Working from Home: 3 Ways to Stay Engaged

In this upside-down world that we are all living in, working from home has become part of the “new normal.”

Yep, whether you like it or not it’s happening, people are working remotely due to the impacts of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders.

And even as we are seeing businesses open up in some locations, we are still seeing cases spike across the entire country.

That is cause for a lot of uncertainty surrounding how long we will all be working from home.

That can come with many hurdles and complications, not having everybody around day in and day out to work and deal with issues as they arise.

It also presents a more intangible challenge, in trying to keep morale up and your culture intact.

All of that are things that people are having to deal with whether you are the owner of a business or an employee.

So what can you do to help solve these issues?

We have three great tips for you to keep your business churning and morale high.

KEEPING PRODUCTIVITY HIGH

Putting people on a variation of house arrest or solitary confinement is going to have some sort of impact on how your company operates.

It’s true.

These stay at home orders and social distancing go against everything we have been taught and become accustomed to when it comes to a thriving business and social interaction.

There is going to be some sort of a dip in productivity.

But working to make sure that dip doesn’t take you down is what will determine if you are able to last through this uncertainty.

Just having everyone communicate through email and instant messaging is not going to get the job done. It may be a fun change of pace for a moment, but it quickly will become boring and less interactive.

One of the best ways to combat this and keep everyone on the same page is by holding virtual video conference meetings.

I know, it’s not ideal, but it allows the team to see everybody's faces and interact with each other.

And with Google Meet you can do this all for free with your team!

We have a meeting every morning, where we get everyone involved. 

Whether we just chat about plans for the weekend, things we want to get accomplished that day or discuss our favorite books, TV shows and movies, it's a way to stay connected and have some sort of human interaction.

We also put an emphasis on making sure that our individual teams meet to talk, mull over issues, and just interact.

All of this in an effort to keep connected and keep morale up. Because as we all know happiness leads to more productive employees.

KEEPING A CULTURE INTACT

This is something that is hard to do with everybody working from different locations. The culture that your company builds is its identity.

It’s what attracts people not only to work with you or buy from you but also what attracts employees and makes your company a great place to work.

But it's hard to keep that in place. It’s hard to make sure that it isn’t lost. That is where reaching out and keeping a connection as much as possible is key.

Part of this is having that meeting consistently as we already discussed, but you can go beyond this.

Holding get-togethers that adhere to social distancing regulations also help in team morale.

Hold an outdoor BBQ, get the groups to come work in the office wearing masks and spread out, so things that work to get as close to “normal” as possible.

This all can go a long way, not only in checking in with your employees in person, but also to get them interacting with the team again like it used to be.

PIVOT AND PLAN AS A LEADER

Something else to consider while working from home is that there should be some sort of plan in place. Something that allows you and your company to understand why you are holding these types of meetings and get together.

Put an emphasis on them. Make it be something important to you and the rest of the team.

Your team will likely continue to say:

“We don’t mind working from home.”

“Things are good!”

“Working from home is fine with me!”

And while there might be some truth to what they are saying, at the end of the day you know that the morale has taken a hit, and that it can cause a dip in productivity.

But the fact of the matter is, your hands are tied, there is not much else you can do.

So as a leader, pivot, and make the best of it. Set the example and be that person who exudes positivity and is a helping hand.

Morale is a big key to successful businesses no matter what the climate is.

Do your best to make sure you are able to bring your company out the other side of this pandemic ready to roll and get things back to the way they once were!