118 Sharing in Slack 120 Sharing files 121 Sharing messages 123 Forwarding Email to Slack 125 Communicating Outside of Slack 125 Chapter 7: Staying Informed with Notifications, Statuses, and Feeds 127 Getting Your Arms around Notifications 128 Channel-specific notifications 130 Keyword-specific notifications 133 Direct messages from individuals and groups 134 Missed calls 134 DM reminders 134 Member join and leave messages 135 Threads and notifications 135 Concurrently notifying multiple users 136 Letting Others Know Your Availability 137 Setting your status 137 Viewing your colleagues’ statuses 138 Editing your status 139 Clearing your status 139 Setting yourself to away/active 140 Unplugging with Do Not Disturb mode 140 Configuring Device-Specific Notifications 143 Enabling notifications on mobile devices 143 Understanding when settings collide 144 Finding Other Ways to Stay Current 144 Receiving emails on recent activity 144 Viewing mentions and reactions 145 Part 3: Focusing on Zoom 147 Chapter 8: Getting to Know Zoom’s Suite of Communication Tools 149 Zoom’s Core Services 150 Zoom Meetings & Chat 151 Main features and benefits 151 Plans and costs 152 Add-ons 155 Zoom Video Webinars 156 Main features and benefits 156 Plans and costs 156 Zoom Rooms 157 Main features and benefits 158 Plans and costs 159 Supercharging Zoom Rooms 159 Zoom Phone 161 Main features and benefits 161 Plans and costs 162 Chapter 9: Setting Up Zoom 163 Taking Your First Steps 163 Creating a new Zoom account 164 Modifying your Zoom plan 167 Downloading and installing the Zoom desktop client 170 Signing in to the Zoom desktop client 172 Completing your Zoom profile 174 Getting to know the Zoom user interface 174 Reviewing Zoom Account Management 176 Adding new users to your Zoom account 176 Deactivating existing accounts 178 Deleting existing users from your Zoom account 178 Unlinking users from your Zoom account 179 Unlocking the power of Zoom user groups 180 Discussing the Importance of Zoom Roles 183 Reviewing Zoom’s default roles 183 Creating new user roles 184 Changing an existing user’s role 185 Chapter 10: Connecting with Others via Zoom Meetings 187 Getting Started with Zoom Meetings 188 Reviewing Zoom’s meeting-specific roles 188 Locating your personal Zoom information 189 Augmenting your Zoom meetings 191 Hosting Zoom Meetings 193 Inviting others to your current meeting 195 Planning a future Zoom meeting 197 Letting others in to your current meeting 203 Joining others’ Zoom meetings 205 Putting your best foot forward 207 Performing Mid-Meeting Actions 208 Using virtual backgrounds 208 Managing and interacting with meeting participants 210 Using breakout rooms during meetings 212 Chapter 11: Looking at Zoom Contact Management and Chatting 215 Managing Your Zoom Contacts 216 Adding contacts to your Zoom directory 216 Removing an existing contact from your Meetings & Chat directory 218 Inviting an existing Zoom contact to a new meeting 219 Adding internal contacts to an existing meeting 219 Performing contact-specific actions 220 Understanding User Status in Zoom 221 Getting familiar with Zoom’s status icons 221 Changing your status in Meetings & Chat 223 Staying current with Zoom notifications 225 Chatting in Zoom 226 Exchanging messages with your individual Zoom contacts 226 Holding group chats 227 Creating threads in Zoom 230 Saving message drafts 231 Editing and deleting your messages 232 Referencing other Zoom members in a group discussion 233 Adding some flair to your messages 234 Uploading and sharing files in Zoom 236 Sending screenshots 238 Performing message-specific actions 239 Part 4: Taking Advantage of Microsoft Teams 241 Chapter 12: Navigating Microsoft Teams 243 Downloading, Installing, and Opening Teams 244 On the web 244 On a laptop or desktop computer 245 Taking a Quick Spin around Teams 248 Activity 248 Chat 249 Teams 249 Calendar 249 Calls 250 Files 250 Using Teams across Many Devices and Platforms 251 Chapter 13: Starting Your First Team and Managing Your Settings 253 Creating a New Team 254 Inviting People to Your Team 259 During the team creation process 259 After the team creation process 260 Managing Your Team Settings 261 Managing Your User Settings 264 General 266 Privacy 266 Notifications 267 Devices 267 Permissions 267 Calls 267 Chapter 14: Staying Connected to Others with Channels and Chat 269 Chatting in Teams 270 Sending Messages in Channels 271 Creating a New Channel 273 Configuring a Channel 275 Moving from a Channel to a Chat 279 Starting a private chat 280 Adding multiple people to a chat 281 Giving a chat a title 282 Pinning a chat to the top of the list 282 Sending More than Text When Chatting 283 Adding emojis, GIFs, and stickers 283 Adding a file 284 Reacting to chat messages 286 Chapter 15: Embracing Teams to Make Meetings Better 287 Getting Up to Speed with the Types of Meetings in Teams 287 Viewing Your Calendar in Teams 288 Creating a New Meeting and Inviting People 289 Joining an Existing Meeting 294 Using Teams for Conference Calls 296 Using Teams for Video Calls 297 Part 5: Managing Employees from Home 303 Chapter 16: Introducing the Basics of Managing Virtual Employees 305 Making Room for a New Kind of Employee 306 Preparing to get virtual 307 Understanding changes to the office culture 308 Weighing the pros and cons of telecommuting 309 Managing from a Distance 311 Increasing your interaction 311 Providing long-distance recognition 