Connect with intent..

As we are approaching endemic, more and more organizations are opting for a hybrid mode of work routine. This is a new age situation that we are stepping into and this calls for a revision of the practiced behavioral aspect so that organizations can continue with their ongoing effort of bonding on the human level.

Work from home can easily create disconnect and accentuate the FOMO syndrome. Being cut off from the outside world for most part of the day, loneliness too will contribute to failing health – physical and mental. Moreover, the remote work facilitation has ensured that people from across the globe makes the organizations texture. In the forthcoming days and years, we will see that happening more rampantly. There is a cultural mix like never before. Different shades of behavior that comes from different cultural background too will need to be handled in order to effectively communicate.

In the given scenario, the onus of threading the beads of workplace relationship falls largely on the leadership team. Even as we take pride in our representation of social and cultural texture panning worldwide, the true amalgamation of it lies in how well we communicate, how successfully we dissolve the virtual walls and how safe and connected we can make each other feel. It’s not easy.

?Pre-pandemic era, we were unaware of the importance of the water-cooler and coffee breaks. The absence of it in the last two years has brought it into focus. It was also easy to walk up to a colleagues’ workstation for a work update and a casual ‘hi-hello’. The eye-contacts contributed much more than we would like to admit. Now, all that is not possible.

Informal communication where colleagues shared personal space has taken a major hit and corporates are joining heads together in search of fresh ideas. Individuals’ health and mental wellbeing is the point of focus. We need to make sure that in the new world, we can give an apt platform for people to connect on a more human level. Now, the ‘effective -communication’ part needs to evolve, and appendages need to be added so that employees don’t feel left out and missing in action.

With a little bit of internet-based study, I could find a few commonalities that can guide us in our endeavor to learn and communicate in a global diverse setup –

?1)??Try and learn about the sports-cultural of the place from where your colleagues belong. For example, in India, you mention cricket and Sachin-Ganguly-Dhoni-Dravid, there is an instant connect.

2)??Understand the predominant weather, major cultural events, and pet habits. It will allow you to get on the same plane. It can also be a great conversation starter.

3)??Even though from the same organization, work culture varies from place to place. A sensitization of that, as a leader, will aid in avoiding friction.

4)??Display intent of bonding beyond work purpose. Communicate in a wholesome manner. Let your colleagues see the human being in you.

If you are a leader in any Organization, this is the time to look back at your pack and pin the concerns. Making a truly wholesome functional team has taken priority like never before. This header cannot come 5th in the to-do list. It must climb up and the team held together. This can be a challenge, but the intent will pave the way.?

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The views expressed in the blog is purely mine and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now or will be affiliated.?