4 Tips to Not Be that Guy

The cool thing about using mobile devices equipped with tools that will allow you to remotely access your company's files from anywhere, is that you now have the freedom to work from literally anywhere. Just be careful not to abuse this freedom. Here are 4 tips to help you work on the go without annoying everybody around you.

If you are venturing to a public place, like a park, coffee shop, or airport, to work on a project on your mobile device, it's important that you understand how different the outside world is from your office. A public space has different behavioral expectations, commonly referred to as etiquette, which can be much different than your private office. If you break these public etiquettes, then you are no better than that one annoying guy who makes a scene in public; in fact, you are that guy!

Isolate Yourself When Taking Phone Calls
Taking phone calls is a big part of working remotely. If you are working in a public setting and find yourself surrounded by people, you may think it's acceptable to whip out your cell phone to get work done, but it's not. You may think that talking on your phone in public is no different than two people carrying on a conversation, but it's very different. Two people having a face-to-face conversation in public can adjust their volumes to match what's appropriate for their surroundings. A person on the phone may need to talk louder to be heard better, and therefore may not have the option to talk quieter. If you must talk on the phone in public, it's good etiquette to step outside and remove yourself from the group.

Watch Your Temper
In your office, you rule the roost. You can explode at employees and people know to tiptoe around you when you are having a bad day. Outside of your kingdom, things work differently. In the eyes of the public, nobody cares how big your business is, you are just another schmo; and if you are taking up a whole table with all of your gadgets, then the public is already viewing you with suspicion, just waiting for you to do something stupid. Don't confirm their suspicion by having a temper tantrum for all to see. Emotions are weird, and showing your emotions to a public that's not expecting to see them, especially anger, will make everyone around you feel uncomfortable.

Don't Forget Your Headphones
Whether you are having a video conference from your laptop, need to watch a training video, or even listening to your favorite tunes, it's always a good idea to use your headphones. Public places are noisy enough on their own; nobody wants the noise from computer speakers added to the chaos.

Keep the Size and Loudness of Meetings Appropriate to Your Surroundings
Meetings of any size can be difficult to control and can easily become too loud. One of the worst things you can do is show up to a small public place with a large group and essentially "take it over." A situation like this may make it even more difficult to control your people because they may feel emboldened to be louder, especially if they feel like they have a majority share in the public venue. Even with a remote meeting on your PC, you will want to be aware of your surroundings and volume level so it won't distract everyone else.

Keep this golden rule in mind when working in public: Always be aware that you represent your company! If you want to hold on to these bad habits when doing work in public, then you might want to think twice about wearing a shirt with your company logo, or shouting the name of your company over the phone. The person across the room might be a potential prospect or even a customer, and your bad behavior may sink a sale.

If done properly and politely, accomplishing your work in a public setting with remote tools like mobile devices, cloud services, and Desktop Virtualization, can make work more convenient and even enjoyable--that is, unless there is some other jerk across the room ruining the experience for everybody else. Directive can set up your business with the tools it takes to make your office mobile, call us at 607.433.2200 to learn more.