With the coronavirus spread, I’ve seen a rush of companies directing employees to work from home, including Microsoft, and Amazon. Long before that, numerous people have been contemplating the likelihood of working remotely. But who could have foreseen a scary health concern would be the impetus to make them so eager?

I’m one of those people who work from home, writing and editing stories, blogs, books, and articles. And, I am also happy to have the opportunity to work remotely. As my job is working from home remotely, here is part of continuous coverage about the coronavirus, Next Avenue stories to help you take that next step with working at home:

“ Things to Know if You Want to Work From Home” — 

As writer Wendy Helfenbaum explains, if you have never telecommuted before, you will indeed encounter some new hurdles. You may want to reconfigure a room to transform it into an efficient home office. Distractions will abound. And, you may have to promptly master new technology, enabling you to communicate effortlessly with your colleagues.

More about tech issues in the story below, “Want to Be a Remote Worker? Get These Digital Skills”. In this article, Helfenbaum offers advice about all of these.

The complicated component concerning operating from home is, painting a line separating your job and your home life. God knows I am constantly at battle with this challenge. And it never gets easier either. People presume just because you work out of your home remotely, they assume you are not too occupied. Nothing can be farther from the truth. There will be times when you will need to let others know that you could lose your job if you don't complete your work by a specific deadline. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it does not. But you need to work on giving these people various motives, why you can't be disturbed. 

“How to Get Your Boss to Let You Work From Home” — 

If your employer has not ordered you to work from home due to the coronavirus and hasn’t extended remote work as an alternative, you will want to read this piece by blogger, career coach and work-from-home pro-Nancy Collamer. In it, she presents tips that will better persuade your boss that allowing you to work from home will be good for both of you.

“ Ways to Combat the Isolation of Remote Work “ — 

When you work from home, it’s easy to feel lonely and isolated. After all, you can’t stop by a colleague’s desk to chat or go to lunch with your team members. Here, Nancy Collamer suggests a few tips and techniques to help prevent you from feeling lonely as a remote worker — based on her experience and advice from other experts.

“Want to Be a Remote Worker? Get These Digital Skills” — Michelle V. Rafter, an authority on the intersection of work and technology, recommends useful apps for remote work, plus where to go to learn new digital skills:

The Next Avenue Stories About Working From Home:

Things to Know if You Want to Work From Home.

How to Get Your Boss to Let You Work From Home.

Ways to Balance Home and Office.

Life Under the Same Roof.

Ways to Combat the Isolation of Remote Work.