Working on Distributed Teams

Communication choices

We have a distributed team with members who cover a spectrum that ranges from always being in the office to permanently remote. Some methods are better than others, depending on the task at hand.

Tips for working on projects with distributed teams

Establish boundaries around what is/isn't "work time"

For many people, the experience of commuting and entering the physical workplace is a part of a habit/ritual that signals, "This is now the workplace and it's work time.  I'm in office mode!"  Similarly, when you leave the office, the act of physically leaving helps your brain think: "I'm off work!"  It can be helpful to recreate these boundaries and rituals while working from home by sticking to a schedule, and giving your brain some time to adjust between "work mode" and "home mode."

• • Mentally "enter the office" by taking a few minutes and a few deep breaths to shift your mind into work mode.  Tell yourself, "Now I'm at the office."

  • It's important to maintain a sense of "teamliness" (positive professional relationships with your peers) while you're working remotely. If you're accustomed to socializing a bit with coworkers at the start of the day, take a minute to greet them online via chat or an informal email.  

  • "Leave for lunch."  When possible, take your lunch break in a separate location and leave work alone while you eat.  This helps break up the day, which is more important when you're working from home.

  • Mentally "leave work" at the end of the day.  Instead of transitioning immediately from working to evening activities, take a few minutes to "put away" the work day.

Manage home internet bandwidth proactively to improve video conferencing

Many households may currently have more people at home using the internet more extensively than before.  Streaming video and large downloads can consume a lot of bandwidth, which can disrupt video calls.  Make sure your computer isn't doing a big update or download, and ask other household members to go easy on bandwidth-intensive applications during your working video calls during the day.

• • Remind people about muting themselves until they need to speak, to remove background noise

  • In-person groups who have side conversations should remember to follow up later with the whole group so everyone can be included.

Don't be afraid to ask for help or guidance

If working from home isn't feeling comfortable and productive for you, talk to your peers and supervisor!  This is an unexpected and unwanted situation for many of us and you should expect support from your team, whether your experience so far has been positive or negative.

Create a comfortable physical workspace

You want a decent chair, good lighting, and ample space for your work stuff. Sitting outside, at the kitchen table or in a squishy armchair, or on the floor is nice for variety and can work for short periods, but if you’re going to be doing this for the longer term, you’ll want a better desk and chair, ideally a setup that lets you mix standing and sitting. 

Why this matters: Remote work shouldn’t hurt. It’s really not good for morale if you’re sitting funny and in poor light, unable to easily see your laptop screen and hunched over because your desk/chair setup isn’t ideal for posture. 

Connect an external hard drive so you can do computer backups at home. Doing backups over the UA VPN is extremely slow. External HDs are pretty cheap these days, and worth it for the peace of mind.