Communicating With WFH/Hybrid Employees Can Be Tough – Here Are Our Tricks

Do you have employees who are remote work from home or hybrid (part-time in the office?

If your business has made a shift from full-time, face-to-face work to providing remote working options, it may be putting productivity and quality at risk if effective communication is not maintained.

Just because you no longer see your staff face-to-face doesn’t mean your communication has to suffer. Here are some ways you can keep your remote team on track.

Have A Communication Plan

Having a set schedule for work calls and virtual meetings or requiring employees to provide reports or updates at certain times, keeping a clear communication plan can help keep your staff on track with their work and with each other. It’s a good idea to record this in writing using tools such as shared calendars or reminders.

Define Goals And Roles

Outline project goals and objectives to ensure everyone is working towards the same result. Delegate roles and obligations to each team member to avoid confusion and overlap. This will keep the team on track despite not physically seeing what each other is up to.

Utilise Messaging Tools

Messages are a great way to communicate with your staff and keep a written account of tasks and ideas. If your business relies on teamwork, group messaging chats are essential to keeping everyone on the same page; otherwise, miscommunication and confusion are huge risks.

This will also allow employees to chat amongst each other in a group setting as they would normally do in the workplace and can help them retain a positive work attitude by providing a sense of collegiality and normalcy.

Provide Performance Feedback

With everyone working remotely, it can be hard to monitor the performance and quality of your employees. Providing performance feedback fortnightly or monthly can help your employees continue to learn and improve, as well as keeping them productive knowing that their work will be reviewed.

Recognition

Providing positive and encouraging comments in the office seems very natural and easy to do. Still, when it comes to remote workers, it is easy for employers and managers to forget about taking the time to show recognition for the work employees are doing. Just like anyone else, remote employees should receive adequate praise and recognition for the high-quality work they do; without it, they are likely to become disengaged.

Don’t Let Stress Decide Your Life!

Stress is normal when running a business. Unfortunately, it can grow to be a major issue for many entrepreneurs.

Excessive or overwhelming levels of stress can interfere with one’s productivity and have a negative impact on their physical and emotional health.

Just because stress is impossible to avoid doesn’t mean it should be allowed to dictate our lives. Managing stress levels is not about making a big lifestyle or career change. Instead, individuals can learn to manage their stress levels with a few tweaks to how they perceive and respond to stressors.

Socialise

Regularly seeing friends can help decrease stress hormones. Maintaining strong social connections can prevent feelings of loneliness and isolation, as well as create a sense of belonging. It can also increase a person’s sense of self-worth, something that can benefit everyone, especially entrepreneurs facing difficult times in their business.

Eat Well

Eating the right food can reduce stress levels and put you in a better mood. While many stressed people opt for foods with high sugar levels, like muffins and cakes, the instant pick-me-up that they provide is short-lived. Eating whole-grain carbohydrates can help boost productivity levels and avoid the ‘roller coaster ride’ effects of sugar.

Relax

Relaxation techniques, such as meditation and yoga, can be very useful in combating acute and chronic stress. Allocating a specific time to relax every day is a critical step in preventing and managing stress. Sleeping is an effective way to promote body and mind recovery. Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can have a greater impact than having a poor diet. Making sure you have sufficient sleep every night can help you to get through stressful situations. Adopting healthy behaviours, such as switching off from work-related activities at a certain time each day, can also help in working towards a work-life balance.

Exercise

Even when busy, making time for health is extremely important. As well as being significant for physical health, exercise is an effective stress reducer that can help maintain a well-balanced mental state. Exercising releases endorphins and can shape your mood depending on the activity, helping you feel energised or putting you in a calming, meditative state. Being active for at least 30 minutes a day can reduce stress levels and stimulate your body’s endorphins and other natural chemicals that act as mood elevators.

Thinking About A Career Switch?

Switching careers later in life can seem daunting and risky.

Still, with the proper planning and preparation, it doesn’t have to be.

If you’re tired of the same job you’ve been doing for 20 years, or you’re finally ready to pursue the thing you’re passionate about, a career change can be exciting and allow you to learn new things and love your work.

However, it can be a scary move, especially if you have to think about financial stability, location change, or supporting your family. Here are some things you should consider before taking the leap.

Self-assessment:

Are you capable of pursuing the career you want to switch into? Will it fit your personality type, values, and interests well? To better understand this, be realistic about what you’re capable of through experience-based evidence, and evaluate what you do or don’t find interesting or enjoy.

