Business and Government are attempting to accommodate daily to the changing scenarios presented by the Corona virus pandemic. Here in Australia there have been decisions around making workplaces and individuals safer by requesting that people work from home. Remote work policies are hardly anything new for Government departments or corporations. There are however large groups of Managers and employees who have been office based all of their working lives. They have no experience of working from home or supervising their staff remotely. This crisis and the level and number of personnel being asked to work at home is unprecedented in Australia. Both employees and Managers have challenges in this new zone of work and life. The issue with the recent Virus is that we are all responding on a weekly if not daily basis. For many working from home is novel. It comes with benefits and a new way of operating. For others it is a scary scenario with its unexpected but developing new challenges.
People are faced with working away from their predictable office with its predictable characters and supports and small encouragements. It also involves not having the presence or direction of a Manager. In remote work scenarios employee’s and leaders are separated physically from each other. For leaders and employees alike it will require adjustment and patience.
Some of the positives for leaders and employees alike .
There can be a flexibility about working off site or from home. It can potentially make people more productive. It will be different from the daily rituals associated with travelling and working in an office.People can have the liberty of developing their own work routines and comforts and styles of working. Providing they are completing their daily work tasks and know what is expected of them in any one work day or week. Potentially, it can lead to not only minimising getting the flu, but may also be a less stressful environment to work in. I think with a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how employees must operate with clients professionally, it follows that employees can then have liberties. They have the freedom to take responsibility and be mature. How will they meet their targets ? How will they achieve outcomes and deal with clients? Leaders and employees can professionally work that out together. Otherwise the rest is up to people working remotely from their home office. What they wear, when they make coffee, what music they play,when they go to the fridge or play with the dog.
Some of the challenges
Not everybody wants to work at home. Working in this arena of employee assistance as Inwit Consulting does we often recognise that the workplace, not home, is the safe place where people want to be. Sadly some people don’t look forward to going home. Home is to be endured and can be full of arguments and strife with partners or children. Partners can be reluctant or even refuse to cooperate with a spouse making a work space, even if it means maintaining an income. They can be disruptive or even sabotage in extreme cases.
People are social creatures and they will want to talk and tell stories and they will want to to ensure that things are as normal as possible. There is a personal dynamic in the workplace that can’t be easily duplicated on line . Face to face interaction is different from contact via a mobile phone or screen to screen contact. Team members can keep in touch once remote work practice is introduced. Keeping a focus on work related conversations will be a element of the adjustment that needs to take place that every one will need to practice. Of course team members can phone one another in the course of a work day or a week.
There are non verbal messages as well as verbal messages conveyed face to face that are not communicated as clearly via screen or talking on a mobile. With text or email there can be the challenge of words expressed in a civil or humourous fashion being translated without satire or good humour.
Managers will be concerned that employees won’t work as hard or be on task If they are working at home. There is considerable evidence that this is not the case and that generally people work just as hard at home as they did in the workplace.I have referred to the Hong Kong experience in recent weeks. Productivity once working from home was introduced, declined, mostly for the first 2-3 weeks. But this was due to acclimatisation of new circumstances and calibration of work based systems with home systems. Also limited space in family housing in Hong Kong.
Having said that, employees are likely to struggle with the reduced access to leaders. Some employees are very sure of their role and ability to work independently.They enjoy being left alone. Other workers need the affirmation or presence of their leaders or even of other team members. It is clear that leaders need to adapt and navigate to their work groups and the idiosyncracies of individuals with it. Perhaps they also need to make sure there are screen to screen seminars or regular phone conferences to keep people in touch with each other.
It is easy for those working remotely to feel isolated or alone especially those who are outgoing. They will enjoy the company and interactions of their team and interactions with Leaders.
Over time and depending on how long the social distancing is in place for, people can become more removed from their connection with a company or a team. This again presents a challenge to leaders who need to recognise the need for not only being available, but showing initiative to ensure the network and fabric of a team is maintained.
