This article’s title is somewhat misleading. We actually meant 3 Video Calls per Day Get You Through Time Away. However, you could choose only one of them to do a day if it’s easier.
Although some people still travel for business regularly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, most business travels have been suspended. That said, we now see the light at the end of the tunnel and there’s talk about a resumption of regular traveling schedules soon. This means that some of you who travel for business may well be called upon to do so again in the near future. If these travels are regular, extensive, or both, then connecting with some people via video conferencing software on a daily basis might be a good idea. We’ve listed a few of those people for you below:
Home is where the heart is, and many of our hearts are where we consider our families to be. Whether biologically related or not, a legal family or a group we’ve come to identify with as emotional kindred, our connection to our families is a very real concept. As such, scheduling a virtual meeting every day with someone from your family while you’re away is a good way to stay in a healthy frame of mind when you’re away from home for long periods of time. Even better if you can get the whole family on the video call. Bonus points if there’s a family pet they can get interested in your video conferencing software! There’s plenty of evidence out there that pets can interact with their owners via video calls.
It doesn’t need to be the same coworker and it doesn’t need to be for a long time. You can schedule a daily video call online for five or ten minutes with a different coworker each day, as long as you’re comfortable with them. Depending on the type of coworker, there are two potential professional values in such an arrangement.
If you’re holding a video conference with a coworker who often travels for business like you, you’re connecting with someone who has similar experiences to yours. A little accidental brainstorming might help make your business trips more efficient. It also gives you a sense of camaraderie, to connect to someone who knows what travelling for your particular type of work is like.
If, on the other hand, you’re video teleconferencing with a coworker in the office, you retain a sense of any developments in the “home base” so to speak. That way you have a heads up about any minor (or even major) changes which take place while you’re away. Bonus points if you’re video calling with a coworker who takes turns travelling with you and is currently based in the office. You get both benefits. Camaraderie with somebody who has near-identical work experience to yours and that nice home base connection.
Nothing’s quite like talking to a friend outside of work. It’s great to connect with our families or coworkers whom we like and trust, but talking to a friend just helps you unwind, cut loose, and feel like yourself in a whole different way. It’s why we make friends in the first place. Video meeting with a different friend every day while you’re away on business, aside from the general benefits of socialising and connecting with our friends, can help alleviate that “stranger in a strange city” feeling. So whenever possible, you should arrange a video call with a different friend every day while you’re away on business.
If three video calls a day sound like too much for you don’t let that overwhelm you. You can pick one or two of those people to video call every day while away on your business trip, and it would still help you get through your trip in a better frame of mind. If you’d like to make your videoconferencing more interesting, take a look at some of Banty’s easy, secure, feature-rich video conference solutions.
