Following on from my post on working from home last week, I got a couple of comments and questions about the issue of tax and insurance.

If you are based in your company's premises and just taking work home occasionally then you do not need to be concerned.  If however you have clients visiting your home, or you are running a business from home you need to check with your insurance company to make sure you are not invalidating your insurance.

You should continue to use your office space as your home to avoid the risk of capital gains tax should you sell the property.  If you rent you should check with your landlord to see if there are any issues.

If anyone can think of other issues let me know and I'll look into it.

Some time ago I applied for a job that involved working from home, and they had a long list of requirements for my home working environment.  I didn't get the job, but I thought it might be interesting to pass on what those requirements were.

The first was pretty obvious.  A desk! It had to be separate from any kitchen/dining room table, and if possible in a quiet area where you could get away from the family and other distractions if necessary.  You should have a good office chair, at the right height for your computer (yes you need one of those too!).  If you are going to be spending a significant amount of time at home it is probably worth buying a good quality chair.  Some people buy those computer work stations that only have a small amount of room on either side.  I think I prefer a good sized desk to give you space to organise paperwork. 

You must be able to communicate on the phone at the same time as on the internet.  Broadband is one way of doing this, but you might also use a mobile (cell) phone.  If you will be making and receiving business calls, you must have an area free from background noise, like barking dogs and crying children.  Employers and clients will not view these noises as a quaint setting for the working woman, but often as an indication that the person is only working as a hobby.  You don't want to give that impression even if it is true!

How you manage your broadband connections depends a bit on what other use you want to make of it.  If you have a family who might want to access the internet from elsewhere in the house it is worth having a wi fi hub, which you can position near your phone line, but access the connection remotely.  That might prevent family members from accessing your work data, and perhaps deleting files you need, or installing something from the internet that wipes all your data!  Best to keep the work stuff clean and tidy, and away from prying eyes.

Think about whether you need a filing system/cabinet.  If you are based permanently at home you will need one of these.  If you home working is intermittent and you are based mainly in an office you probably don't.

Think about how you will cope with the distractions of children.  You might need to impose rules on when you can be interrupted.  Family and friends tend to assume that if you are home you are free to go out, or chat on the phone all day.  Set yourself some rules so that you can focus on work.  Once you establish a pattern you can allow outside distractions, within reason.

Health and safety issues are just as important at home as they are in the office.  Make sure your screen is adequate for you needs (e.g. large enough) and is at eye-level so you don't strain your neck and shoulders.  Make sure you can sit comfortably with your feet on the floor.  Use appropriate mouse and wrist support products.  Have regular breaks from the computer to rest your eyes. And (don't laugh) make sure you know how to get out of the house in the event of a fire.  Seriously, you should be aware of fire risks in your home, as much as you are (or should be) in the office.

Many office staff and secretaries work in public sector organisations, and tension is high in some of these environments with service reviews and job losses in the pipeline.  I heard of one department in a local authority making 40% cuts to staff, so the situation in some sectors is very serious indeed.

Sadly a phrase I have heard frequently, particularly from the mouths of consultants, is 'stripping out the admin' as a way of cutting costs.  This is a rather short term saving strategy because all it means is that managers end up typing up their own letters and dealing with invoices and paperwork instead of doing the job they are paid to do.  And as we know, often the secretaries are the store of knowledge when it comes to procedures related to finance, HR and recruitment, and where the bisuits are kept.

How do you cope in such stressful environments when you don't know whether you will have a job this Christmas?

First thing I would say is don't panic.  Sometimes, as fairly low paid staff, admin and secretarial staff are retained while cuts are made to 'professional' staff who cost more.  Professional tasks are then devolved to cheaper admin staff.  While this may make your workload a bit more challenging it can lead to opportunities in the longer term. Firstly you may find the work you do becomes more interesting, and in time you may be able to get training and qualifications to move in to a professional role if that interests you.  Just because these jobs are being cut now, doesn't mean there won't be a demand for them in a couple of years time.

Hard though it is, try to think of possible opportunities that may arise from these tough times.  Put yourself in the position where you are seen as competent and capable of taking on the extra responsibilities.  Chances are you won't have much of a say in whether you do the work or not if you want to keep your job, so make the best of it and you may find it's not as bad as you think.  At least if you don't like it you can look for a new job in your own time when things have settled down a bit.  I for one have faith that growth will come, although it may be worth considering the private sector in the next year or two!

So, the next scenario is that you think your job is in the firing line and redundancy looms. It is really hard to motivate yourself when you are waiting for bad news.  I sometimes think that it is easier to be told on the day and asked to leave (with a good pay off) than to be dragged through weeks and months of uncertainty, as usually happens in the public sector.  Obviously you would expect me to say, look for any redeployment opportunities that may come up.  Keeping a good attitude may make the difference between being considered and not.

Motivation is hard under these conditons, so it may help to focus on what you need to do to develop your career opportunities.  Is there any training available?  Many training budgets will be frozen or cut, so you may have to look for free opportunities. Many managers will be happy to endorse attendance at free training events to help maintain motivation, because it means people will be easier to manage.

If you can't find courses off site, look for free online courses.  Some training providers will offer free intro's and tasters, and this may be enough to give you some additonal skills and add some interest to your day.  If your workload has dropped due to cuts you may be able to self train using books from the library.  Again, depending on circumstances, you may find your manager is aggreeable to you using your time in this way.  Obviously this depends on individual circumstances.  If your boss is looking for people to cut who don't have enough work, then this may not be a good option for you!

I have found that making future plans can help take some of the stress off.  Focussing on holidays, family events or future plans beyond the date of the redundancy period helps ease the stress.  And speaking of stress, take care of yourself by getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising and sharing your troubles with others can all help to lessen stress to some degree.  Altough a tempting short term fix, drinking, drugs (legal or otherwise) and junk food will actually increase your stress overall, not decrease it.

Christmas is not an easy time to be facing unemployment.  If you have children it might be a time to discuss family finances and get agreement with the extended family to pare down Christmas treats this year.  It teaches them about spending within your means when faced with circumstances beyond your control.  That's not to say you can't have some treats, but this year can perhaps be a bit more traditional (in the Dickens sense) and less commercial than usual.  That's a good thing in a way!

I may not have helped that much in what is a very stressful time, but just making one or two small adjustments may make life a little easier in the coming year.  Good luck and best wishes to those of you who are in the thick of it right now.  I do know what you are going through.

I want to recommend a fab book to readers.  It is called Screw Work Let's Play, and I have linked to it at the bottom of this post, and on the resources page.

I decided some time ago that the time was right to start my own business, and reading this book gave me the kick I needed to actually do it.  I even changed the name of my company by the time I was half way through the book. 

His aim is to help people turn their passion into their living, creating a work-life full of fun, freedom and creativity.  He addresses the internal blocks that many face which I think for many is a huge issue. 

I suppose the most useful part of the book for me was the suggestion to look at what problems I can solve for my clients.  Look at successful businesses and try to identify what problem they solve for their clients.  This habit of looking at things from your prospective client's point of view helps you to identify how you can turn your idea into a successful business.   The book is very practical with lots of tips and suggestions to follow up when you are ready.  I have a notebook full of ideas, so keep an eye out on this blog to see what they are.

Also, have a look at my links in the right panel to the new  click Super PA collection of mugs and mousepads.  The main link is to the UK site, but people in New Zealand and the US can click on the identified link to take them to my store in New Zealand/US.