Transform working in captivity from burnout to beaut

New independence can be hard work for all, but it can be done well, says Farveh Farivar

FOR more than a decade, teams of physically dispersed employees have been a necessity of doing business. So why is everyone now talking about it as some sort of new challenge?

Working from home is not new, but we’re working from home because COVID-19 restrictions have made us captives at home, captives who are trying to get work done. Most of us lack the experience or information on how to manage our work virtually.

A lot of people claim they would like to be independent at work. People who are now working from home have this independence. But, in reality, many people don’t want to make the decisions that come with such independence. Deciding how to allocate time and energy all day every day can be exhausting.

Self-management and decision-making are skills we obtain with experience and practice. We can get easily distracted at home, especially when family are stuck at home with us. On the flip side, we can burn ourselves out by working too much. Either way, work performance and life suffer. Loneliness and lack of interaction are also challenges.

The COVID-19 situation scales up this challenge.

Working from home in the current environment has thrown up a new set of challenges for people managers. Many managers never needed to manage people remotely. They never had the opportunities or resources to build up virtual management skills. But Workforce data from 2020 suggested 83 per cent of managers plan to manage their employees remotely.

It can be a headache.

COVID-19 restrictions have expedited our transition to working and managing virtual teams at home. But there is a robust evidence base we can draw on to inform how to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in.

Here are seven tips that can be employed instantly and without extra costs.

DEFINE STANDARDS

This saves time and keeps people away from headaches. Everyone knows the requirements and what is going on. The number of questions and mistakes will drop.

DEFINE EXPECTATIONS

“Guess what I am thinking of” is wrongdoing in virtual management. Tell your team what you need and provide details. It doesn’t mean tell them how to do their work. Micro-management is not handy here, but they need to know what exactly you want. Provide details and trust them. Don’t waste their time on guessing games.

USE MULTIPLE TOOLS TO COMMUNICATE

Sending emails and expecting everyone to read them and understand them is surreal. We need to reach our team. Call them! Send emails! Set up online meetings! Text them! Choose video calls over emails. REGULAR MEETINGS

They put the team at ease and reduce stress. However, the meetings should be useful. Inviting them without providing the opportunity to speak doesn’t work. Virtual meetings tend to become very task-focused. However, you can use regular meetings to establish a social gathering mood. Ask your employees about their challenges over the past week. It improves their sense of belonging and creates social bonds.

CHECK FOR TIME OVERLAPS If your team members work in different time zones, make sure to have three or four hours in which most are online. It helps to keep workflow. It will be so restraining and confusing if co-workers are regularly unavailable for discussion or explaining task-related issues.

MAKE GOOD USE of online tools that help you to track deadlines and time. These send you reminders and alerts of what needs to be done and when. It keeps your work on track. Managing time is critical. Time flies! ESTABLISH A REWARD SYSTEM Acknowledge your team’s efforts in meetings and let them know you respect and admire their attempts. A study of 1100 employees in 2017 showed employees who were working from home felt ignored by their managers.

If you can establish trust, you will take the pressure off the process. A study of 50 companies showed managers who pushed their team members to be frank with one another could manage virtual teams successfully.

Dr Farveh Farivar is a Lecturer in Management (Human Resource Management) at the University of Tasmania, where she researches digital work transformation and its impacts on employee behaviour and organisational culture.