Are we working from home or living at work!?

When the global pandemic alarm was raised and isolation began, workplaces en masse were confronted with a new way of doing business. While flex schedules and occasional remote working had become more common, moving the whole workforce to remote working was quite the task. During the first months, many clients were feeling pretty good, with no commute, being in the safety of their homes and a large amount of flexibility but the glow is wearing thin for many.

 Over the last few weeks, I have heard from many leaders about how work is creeping up and taking over their lives. The flexibility comes at a price of not being able to unplug, uncharted waters for many of us. Working from home is morphing into living at work. Since we cannot foresee an end to the current situation anytime soon, burnout is a very real consideration.  

 If this is the foreseeable future then how do we navigate this “next normal” ? It isn’t all doom and gloom there are very real benefits to working from home for many. This is a chance to redefine where and how our work integrates within our lives and with some care taken, we can circumvent the stresses of working alone from home.   

We, at Maslow Centre for Executive Leadership, know that the social contract between the employee and employer is changing fundamentally. The 21st century is going to be defined by those organizations that can move into double bottom line (profit and people) and triple bottom line (people, planet, profit). We need purpose and principles to move beyond the profit only paradigm. In times like this pandemic, it is even more apparent how necessary this is. The well being of our clients’ people is a priority, not simply for better business, but for more Self-Actualized organizations? that want to thrive in the 21st century.

The post covid era is the time that you show you genuinely care about your people or ...actually you don't have another choice. According to the Gallup at Work’s latest featured article The Pandemic Persists: What Do Employees Need  employees’ perceptions regarding how much their companies care about their well being is decreasing significantly. The same way the digital transformation just propelled us ahead, we need organizations to make a significant jump in organizational culture and transform the leadership paradigm. 

So here are a few key points and best practices, that I am observing from the executives/leaders we are working with, to improve the well being of employees working from home: 

 *More phone, less video. 

Let they who hath not had a kid or pet interrupt one of the many many zoom meetings cast the first stone! While the video conferencing technology has been a life saver, there seems to have been a creeping tendency to set up half hour to hours long meetings for seemingly smaller conversations. Too much zoom/facetime and team meetings coupled with the lack of more one one one work social interaction has led to fatigue. (Have you heard about the Zoom fatigue syndrome?) More phone calls can replicate some of the corridor conversations that people need both to share information more succinctly and personally.  

 *Start creating boundaries

Something that seems deceptively simple but difficult to practice is something I have helped many leaders with: time blocking. Managing our time has never been as important as a best practice as it is today. With everyone and their family constantly at home, it is essential to block hours for work (and sub blocking what kind of work/meetings). Constant availability during the days lowers effectiveness and increases stress especially considering our personal lives and work lives are all mixed up during the daytime. According to buffer.com’s State of the Remote Report 2020 not being able to unplug is one of the top reasons remote working is a struggle.

 *Acknowledge and encourage flex hours

Some people might prefer to work very early hours, while other prefer to start work later on so they can care of family during the day. Specifically with the increased demands brought with the COVID19 pandemic, it may even be a case of necessity over preference. Acknowledging and allowing flexibility without guilt will show your employees that work-life balance is an important topic to ensure their well being. This is an area where leaders need to acknowledge and coach their people. 

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At Maslow Centre for Executive Leadership, we are in the process of re-imagining and redesigning the workplace of the 21st century. The need for great leadership and greater workplace culture is stronger than previous decades. Our executive coaches are to support you and your organizations. 

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