5 Ways To Boost Your Wi-Fi | How To Maintain Your Visibility While Remote | Strategies For Staying Focused

Plus: How workers who are hard of hearing can overcome the challenges of remote work

Picture this: You’re in the middle of a videoconference with your boss and your boss’ boss when all of a sudden, your Wi-Fi connection drops. Before you know it, you’re racing from room to room hoping to find a signal, one that always seems to be hiding in the most inconvenient corner (who else has had to call into a meeting from the floor outside the bathroom—anyone?). Because internet-induced stress should be the least of your worries right now, we asked a couple of IT experts for their top tips for ensuring your Wi-Fi is remote-work ready.

If you’re competing for bandwidth at home, observe your household’s internet use to get a sense of everyone’s Wi-Fi wants and needs. Chances are, there are a few places where you can cut back. “Not only has demand shifted away from commercial areas toward residential ones, we’re using more bandwidth-intensive applications and more home-based internet instead of mobile internet,” says Eric Plam, president of mobile hotspot provider Skyroam. “When you’re streaming video on your smartphone, do you really need the highest resolution, or can you choose standard definition?”

And here’s more on everything you need to know about working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

For more on working and leading from home, check out our guide, updated daily.

The Telecommuter's Toolkit

More than 80% of American employees have reported feeling significantly more distracted since they started working from home. Sound familiar? These research-based strategies can help improve your concentration. No. 1: Add a deliberate distraction.

Constructive criticism can serve as a powerful motivator for a remote workforce, and when delivered with empathy, it can also increase productivity and creativity. Here’s how to adapt your feedback for the new world of work.

A team’s true colors are revealed in a crisis. By taking the time to observe your employees’ strengths and weaknesses, you’ll gain valuable insight into how to lead them through the uncertainty. Start by taking your company’s cultural temperature—then follow these steps.

The Break Room

Long hair, starting to care? We asked seven celebrity hair stylists for their best at-home haircare advice. The bottom line: “Whatever you do, do not cut your hair.”

Forbes Advisor: As the COVID-19 crisis continues, lawmakers are proposing national rent relief. Here’s what that might look like, according to housing experts.