ChicExecs Co-Founder and Co-President Kailynn Bowling shares how to create healthy employer-employee relationships as you work from home on Forbes blog. Here is highlight for your enjoyment.
Remote work has become the new norm. While we can all agree that it has changed day-to-day operations, we cannot overlook the way in which it’s transforming employer and employee relationships. Many of us are just beginning to understand what it means to perform our jobs as a team yet accomplish them apart. In the past, some of us may have taken our workspaces, and the supportive environments they provided, for granted.
The key factor is developing an entirely new routine that works for you and your team. Apply these five expert tips, and you’ll have your remote dream team in no time.
Set deadlines.
Can deadlines still be met within a reasonable amount of time so as to not hurt your business? As a leader, you might have to set more specific deadlines for your team to get them in a new groove. Not only will that help keep everyone on track; it will also give your team goals to aim for as they figure out how to operate remotely.
Manage your time.
Keeping deadlines in mind also helps with another area where working from home presents a challenge: time management. Those tasks you could complete within the office in minutes might take twice as long at home due to distractions from kids, pets or others within your household who are working remotely. You might consider working different hours outside of the typical 9 to 5 to meet your deadlines. For a lot of parents, this might mean taking the rest of the family’s schedules and responsibilities into account.
Have a dedicated workspace.
Most work-from-home pros will tell you that a workstation is essential. If you don’t have an office, set up your kitchen or dining area to double as your workspace. This helps with distractions, keeps your work items organized and ties your mentality to that environment.
Stay connected.
A remote position is never effective without communication. Employees need communication to know that they’re keeping up with their responsibilities and meeting business expectations as they adjust to their separate work environments. Emails, texts and online chats are not enough. Conduct FaceTime meetings or host Zoom calls for virtual face-to-face time.
Take breaks.
There’s this notion that working from home is automatically healthier, but that’s not always the case unless you’re taking the initiative to make it so. Make sure your employees know that their health is still a priority. While their work commutes might have been frustrating, that time spent in rush hour could have been the mental break they needed to unwind. Perhaps they left work for the gym to get much-needed exercise and social time.
Encourage breaks and fresh air so employees can stay productive. Nobody is at their best when they’re experiencing cabin fever, and that is something working remotely can easily cause.
To read Kailynn’s blog in its entirety, click here.
