Prepare to Work from Home – Government Urges

With the deadly Covid19/Coronavirus disease now in four of Uganda’s five neighbours, government has called on companies and organizations to start preparing their employees for the possibility of working from home.

Government through the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) yesterday said it was becoming more “realistic to assume that shifting to the ‘home office’ will become the new normal for many of us for a while”

The Authority therefore issued guidelines to be followed for those companies and entities that find themselves having to pick this option.

“Even though, fortunately, there has been no confirmed outbreak of the virus in Uganda, it’s prudent that we are ready and prepared,” NITA said in a statement.

As such, businesses and organizations have been advised to develop a specific plan for this.

A number of government Ministries, Departments and Agencies have already expressed interest in the Work from Home option and are already working with NITA to formulate plans.

Within such a plan, NITA advises entities to maintain communication with staff, customers and partners through daily or even twice-daily briefings.

Since some employees will be working from home for the first time, NITA says this will imply figuring out how to stay on task in a new environment that may not lend itself to productivity.

“But there are ways to deliver results and avoid going stir-crazy, from setting up a good workspace to the way you talk to your team. You will need to use the internet safely, avoid getting into trouble online as you work from home during this period.”

Those working from home are also advised to take stringent safety measures against online predators, such as hackers, scammers and malware.