Manage the mental health of your team while remote working
An increasing number of people are now working from home, so pay particular attention to the support they need to stay connected. This is mainly true because we are social animals and our nervous system matures in the first two years of our lives to enable us to bond with other people i.e. the need to be connected is not just a mental concept but a deep-seated unconscious and partly physiological need ...a helpful example is a baby being cuddled and soothed. The baby does not have a conscious understanding of what happens it just feels safe and calms down. This need to feel safe and enjoy a sense of calm stays with us for life. However, life experiences come into play and some people may need more or less social connection than others: extrovert v introvert is one distinction but there are others. The takeaway, perhaps, is that you may need to flex your approach according to the person and the circumstances they now find themselves in. It could be that someone is very social, normally enjoys being at work but is now at home with other family members. However, they have to separate from them in order to get work done. They could 'feel' a tension between getting their work done and the unconscious feeling of wishing (their unconscious deep-seated need for social connection) to be with someone in the house. This tension can sit on top of more obvious ones like missing work colleagues, worrying about job security etc. Consequently a person may not fully understand the complex interplay of factors causing them to feel anxious.
Make time for social conversations. This increases rapport, reduces feelings of isolation and eases communication between people working from home. You could set up a daily virtual huddle – essential for keeping connected as a team and checking in on each other’s well-being. I'd generally agree with this...what the technology practicalities are may be an issue. Some employers are simply using group FaceTime and having a daily 30 minute 'huddle' which they are asking employees to commit to attending at least two a week. If they cannot attend they are asked to watch the recording of that huddle.
People can be more sensitive if they’re feeling isolated or anxious, so tailor your feedback and communications. Communicate regularly and make sure you give constructive and positive feedback to help them feel engaged and valued. Largely common sense but it's also important to remember that people may be feeling sensitive for other reasons too...these circumstances create uncertainty and threats to: personal health; to the health of those close to you; to personal finance or again the personal financial security of others close to you. Even shopping for food feels more anxious than normal. And, all of this applies to those managing others so it's important not to neglect your own need for safety, self-care and social connection. If anyone is struggling and feels they need more 1-2-1 support please email me, in complete confidence at: mark@7futures.com
Some of you will know me better than others but Harrow has been our longest-standing client and we'll do everything we can to support you. Debbie Frize can confirm we always deal with any requests in complete confidence...and in case it helps further, I'm supporting Syrian refugees in this country on a voluntary basis and their circumstances are truly awful. So, we are used to dealing with a very wide range of issues...be it relatively simple or more complex. It does not matter what the issue is...if it's stressful for you ask for help...please don't struggle and suffer unnecessarily.
Listen closely and read between the lines. Working remotely means you won’t always be able to gauge body language or tone to sense what people are thinking or feeling. Home in on what’s not being said and ask questions to clarify your interpretation. Set up one-to- ones using videoconferencing so you can see someone’s face and pick up on facial cues. This is great advice..enough said!
Support a healthy work–life balance. Help your team avoid burnout and overworking by encouraging regular breaks and clear start and finish times for the working day. Encourage self-care and healthy habits, such as getting exercise, sleep and fresh air (if possible), and practising relaxation techniques like yoga and mindfulness. Obviously, music to our ears at 7Futures! And, it's something that Hugh, Debbie and others have been advocating for a long time before this pandemic. Although we can supply more technical resources and advice then maybe you can, there is an enormous amount of good you can do simply by encouraging your team to take the opportunity of having more time at home to develop some new and positive habits around eating, moving more, learning relaxation techniques or whatever it is they feel will help them.
Remind your team of their existing health and well-being benefits (such as employee assistance programmes, counselling or occupational health), and how to access them when working remotely. Again great advice...existing resources are often overlooked and you can remind them that they can get in touch with jo@7futures for more information, help and support on any wellbeing topics.
Trust your team to get on with their work but provide them with support and supervision. Set clear expectations, focusing on results rather than monitoring hours worked. Without trust, working relationships can deteriorate and well-being will suffer. Again good advice. Difficult times are often a great opportunity to deepen loyalty and trust...this is never more true than now...so perhaps that's a silver lining for many employers to be creating in the weeks ahead.
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© 2012 7Futures Ltd. Please note that at 7Futures, our role is to help educate and encourage our clients to take positive responsibility for their wellbeing. We are not medical doctors and are not able to offer individual medical advice. We always recommend you should discuss with your GP or other medical professional before making any changes you hope will impact your wellbeing, or that of your current/future family. 7Futures Ltd offers generic information which is for educational purposes only. The information we provided is not a prescription system and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. As such our materials, videos products and communications are for general information purposes only and should not be read as a personal recommendation for specific changes in lifestyle behaviour, nutrition, or exercise. Please click here for a clear description of our services and the relationship with you as a client. You should not participate in any of our services until you have studied this link...it is for your benefit.