What are the best well-being strategies for remote employees?

Commuting to the office and back creates a mental separation while working from home doesn’t. It’s important to create that mental boundary in the morning and after work, so the brain can switch into work mode or off work mode.

I've had a home business since 1998 or so and would say that there are no simple rules for how it should work. Having a dedicated space is a good idea, although not critical. Being dedicated to putting the time in is a necessary skill and, working for someone else, having clear goals and objectives is certainly important for working anywhere. Sometimes, you NEED to overwork and grind at it and sometimes you need some away time. Self-management skills are important, as is "ownership" of the work itself. For a "home business" like mine, keeping perspective is a key, as is balance, methinks. The key is that combination of self-management and commitment to meeting goals and objectives. There are no simple answers or silver bullets.

Introduce rituals or activities that signify the beginning and end of the workday. Whether it's a brief walk around the block or a moment of reflection, these rituals can mentally separate work time from personal time, fostering a healthier balance.

One way to help everyone uphold and maintain boundaries is to have a conversation as a team around working norms including things like when to email vs chat, no meeting blocks, protocols for out of offices, etc. This helps everyone get on the same page, share feedback, and get collectively bought into the process.

Set boundaries and clearly communicate those boundaries to your teams so that they know what they can expect of you. You can also reinforce those boundaries with calendar blocking so that people know when they should and shouldn't schedule meetings or send messages after hours. Calendar blocking is also a great technique for creating some "heads down" working time throughout the day without meetings.

Re-create the coffee room/ water cooler virtually. Randomly bring people together without a set agenda for periodic virtual chats. People sign up to participate and use software to create groups of 3 to get to know each other. Provide gift cards for participants to bring their favorite beverage. Mix on-site and remote employees across functions and levels for these virtual gatherings.

Utilizing group chats that are designated specially for conversations that are non-work related can encourage open communication and internal team bonding.

Recognize that different team members may prefer various communication methods. Encourage flexibility in communication styles, allowing for a blend of synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (delayed) interactions, accommodating diverse work preferences and schedules.

Living in Cuenca, Ecuador for the past 4 years and with covid and all that, I find myself more and more connected with my LinkedIn pals and finding the Video Chat function to be a great and spontaneous way to connect. I've never been into having that "scheduling calendar" kind of thing. I also participate in a network of facilitators that periodically gets together to chat about something or to sit through a workshop / presentation on something of interest. We use Slack, internally, to communicate synchronously about issues and opportunities around marketing our products -- I find that kind of tool very useful and much better than email. And there are big bunches of free 60 minute seminars -- I pop on one in 10 minutes.

Leaders should make time to connect with remote employees on a personal basis. This happens when employees are co-located. However, when remote, interactions tend to be strictly work-related. In meeting X, we talk about X-related things. In meeting Y, we talk about Y-related things. There is often no remote meeting for leaders and employees to get to know each other. That is a sad oversight.

Allocate specific time blocks for different activities throughout your day, including focused work periods, breaks, meals, and self-care rituals. By adhering to a structured schedule, you can optimize productivity while ensuring adequate rest and rejuvenation.

It's important to outline the expectations you have for your remote force. Start times, break times, meals, etc. should be shared in a formal document. Employees need (and want) to know what is expected.

Routines are great. When I first started working from home during COVID, I still maintained a routine as if I was going into the office. I continue to do my hair, makeup and got dressed. It helped alot.

Just as time at work is scheduled, learn to also schedule in the time away from work, whether it's to spend time at a hobby, in nature, exercise or housework. Slot in time for each of these things in your calendar to get them done. Remember work expands and non meaningful play can expand to. In my experience if it's scheduled on my daily calendar whether it's work or life- it gets done when there is a time and space allotted to the activity

Yes! Learning new skills increases is appreciated and allows the employee to grow. Growth can lead to promotion. Most employees like knowing there are opportunities for advancement.

Find the time to connect with people one on one to form and deepen relationships at work. These relationships enable you to work together but they also help to form individual one to one bonds that can grow into enabling relationships. Don't shy away from a little small talk before and after team meetings. Sharing personal stories or casual banter is a great opportunity to get to know the people you work with

One thing I’ve found really helpful as a leader is to have rituals that open and close every team meeting. For example, start each meeting with everyone answering the prompt: What’s something you’re celebrating, that you are grateful for or that you have learned since we last met? You can close the meeting with a popcorn round of kudos to give others on the team an opportunity to shout out and show gratitude for other team members and their contributions.

Celebrating wins incredibly important, and it’s not just about celebrating the end of a project. Establish mini or incremental milestones for projects about every 6-8 weeks that you can recognize and celebrate as you work towards the final deadline. This helps keep momentum strong and engagement high even when projects have a long time horizon, and it gives opportunities to recognize more types of roles and job functions.

Remote work is an entirely different experience. It must be designed, evaluated and maintained. Designate someone to focus on the remote work experience for the company - not just individual managers. Design programs for remote workers as well as activities that bring remote/office teams together. Bring remote team members from various functions together regularly to discuss the experience and how it can be improved. Teach managers how to effectively support remote team members.

Communicate constantly. You need to speak, communicate daily with your team. If you were all in the office, you'd have daily conversations with everyone. That is so important in a remote environment to making/keeping a high-performing team. Find out what is happening in the team's life...not just work.

Wellbeing is not about practices to do, or things to consume, is not about to do. Wellbeing is a skill, a muscle that enables learning to happen and has 8 zones: mental, emotional, physical, meaning, social, world, work and financial. This 7 zones create agency and control so helplessness is unlearn, deactivated and the toxic cycle of I’ll-being broken! That can be learn anywhere by anybody ! No secret !