This will reduce the risk of you starting a new job only to discover that it’s not as suitable for you as you imagined. You can hire a career counsellor, or other career development professionals to help you do this accurately.

Training And Education:

Does the job you are considering require extra qualifications and skills? Do you have these qualifications, or must you undertake further training and studies to be eligible for the job?

Having a midlife career change means that you have accumulated years of experience from working, and you may have transferable skills from your past jobs that can be used for other careers. Research what the job requires of you and if further qualifications are needed, think about whether the added training or courses would be suitable for you to complete.

Career Field Demographic:

What is the typical age of those working in the field you want to pursue? This can help you determine the likelihood of employers choosing to hire you or not based on your age.

Unfortunately, it is common that some companies prefer younger workers due to perceived technology savviness and career growth potential. In saying this, many employers actually prefer older workers as they can offer experience, maturity, and wisdom. Research the demographics of the job and evaluate your prospects of getting hired.

Making Mistakes At Work Is Not The End Of The World…

Mistakes always happen; although they can be embarrassing, you can recover from them.

Whether the mistake was minor or costly, handling the error with professionalism can save your dignity and credibility.

Next time you forget to hit send on that important email, rest assured you can recover quickly by adopting the following tips:

Gain Some Perspective

Feeling ashamed or distressed when you make a mistake at work is natural, but looking at it in a broader context can help you let go of these negative emotions. Most mistakes, unless they are life-threatening, can be corrected, so forgive yourself and move on. Instead of wallowing, look at ways to rectify your mistake immediately.

Acknowledge And Apologise

If your mistake has affected someone else or negatively impacted the business, acknowledge your wrongdoings and apologise. Admitting you made a mistake shows self-awareness, responsibility and accountability. Try to avoid justifying your actions or over-apologising.

Restore Trust

The best way to show you care about what has happened is by learning from it and ensuring it does not happen again. Correct the mistake as soon as possible and evaluate what you can do differently next time. If you continue to deliver great work, more often than not, your mistake will be forgotten about.

When Should You Be Taking A Mental Health Break?

People won’t hesitate to take a break when their physical health is bad but are reluctant to treat their mental health equally.

Your mental health plays a massive role in your ability to work and maintain a positive lifestyle, so taking some time off to focus on your mental health isn’t something you should feel guilty about or ashamed of.

When considering taking mental health days off, make sure you know the distinction between wanting a day off and genuinely looking after yourself. Some signs to look out for that may mean you need a mental health break can include:

  •       Moods: constantly feeling angry, irritated, tearful, depressed or anxious.
  •       Behaviour: actively disconnecting from others, lashing out at people easily, decreasing work performance, not being as motivated, making more simple mistakes or accidents.
  •       Thoughts: having pessimistic and negative thoughts, feeling disillusioned, resentful or discontent.
  •       Physical: being constantly tired, body tension issues, adult acne, constant colds, headaches and migraines, sleeplessness, difficulty focusing, significant weight loss or weight gain.

Everyone has their own way of caring for their mental health, but if you’re unsure where to start, consider the following tips.

Do Emotional Work

Consider the reasons why your mental health has been low. Ask yourself what you can do about things that make you feel bad instead of putting the blame on external factors. Engage in some problem-solving or reframing situations more positively and realistically. Consider if going to therapy, talking to someone you trust, or taking an extended break will benefit you.

Socialise

Try to spend some time reconnecting with your friends and family. Human connections and socialising are linked to mental well-being and can help avoid social anxiety and loneliness.

Do Activities You Enjoy

Working full-time or having other commitments can mean that your hobbies are deprioritised. You can spend some time in your break going back to activities you like, whether painting, reading, music or watching movies. This can help you relax and enjoy yourself.

Connect Your Team More Effectively With These Activities

Team building sounds like a cliche approach to creating a cohesive workplace, but it’s one of the most important. However, it can sometimes be an undeveloped or underutilised aspect of staff development, which can lead to a lack of cohesion within the team.

A company is only as strong as its parts, so it’s important to put time and effort into building a healthy, developed team.

Team building activities are usually aimed at one thing — to grow and develop your employees so that they collaborate better with one another and produce results. These activities can take a few hours to days depending on the size of your company and how much planning you’ve put into the activities. But overall, you should achieve the following by the end of your efforts.

