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Work Remotely Without Feeling

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Work Remotely Without Feeling

I am the director of the technical team in the Middle East and Africa region, where there are 79 countries at Microsoft. My manager lives in Israel, his manager lives in Dubai, my teammates are in different countries. I have an intense itinerary, so I had it. When I was in Istanbul, I preferred to work from home. Since my meetings are in the form of a virtual meeting, it doesn't matter where I am. It is also very attractive not to waste time in traffic and spend more time with my children. It was an interesting story when I told you about it. In this extraordinary situation we are in due to Covid-19, most of us are at home and the system of working over online platforms has become compulsory.


We know that we have to not compromise the health of our employees and the companies we work with, but on the other hand we have to continue your business processes. Firms have set up or are installing technological infrastructures that will make your work from home more efficient. Many of you have started working in remote work environments that will ensure your business continuity. While it is an easy transition for people like me who use these platforms very intensely, many people are discovering these tools. The feedback I received from my environment is very positive. Many have already begun to question the traditional way of working. I often started to hear comments such as why we go to work every day, working from home is very efficient, why we invest so much in the office building. I do not know how long the extraordinary situation we are in, but it is clear that it will change our habits. At the end of this period, I believe that instead of going to work every day, we will continue to work hybrid. The digital transformation journey has accelerated and will continue to accelerate. Companies will invest in cloud technologies instead of investing in buildings and strengthen their uninterrupted scenarios.


There is no difficulty working from home. Of course there is. Research shows that issues such as difficulty in communication and collaboration, feeling alone, working long hours without a break, distraction at home, and being motivated are among the topics. While we used to have 4-5 meetings a day, we have made 10 meetings. We need socialization, we started to wear out. I say work remotely without feeling distant and I would like to share with you the experiences I have had for years:

• Create your workspace: Create a layout for yourself wherever you feel comfortable at home. I like changing my clothes in the morning. Even though we are wearing comfortable clothes, at least your posture is changing.

• Communicate frequently: Being able to protect the team spirit is very valuable. We are social assets, we miss our corridor chats. Asking your teammates briefly during the day, chatting will be good for both you and the other person. Instead of immediately talking about business in our meetings, first talk about how everyone is, socialize. We have a 30 minute tea / coffee conversation with our own team every week. We have 3 rules; turning on the camera, taking your tea / coffee and not talking about work. This meeting, which we enjoy the most, get to know each other more closely, is definitely a lot of laughter.

• Establish the home work balance: We are not alone at home this period. Our spouse, our children, maybe our cat and dog are with us. Let's not be at home and close to the room all day. Let's support the distance education of children, do housework together, let's spend more time with our loved ones.

• Effective meeting rules: You have experienced how effective virtual meetings are. It mostly starts and ends on time. Based on this, re-evaluate the duration of your meetings. Think about 45 minutes or 30 minutes instead of an hour. You will see that it is possible to handle many issues in a short time. I suggest you to take 5-10 minutes short breaks between your meetings. For those who cannot attend, record your meetings and share the files. So everyone can easily be on the same page. It is important to be thoughtful and inclusive. It is easier to see who is not attending the conversations, who cannot pay attention in face-to-face meetings and to include that person. If you turn on the camera in virtual meetings, you can get more intimate and interactive. It will be constructive to promise and involve everyone by promising my participants occasionally.

• Moral motivation: This is the time to keep our energy high. Do you exercise at home, call your loved ones and hear their voices, take time for hobbies, take part in projects that will support the society? Let's get out of the routine, feed our souls. Most of us are looking for cure in new recipes in the kitchen, no bread is left. It also happens, so that our energy is high, our faces should be smiling.


It's time to keep up with change in the new world. As Darwin said, “Those who adapt to change survive, not the strongest”. Are dinosaurs alive, smartest, no… Those who keep up with the change have survived. I would like to share the words of Viktor Frankl: 'If you cannot change the situation you are in, we have to change ourselves'. Viktor Frankl was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland due to the Nazi genocide. In his book, The Man's Search for Meaning, he explained how survivors survived in concentration camps and emphasized the importance of keeping up with change.


Let's work remotely without feeling distant. Now it's time to stay home both for ourselves and for the community. Let's stay healthy, keep our energy high, good days are coming soon. If you need support during the digitalization process, we are with you as a Microsoft team with our business partners.

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