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support your remote workers

How to Support Your Remote Workers

The majority of states have finally started reducing restrictions imposed because of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, millions of workers across the country are still hard at work from their homes. With a large chunk (if not your whole team) working remotely, it’s not easy to offer the same support as you can in the office. Here are a few ways you can support your remote workers.

Set expectations

It’s imperative to set expectations from the very beginning with your entire team. Establish guidelines for everyone and make them crystal clear. Put them in writing and send them to your staff. Setting boundaries and expectations are essential, and doing it early on will reinforce good habits from the get-go. However, please don’t go overboard or it might seem like you don’t trust your staff. Remember, your employees are adults, not children. Guidelines are good for everyone when they are not overbearing.

Build loyalty

Building loyalty and trust in each of your relationships is vital during these challenging times. Now is not the time to micromanage your staff. If you trusted them in the office, you should be able to trust them while working remotely. Trust builds loyalty, and loyalty goes a long way, especially during these uncharted waters. Hold regular meetings, regular check-ins, and be encouraging. Trust us; it will go a long way and support your remote workers.

Take care of each individual

Make sure you take care of each staff member. Not everyone is in the same situation right now. Some are handling the pandemic better than others and have fewer responsibilities at home. Some workers are balancing childcare, schooling, and work, while others may have a partner that is currently unemployed. As a result, ensure each team member is doing well, both mentally and physically.

Also, not everyone has the same work-from-home setting. Make sure each employee is taken care of with their home “office” goes. Some of your employees may need a desk, a new office chair, a second monitor, or other items to make their working hours a little more productive and comfortable. Taking care of your employees during these challenging times will help build much-needed morale.

Emphasize accomplishments not hours

Don’t emphasize the actual hours worked of each employee. Instead, focus on accomplishments. Some of your workers might be flourishing with their new working environment. But on the other hand, some of your staff members may struggle a little more. A recent report illustrated that 54% of workers are more productive at home. That’s great for both workers and employers! However, employees working from home will work an average of 1.4 more days’ worth of hours each month. That translates to 16.8 more days a year. As a result, your team can easily get burnt out as the boundaries of work and home often become blurry. Thus, support your remote workers by focusing on accomplishments, not actual hours worked.

Interested in more management and hiring tips? Explore our client resources for all the information you need!

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