312 Using the Internet 312 Managing Different Shifts 313 Chapter 17: Transitioning from Old-School Manager to Virtual Team Leader 315 Recognizing Which Leadership Style Works Best 316 Examining what makes virtual team leaders succeed 316 Determining whether you’re a micromanager, coach, or hands-off manager 319 Comparing control-based and trust-based leadership 321 Taking the Opportunity to Grow 323 Pushing the boundaries of culture and C-level expectations 323 Knowing when to manage up 324 Recognizing Common Virtual Team Issues 325 Poor communication 326 Lack of clarity, direction, and priorities 326 Loss of team spirit and morale 327 Lack of trust 327 Lack of social interaction 327 Tech issues 328 Cultural clashes 328 Chapter 18: Adopting Best Practices in Communication 329 Identifying Four Components to Transform Your Communications 330 Looking Closer at Text-Only Communication 332 Examining the pros and cons 332 Using text-only communication effectively 334 Providing Consistent and Frequent Feedback 335 Establishing clear expectations 335 Recognizing the importance of two-way feedback and performance discussions 336 Giving feedback: The how-to 337 Shifting focus from individual accountability to team accountability 338 Establishing Best Practices with Communication Agreements 339 Choosing appropriate communication methods 339 Agreeing on expected response times 342 Setting the rules for handling conflicts 342 Choosing a problem-solving model 343 Agreeing on a process for communicating outside the team 344 Putting together your plan 345 Establishing standards for meeting participation 346 Utilizing the DISC Assessment Tool 346 Part 6: Adding Balance and Peace to Your Work-at-Home Life 349 Chapter 19: Building Trust and Wellness in the Virtual Workplace 351 Building a Connection Culture 352 Being a leader your team wants to follow 352 Getting to know your team members 353 Reaching out and building rapport 354 Focusing On Workplace Wellness 356 Considering wellness best practices 356 Starting your team wellness program 357 Maintaining Healthy Boundaries 358 Chapter 20: Using Mindfulness in Your Daily Life 361 Using Mindfulness at Work 362 Beginning the day mindfully 362 Dropping in with mini meditations 363 Going from reacting to responding 365 Solving problems creatively 367 Practicing mindful working 368 Debunking the multitasking myth 369 Finishing by letting go 369 Living Mindfully in the Digital Age 370 Assessing your level of addiction to technology 370 Using mindfulness to get back in control 372 Using technology to enhance mindful awareness 374 Chapter 21: Stretching during the Workday 375 Step Away from the Desk: Standing Stretches 376 Standing chest stretch 376 Standing abdominal stretch 377 Standing side reach with legs crossed 378 Standing hamstring and calf stretch 380 Standing hip flexor stretch 381 Have a Seat: Stretches for the Professional Desk Jockey 382 Shoulders and neck stretch with circles 383 Chest stretch 384 Seated spinal rotation 385 Seated forward bend 387 Wrist and forearm stretch 387 Seated ankle circles 389 Part 7: The Part of Tens 393 Chapter 22: Ten Predictors of Virtual Team Success 395 Having the Right Technology 395 Hiring the Right Team Leader 396 Hiring the Right Team Members 397 Establishing Clear Team Vision and Values 397 Aligning Team Goals with Company Goals 398 Having a Solid Team Agreement in Place 398 Using a Communication Strategy 398 Agreeing on a Process for Team Workflow 399 Using an Onboarding Strategy for New Team Members 399 Actively Managing Executive Perceptions 400 Chapter 23: Ten Great Slack Tips 401 Respond Promptly to New Users’ Requests, Questions, and Feedback 401 Regularly View Slack Analytics 402 Tread Lightly with New Hires 402 Establish Slack as the Default Medium for Internal Communication 402 Emphasize Slack’s Carrots More than Its Sticks 403 Keep an Eye Out for New Slack Apps 403 Tell Overly Exuberant Slack Members to Tone It Down 403 Publicize Your Status and Availability 403 Try Before You Buy 404 Know When to Turn Slack Off 404 Index 405 N2 - In today's networked global economy, working from home is no longer a novelty. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies and organizations everywhere are embracing the game-changing benefits of allowing employees to work outside the office, and the results are profound: managers benefit by saving money and resources and by having access to talent outside their zip codes, while employees enjoy greater job opportunities, productivity, independence, and satisfaction—in part from the time saved not commuting. According to one source, 85% of businesses say that productivity increased along with greater flexibility—and 90% of employees say that flexibility boosted their morale. Working From Home For Dummies, gathers the expertise of multiple industry experts, featuring best of the best content from Virtual Teams For Dummies, Managing For Dummies, 3E, Company Culture For Dummies, Zoom For Dummies, Microsoft Teams For Dummies, Slack For Dummies, Mindfulness For Dummies, 3E, and Stretching For Dummies, as well as new material from award-winning author Tara Powers on setting expectations and boundaries, and more. Set up your workspace Stay connected to your team Run productive online meetings Get in the right headspace This book is the full guide on how to successfully work with virtual teams, whether you are a team member or a manager ER -