Due to the global pandemic, millions of employees globally now work remotely. Remote working has shown many benefits, like lowering costs because there is no need to rent office space.
It has also been shown to boost employee productivity and their work-life balance. Employees also save a lot of time and money due to not commuting to work every day.
Remote working isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. Remote work makes employees feel isolated, and it has also been shown to lower motivation due to the lack of personal interactions.
Employees also suffer from morale drops when working from home. So how can you help keep morale high for remote workers?
Set Up Employee Home Offices
For most employees, converting to remote work happened overnight, which means most people didn’t have the right resources and equipment to work productively from home. Most employees had to make do with what they had. Not having the right equipment can frustrate workers and hamper productivity. You need to make sure your employees have the office they want, even when working remotely.
This could mean either offering them a bonus to spend on home office equipment. You could also allow your employees to borrow things like chairs, desks, and PCs from the office. Providing the right equipment will help improve morale and productivity significantly.
Respect Employees Private Time
Since the remote work transition has happened, even though work schedules have become a lot easier to handle and flexible, most employers think that working from home means the employee is always available on-call.
There are times when urgent matters and emergencies can’t wait, but it would be best if you allowed employees to set boundaries between work and life by talking with your employees. Work out and plan a schedule that works for both you and the employee and stick to it.
Make sure to never try to reach them when they are outside their working hours. If employees feel their private time is respected, they will be a lot more productive and motivated during their working hours.
Team Building Activities
Before remote working, employees had the chance to work, socialize, and connect with their colleagues easily at the office. They had multiple personal interactions, whether that be at the water cooler, the lunchroom, or by their desks.
When working remotely, these interpersonal interactions and connection opportunities don’t happen, which is why team-building activities are essential. Provide team members with the opportunity to interact and socialize with each other through virtual games, activities, and more.
This could mean assigning times when everyone gets online, but there is no work to be done. Allowing employees human interactions and letting them build personal connections with each other will boost morale and improve the company culture overall.
Give And Ask For Feedback
Employees need to be recognized and praised for things they do right. Tell employees and praise them when they do something right and let them know about things they can improve on.
Good communication is key, employees that are told they are improving and doing well put in more work and are more motivated during office hours. Also, ask for feedback from the employees.
Ask employees how and what you can improve on to make their work easier. Employers should ask them for feedback on the equipment and tools the company offers them.
Listen to the feedback on how these tools can be improved to help employee productivity. When employees have a voice and feel heard, they feel valued at the company, boosting morale and improving productivity.
