Wellbeing for remote teams
The evidence that looking after the wellbeing of your team is key to long-term success is overwhelming. Looking after your people builds trust and loyalty, plus it affects the bottom line, playing a crucial role in reducing staff absences and increasing productivity. In these extraordinary times, what can you do as a leader to make sure that your team is keeping on top of their mental health during this time?
Recognising the signs
Right now, leader’s need to be particularly aware of their remote team’s physical wellbeing. In a way, it’s easier to keep tabs on in an office environment where you might notice somebody’s mood or engagement with work. With gyms closed across the country and the possibility of a busy family household, the working environment may not be quite geared up for purpose. People may not be getting the healthy nutrition they need and there’s no exercise from climbing the office stairs or walking the corridors. And of course, there are the feelings of isolation and loneliness that working remotely evokes. Think about creating an anonymous survey in which you can ask questions surrounding wellbeing to assess levels of stress and anxiety or check-in with individuals daily to straight out ask how they are doing.
Communication goes a long way
Regularly communicating with your remote team and encouraging active communications within the team is absolutely key. Your people may feel a lack of immediate support when they need to ask a quick question or a problem arises, and this may cause feelings of stress or worry. Schedule team and one-to-one video calls to keep up to date on project progress and how everyone is doing personally. Making use of an instant messaging service and speaking every day will help alleviate any negative feelings. The opportunity for colleagues to spend lunch or break times together has now disappeared and so non-work chat should also be encouraged. Letting them get to know each other and build stronger connections will ultimately bring the team closer together and have a positive effect on both well-being and productivity. It’s inevitable that people will feel overwhelmed during this time so encourage them to speak out about how they feel and engage in self-care.
Maintaining boundaries and taking breaks
In general, remote employees might be more likely to suffer from burnout from working longer hours than they would normally, blurring the lines of work and home life. Remote teams should be encouraged to take regular breaks where they move away from their desk and don’t respond to emails or phone calls. Apps such as ‘Time Out’ or ‘Break Timer’ are a great way of reminding people to take that much needed break or to adjust their posture. If someone is sending emails regularly out of hours, remind them of their working hours and the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Set out the expectations clearly – when they are expected to be available via email and more importantly when they’re not. When there’s a heavy workload, it can be more difficult for people to take the breaks they need and they may work longer hours due to fear of falling behind so it’s imperative that realistic and achievable timelines and goals are set to avoid any unnecessary stress. A huge benefit of remote working is the flexibility to set your own schedule so being flexible over working hours (as long as the work gets done) should ensure a smoother and more enjoyable experience.
Access to exercise and wellbeing programmes
Exercise has a great effect on overall health and whilst gyms may be closed and face-to-face classes currently unavailable, this shouldn’t hinder your efforts to provide support in this area. There are lots of free online exercise classes available at the moment – whether live or pre-recorded – and it’s a great idea to incorporate these into the working day (for those who want to). Holding a weekly walking meeting is also a great way to show your team you are supportive of their wellness efforts, even if this just means walking around the house and up and down the stairs. As part of your wellness package you might also think about platforms that provide online therapy or coaching sessions where team members can access confidential help from trained professionals when they need it. Teams who have access to resources to manage their wellbeing and mental health will not only feel fully supported but will contribute more positively to the organisation.
None of us have ever been through this before and so we’re just trying to figure things out. We’re not going to be perfect nor will we always find the right balance but the key is to remember to be gentle with both ourselves and others to enable us to find renewed strength and resilience.