The pandemic forced many employers to make their teams work remotely. It is very likely that the majority thought that it would be a temporary change, but it seems like this model of working is here to stay.
It should come as no surprise, though. Working remotely has a number of benefits, such as lowering the costs associated with renting an office space. Still, it does have its fair share of disadvantages, the biggest one being its potential to lower the morale of employees.
Fortunately, there are quite a few things that you can do to boost it. Do you want to know what they are? If that is the case, then you are in the right place! In this article, you will find a list of tips for boosting the morale of employees who are working remotely. Check it out!
Take Care of Their Home Offices
There are quite a few things that remote employees might find annoying. For example, one might have had a very comfortable office chair at the office, but the one they have at home is uncomfortable and makes their back hurt.
It seems like something that they should take care of on their own, right? Not exactly. In fact, if you show your workers that you care about such things, their morale is bound to rise in no time. There are quite a few ways in which you can do just that!
For starters, you can give your employees a one-time home office bonus meant to cover the costs of buying a bigger desk. In addition to that, the human resources experts that work at Lighthouse say that you can organize a series of online workshops.
The workshops should be about things that are important for the mental and physical health of remote workers, such as work-life balance and organizing your home office. If you do your best to make these workshops engaging, they should end up being pretty successful.
Improve Communication
In order to boost remote employee morale, you should step away from dry and very boring e-mails and switch to instant messaging platforms.
Doing that will boost remote employee morale in two ways. First of all, it will definitely make completing specific tasks take a bit less time and increase employee productivity. Second of all, it will encourage employees to interact with one another in group chats.
It might not seem like a lot, but being given an opportunity to react to the messages of other people, share interesting articles and memes, and ask for advice in a more informal way can substitute for talking to one another at the office.
Other than that, it is worth noting that being able to increase one’s productivity can really do wonders for their mental health. Because of that, giving employees the tools they need to do just that is an excellent way to boost their morale.
Have Productive Feedback Sessions
Lastly, you should listen to what remote employees have to say. If you are afraid that they will not be honest with you, you can start by asking for their opinions anonymously. There are quite a few tools out there that can help you do that, such as Officevibe.
Once employees realize that their opinions actually matter, they will be more likely to share what is on their minds during monthly feedback sessions. It would be best if such sessions were conducted between individual workers and their team leaders.
Ideally, both the team leader and the worker should have access to a working camera and be able to see one another while talking. Other than that, team leaders should keep track of what they are told and discuss it with upper management at least once a month.
Talking about what workers find to be difficult is the key to boosting their morale. After all, they do not want to be treated like a commodity that can easily be replaced. Instead, they want to be perceived as individuals who have their own opinions and feelings.
In Conclusion
There are quite a few things that you can do to boost the morale of remote workers, ranging from taking care of their home offices to having productive feedback sessions. It might be a bit time-consuming and costly, but it is necessary if you want their morale to stay high.
If you do not know how to conduct feedback sessions or organize workshops, ask other human resources professionals about their experiences and opinions. They should be able to give you plenty of helpful information!
In the end, showing workers that you care about their well-being and boosting their morale is not a difficult task. It just requires a bit of empathy, careful planning, and resources. Still, the end result is definitely worth the hassle!
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
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