What managers can do
Checking in with employees should be on a daily basis. You and the team need to have clear goals and expectations. Whatever has happened in the work place you need to be clear about what the expectations are in the home space. That should likely be at predictable times. The “touching base” is not always about what is being achieved and goals or targets. It’s also about being available. Leadership in a time of crisis is about being available and being predictable in a time of unpredictability. The most important feature is that the calls are on a regular basis and are seen as one of the more important functions of your leadership. Their own leadership also needs to be aware of when they make calls so the leader is free to do their job. Don’t harass people all the time. Leave them to be responsible.
Be aware that if you do contact people at home their children or partner might be within earshot. It’s not just about confidentiality of work material. A manager may need to tick some one off. The Manager should be careful not to do that in the vicinity of a child or a family member. That will have a gravity that goes beyond a routine enquiry or even a seemingly gentle nudge to pull ones socks up.
Emails alone are not the only way of communicating. Video conferencing or face time or just keeping in touch via the phone will be important. If its a complicated matter or a bit sensitive or requires some decorum, speak on the phone first or use video. Then you might want to follow up with a email.
Managers will need to be available from the perspective of employee’s being able to access them. Employees need to know when and how best to contact Managers from their home sites.
The intention to contact and the predictable contact times for all team members on a daily basis needs to be shared so that everybody knows that all team members will be treated the same and that some will not be contacted less frequently than others. There will of course be instances where a team member may want to be, or it is needful that they be contacted more frequently.
Some other challenges for leaders
The corona virus brings many worries and anxieties into the work place. It brings the unpredictable future, it brings fear of sickness, and it has already brought financial dislocation and in some cases disaster. These are difficult times and people look to leadership. Its time for acknowledging the anxieties and worries that go with this time and their life circumstances. Also to have a pair of ears that listen empathically and with an ear to understanding if they are coping well or not so well at this point in time. As a leader you are not there to have your concerns aired nor to think aloud about the next potential disaster. Lift your load. Take responsibility. Be mature. Take your leadership seriously. You are not there to share your pessimism. You are there for this time in history to remind employees that we will get through this and we will demonstrate that we don’t give up and we will get to the other side of this as a team. The biggest contagion at this time is anxiety and fear. Not the Corona virus. Always remember, that the Employee Assistance service operates 24/7 Inwit Consulting.
For employee’s
Be responsible is perhaps the big statement to be made in working from home. On the other hand it can be a really enjoyable experience for some. One of the hard bits may be that once we have passed through these current times, it might be very difficult going back to working out of an office.
You won’t get to see your colleagues as much as before except through video link or what’s app or face time. It will be somewhat unreal for a time. Keep in touch with your colleagues and if its work time keep the conversation chiefly on work subjects.
Let family and friends know that you're at work. These are the times you work and normally you wouldn't have them visiting you in your workplace for a half an hour and a cup of tea. If you do want to take the liberty while working home and grab a coffee with a friend or family member, be aware that you will need to make that time up. So best to let friends and family know early in the piece. Also let friends and family know that working from home is not an opportunity for a holiday. It’s work. Your employer has boundaries and expectations. Your workmates also have expectations of you completing tasks within time periods.
The first weeks are going to be difficult and there will be lots of adjustments to the new regime of work from home and communicating with work colleagues. Initailly it will be adjustments for family and friends but also digital tweaking or incompatible technical systems or NBN issues.
Duplicate what you would do in the office and communicate your moves. If you're going to lunch or dropping a family member off at an appointment, share that with you leader or your team as you would normally do at work in the office. Be clear about what you're working on and communicate that with colleagues . In an office or work station you can have an easy conversation about finishing a project or some work assignment. Working from home you will need to be more deliberate about communicating what you’re doing and when a task is finally done . What used to be done with an announcement and a casual heads up at work a work station needs a bit more now by way of email or text.
