How to deal with the challenges of working from home

In response to the\nuncertainties presented by Covid-19, many companies have asked their non-essential\nemployees to work remotely. Working out of the office and separated many\nemployees and their managers from each other for the first time.

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Although it is\nalways preferable to establish clear remote-work policies and training in\nadvance, in times of crisis or other rapidly changing circumstances, this level\nof preparation may not be feasible. Fortunately, there are specific, research-based steps that managers\ncan take without great effort to improve the engagement and\nproductivity of remote employees, even when there is little time to prepare.

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Common Challenges of\nRemote Work

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To start, managers\nneed to understand factors that can make remote work especially demanding.\nOtherwise high-performing employees may experience declines in job performance\nand engagement when they begin working remotely, especially in the absence of\npreparation and training. Challenges inherent in remote work include:

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Lack of\nface-to-face supervision: Both managers and their employees often express\nconcerns about the lack of face-to-face interaction. Supervisors worry that\nemployees will not work as hard or as efficiently (though research indicates\notherwise, at least for some types of jobs). Many employees, on the other hand,\nstruggle with reduced access to managerial support and communication. In some\ncases, employees feel that remote managers are out of\ntouch with their needs, and thereby are neither supportive\nnor helpful in getting their work done.

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Lack of access to\ninformation: Newly remote workers are often surprised by the\nadded time and effort needed to locate information from coworkers. Even getting\nanswers to what seem like simple questions can feel like a large obstacle to a\nworker based at home.

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This phenomenon\nextends beyond task-related work to interpersonal challenges that\ncan emerge among remote coworkers. Research has\nfound that a lack of “mutual knowledge” among remote workers translates to a\nlower willingness to give coworkers the benefit of the doubt in difficult\nsituations. For example, if you know that your officemate is having a rough\nday, you will view a brusque email from them as a natural product of their\nstress. However, if you receive this email from a remote coworker, with no\nunderstanding of their current circumstances, you are more likely to take\noffense, or at a minimum to think poorly of your coworker’s professionalism.

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Social isolation: Loneliness is\none of the most common complaints about remote work, with employees missing the\ninformal social interaction of an office setting. It is thought that\nextraverts may suffer from isolation more in\nthe short run, particularly if they do not have opportunities to connect with\nothers in their remote-work environment. However, over a longer period of time,\nisolation can cause any employee to feel less\n“belonging” to their organization, and can even result in increased intention to leave the\ncompany.

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Distractions at\nhome: We often see photos representing remote work which\nportray a parent holding a child and typing on a laptop, often sitting on a\nsofa or living-room floor. In fact, this is a terrible representation of\neffective virtual work. Typically, we encourage employers to ensure that their\nremote workers have both dedicated workspace and adequate childcare before\nallowing them to work remotely. Yet, in the case of a sudden transition to\nvirtual work, there is a much greater chance that employees will be contending\nwith suboptimal workspaces and (in the case of school and daycare closures)\nunexpected parenting responsibilities. Even in normal circumstances family and\nhome demands can impinge on remote work;\nmanagers should expect these distractions to be greater during this unplanned\nwork-from-home transition.

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How Managers Can\nSupport Remote Employees

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As much as remote\nwork can be fraught with challenges, there are also relatively quick and\ninexpensive things that managers can do to ease the transition. Actions that\nyou can take today include:

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Establish\nstructured daily check-ins: Many successful remote managers\nestablish a daily call with their remote employees.  This could take the\nform of a series of one-on-one calls, if your employees work more independently\nfrom each other, or a team call, if their work is highly collaborative. The\nimportant feature is that the calls are regular and predictable, and that they\nare a forum in which employees know that they can consult with you, and that\ntheir concerns and questions will be heard.

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Provide several\ndifferent communication technology options: Email alone is\ninsufficient. Remote workers benefit from having technology, such as video\nconferencing, that gives participants many of the visual cues that they would\nhave if they were face-to-face. Video conferencing has many advantages,\nespecially for smaller groups: Visual cues allow for increased “mutual\nknowledge” about coworkers and also help reduce the sense of isolation among\nteams. Video is also particularly useful for complex or sensitive\nconversations, as it feels more personal than written or audio-only\ncommunication.

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There are other\ncircumstances when quick collaboration is more important than visual detail.\nFor these situations, provide mobile-enabled individual messaging functionality\n(like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) which can be used for simpler, less\nformal conversations, as well as time-sensitive communication.

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And then establish “rules of engagement”: Remote work becomes more efficient and satisfying when\nmanagers set expectations for the frequency, means, and ideal timing of\ncommunication for their teams. For example, “We use videoconferencing for daily\ncheck-in meetings, but we use IM when something is urgent.” Also, if you can,\nlet your employees know the best way and time to reach you during the workday\n(e.g., “I tend to be more available late in the day for ad hoc phone or video\nconversations, but if there’s an emergency earlier in the day, send me a\ntext.”) Finally, keep an eye on communication among team members (to the extent\nappropriate), to ensure that they are sharing information as needed.

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We recommend that managers establish these “rules of\nengagement” with employees as soon as possible, ideally during the first online\ncheck-in meeting. While some choices about specific expectations may be better\nthan others, the most important factor is that all employees share the same set\nof expectations for communication.
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Provide opportunities for remote social\ninteraction: One\nof the most essential steps a manager can take is to structure ways for\nemployees to interact socially (that is, have informal conversations about\nnon-work topics) while working remotely. This is true for all remote workers,\nbut particularly so for workers who have been abruptly transitioned out of the\noffice. The easiest way to establish some basic social interaction is to leave\nsome time at the beginning of team calls just for non-work items.

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Offer encouragement and emotional support: Especially in the context of an abrupt shift to remote work,\nit is important for managers to acknowledge stress, listen to employees’ anxieties and concerns, and empathize with their struggles. If a newly remote\nemployee is clearly struggling but not communicating stress or anxiety, ask\nthem how they are doing. Even a general question such as “How is this remote\nwork situation working out for you so far?” can elicit important information\nthat you might not otherwise hear. Once you ask the question, be sure to listen\ncarefully to the response, and briefly restate it back to the employee, to\nensure that you understood correctly. Let the employee’s stress or concerns\n(rather than your own) be the focus of this conversation.

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Carl Tapi is a\nConsultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a management and\nhuman resources consulting firm. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-tapi-45776482/ Phone +263 (242)\n481946-48/481950 or cell number +263 772 469 680 or email: carl@ipcconsultants.com  or visit our\nwebsite at www.ipcconsultants.com