When you work in a traditional setting, such as an office, if you experience an emergency you can usually call into work. Or you might have the number to your boss.
That was the situation our family faced a couple of weeks ago when my sister, who works in an office building, was involved in a car accident. Her husband just had to pick up the phone and leave a message with her boss that she had been injured and wouldn’t be into work the next day but they would keep her informed.
But last week I learned that when you work from home, an emergency can be much more difficult to work through. I don’t have easy access to an office because mine is at home. And well, I deal with editors so it’s not like I have their phone numbers.
Through a set of circumstances I found myself in a hospital (a family member who required this). I knew I was going to be out of commission so I had to figure out a way to communicate this to others.
My phone didn’t have all of my email contacts, so thankfully through Facebook I was able to get out a message to one of my people that I needed to get in contact with them. That person sent me an email, to which I was able to reply.
But then I had another situation on my hand, assignments I had been given that were sitting in my computer at home. I had no way to access them. I knew that I wasn’t going to finish my workload but I couldn’t tell my editor which ones I had done because I didn’t have the files in front of me.
In the end it all worked out but it taught me something. Working from home I have to be more prepared in the event of an emergency. I need to get actual phone numbers or at the very least, make sure email addresses are loaded in my phone. I also need to access my files, so I will be setting up my smart phone to do that.
Your situation might be different. It could be that you have clients you will need to get in touch with. Make sure you have their information on you.
Honestly, the best way to prepare is with a smart phone. I know that most people have one but if you don’t, it may be time to start thinking about one. At the very least, think about an action plan in the event you are faced with an emergency.
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Photo by from_ko in Flickr