Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 32 | Page 38

CIO OPINION CIO opinion “ DESIGNING YOUR HOME OFFICE WILL MAKE YOU A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER AND MORE PRODUCTIVE WORKER. ////////////////// Naji Kazak, General Manager – Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Russia at Alaris, a Kodak Alaris Business How CIOs can optimise productivity when working remotely Not everyone wants to be stuck in the office all of the time. Fed-up with the multitude of distractions, CIOs and their teams are increasingly likely to spend the odd day working from home. Naji Kazak, General Manager – Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Russia, at Alaris (a Kodak Alaris Business) offers his opinion about the best ways of enhancing productivity when doing so. 38 INTELLIGENTCIO T oday’s digitisation trend has turned remote working from a dream into reality. Remote work has been favoured by employers not just due to rising real estate costs, but also due to an increase in employee productivity where they accomplish more in less time when telecommuting. chores, the temptation to do non-work related things and the general workspace that may not be designed with adequate space, lighting or suitable furniture, may lead to a dip in productivity. Telecommuting increases efficiency by eliminating distractions such as spur-of- the-moment meetings, water cooler chat and noisy co-workers. As is apparent in its name, telecommuting also does away with commuting, so time spent sitting in traffic and finding parking can be put towards actual work. Designated work area As attractive as the proposition may be of working from a home office, it does come with certain challenges. Kids, household Boosting the efficiency of the home office When your office is part of a larger area in your home, such as the living room, your likelihood of becoming distracted is high. If you don’t have an entire room to dedicate to work, try creating visual boundaries between your work area and living area with bookshelves and partitions. Tip – if you have kids, make sure it has a door! www.intelligentcio.com