Keeping Morale In The New Office
For a lot of companies, employees in their home is the new main office. This may be great for covid restrictions, general office costs and employee’s money savings, but the cracks are starting to show. Work related mental health is on the decline as people begin to feel like prisoners in their own homes, even after lockdowns have started to ease.
It is becoming clear that this may be the new permanent norm for a lot of industries, and this poses more than a few challenges for staff and employers alike. One of the biggest setbacks which we will be discussing below is team morale. There is no bringing lunch for the team or having a team outing to build morale when you are all scattered in different locations, so how do we face this topic and find resolution?
Schedule
It may not be possible in all businesses, but in those where it is an option, it should be used. A team member's schedule is the most important part of their working life, and when the opportunity is available, they should be given more freedom to manipulate it.
Being able to take a two-hour lunch to catch up with a friend or start work an hour later to spend some more time in a gym is a great way to boost staff morale. This may not work with all staff members, so on initial introduction, a time recording system is recommended to ensure the required amount of hours are put in. Giving staff control over their schedule is a great way to allow them to feel more in control over their lives.
Communication
Daily team meetings on Zoom, Skype or Teams seem to have become a common thing with working teams in this time, but it lacks a sense of personal interaction. For a team leader, it's a great idea to spend an hour a week in a conference call or on the phone with each of member of the team.
These conversations do not need to revolve around work either, it could be work or personal or just something the team member finds interesting. Larger team meetings are to set goals and assign workloads, these smaller calls are just to ensure that all the team members feel heard and considered. Working from a home environment can be problematic for some team members, a simple conversation can go a long way to help relieve stress and anxiety of working from home.
Communication does not only need to be done from a team leader prospective. Encourage the team to keep in close communication with each other, even have calls while working to help them feel more included in the team which no longer has the ability to work face to face.
Keep The Team
Being part of a team in the workplace or on a project is often a long proceeding. At times, it may feel that we spend more time talking to our colleagues than to loved ones. To keep a good atmosphere, little competitions are a great way to boost morale.
Activities like jogging, playing at onlinecasinogames.co.nz or reading books can be turned into small monthly competitions for a prize like a dinner voucher or movie ticket. The main goal in these activities is to have the team bond with each other. Having a mutual interest or activity out of work is a great way to form friendships and, at the end of the day, have a more cohesive team.