The coronavirus pandemic has led to calls for social distancing — or physical distancing — and while Georgians and people across the nation continue to do just that, they're also working remotely.
A new ranking has revealed where the Peach State ranks for working from home during these times.
» RELATED: 7 tips on how to work from home
According to personal finance website WalletHub, the best environments for working from home include a high security level, low costs and reasonable comfort. To discover what states provided these environments, WalletHub used 12 key metrics to compare all 50 states and Washington D.C.
“Our data set ranges from the share of workers working from home before COVID-19 to internet cost and cybersecurity,” the website said. “We also considered factors like how large and how crowded homes are in the state.”
The metrics, which were weighted on a 100-point scale, took into account those under the categories of environment and living environment. Work environment metrics included cyber security and households’ internet access, while living environment included the share of detached housing units and the average square footage of a home.
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A score of 100 represented the best infrastructure and Georgia scored 62.70 in total, placing it at No. 5. It had a No. 23 work environment rank, but it ranked No. 1 in living environment.
When it comes to advice on how people can successfully transition from an in-office environment to a work-from-home one, University of Arkansas human resource and workforce development professor Claretha Hughes has a few tips.
"Consider their temperament – if the individual has a family, there will be unexpected interruptions from kids, spouse, etc. Especially kids because they do not understand being separated from parents while at home," she told WalletHub.
» RELATED: Georgia jobs pushed toward home as employers respond to coronavirus
Another tip focuses on employees setting up a schedule that works for them.
“Work during your peak performance hours. Do not schedule meetings during the hours that you work best. For example, if you work best in the mornings, schedule meetings in the afternoon,” she said.
Working from home can present advantages, but there are disadvantages too, according to Yalcin Acikgoz, assistant professor of I/O Psychology at Appalachian State University.
"The single advantage is that it cuts the commute times, times between meetings, etc., so there is less downtime," he told WalletHub. "However, this gain may easily be dwarfed by the time lost because of increased family-work conflict. While it would be ideal if one would isolate in a home office, realistically speaking, it is hard to do this if kids are screaming around in the house."
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