Unmute Yourself: How to Be Your Own Advocate When Working from Home

The pandemic state of 2020 has taken its toll on everyone, everywhere, and for many, it has thrust them into working conditions they did not anticipate. Millions of people who were once driving to work and being in an environment where collaboration and face-to-face contact was a common practice are, for the most part, no longer doing this. So now that we are working from home and cannot lean over the cubicle with a quick question or ask for assistance and feedback, how can we effectively put ourselves in a position to get what we need and maintain our productivity levels along with the need to be heard? Simply, honing and using finely tuned communication skills.    According to many pundits on this topic, our ability to communicate any time, especially now during the pandemic, is our best way to stay actively engaged with our business associates. Some experts take it further and encourage people to be over communicators, especially when engaging with their supervisors. This action will help people set the stage for what they need and how their new work-life balance has changed. For productivity to be maintained, both employees and leaders must understand how the new work-life balance will affect workloads and prepare themselves accordingly.