  • Let your colleagues/employees get to know one another by opening communications and interacting with one another during team activities that allow them to learn about personalities, interests and skills.
  • Improve the attitude towards the job by rekindling positive behaviour (e.g. interest in the position, dedication)
  • Promote teamwork and cooperation without the pressure of evaluations
  • Discover new skills that can translate to work opportunities, such as creativity, resourcefulness, collaboration or even leadership.
  • A lighter and more positive atmosphere throughout the workplace from the perception of being taken care of by the company.

If you are looking for examples of team-building activities to take to your workplace, why not try:

  • Taking MBTI tests as a team to learn more about each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
  • Icebreaker games to connect team members to one another
  • Developing core values as a group (such as code of conduct, agreed-upon workplace rules, etc.).
  • Self-assessments & group assessments of members

Handling Difficult Employees In 4 Easy Steps

Every now and then, you might come across an employee who is particularly difficult to handle. A difficult employee could be one who is incompetent, doesn’t follow instructions, behaves rudely in the office or some other behaviour altogether. However, as a business owner or manager, you must maintain professionalism when responding to such an employee.

The first thing you should do is try, once again, to listen to what your employee has to say. Once we have decided that an employee can be troublesome or difficult to handle, we might fail to make a genuine effort to listen to what they have to say. However, listening will allow you to understand how you might be able to improve the situation. You will be able to gain an understanding of the situation the employee may be in and figure out potential solutions.

Another key aspect is to document interactions with particularly difficult employees. This will be essential documentation if you decide that termination is the only way to go. Documenting incidents isn’t necessarily ‘negative’, it simply allows you to have proof of interactions that led to your professional decisions.

Set consequences if you find that the behaviour is still not changing. These consequences should be specific and set out clear expectations that the employee needs to meet. If the employee does not meet these expectations, then you need to act upon the consequences that you had stated.

Finally, don’t be afraid to fire a difficult employee. It is in no way an easy task, but if it does get to the point where termination is necessary, then don’t give yourself excuses not to do so.

Keeping Your Workstyle Consistent While Working From The Home Or Office

As businesses are looking to bring their employees back into work, it is essential to ensure that your workstyle practices allow you to seamlessly integrate into working from the office. Consider adopting these changes to make your transition into the office space more manageable.

Structure Your Daily Routine

Working in an office space structures your day, and this is an important feature to bring into your workday even when you’re working from home. Create a work-based routine that will work for you at home and at the office.

For example, you may find that using the first hour of the day to respond to emails and enquiries and using the later part of the day for meetings works best for you. It is essential to stick to that routine as best as you can to provide yourself with some structure when you go back into the office.

Prepare For Distractions

Without the everydaydistractions that an office space comes with, employees may find that they are more productive at home. Consider incorporating collaboration meetings and calls into your work day when working from home.

Brainstorming sessions and daily stand-ins can be great ways to reintroduce socialisation with your colleagues to make social interactions productive and less distracting. Consider setting boundaries if you need to reserve portions of your day for important tasks, and let your colleagues know so they don’t distract you.

Maintain Stability

Working from home has left employees with much more free time during the day, allowing them to pick up new hobbies and interests. These activities may have been a source of relaxation when working from home so try to continue indulging in these activities once you transition back into working from the office. Upskilling for personal fulfilment can be rewarding and contribute to better mental health and well-being.

Being A Professional In Business & Self-Care Isn’t As Difficult As You Might Think…

The next goal, milestone, achievement, challenge. In a fast-paced, business-oriented environment, entrepreneurs, business leaders and high-performers often get caught up in the ongoing quest to achieve.

But how is this impacting them?

Professionals must take a hard look at the pressures and expectations that burden them today and how their past experiences have informed and contributed to these struggles.

Such efforts can easily lead to stress, anxiety, burnout and a fundamental lack of fulfilment. So, how are professionals meant to shift their approach to work and find a more sustainable sense of well-being?

The best way is to implement new strategies to handle these challenges. Some of those may include

  • Learning to say no to others – overburdening yourself is a leading cause of burnout. Being able to say no sets boundaries, priorities & balance.
  • Commit to your priorities and develop strategic plans to utilise your resources
  • Reflect on your accomplishments and set achievable future goals
  • Schedule in time to do something nice for yourself.
  • Add a stress-release activity into your routine – this could be as simple as reading a book, taking a walk or meditating for mindfulness.
  • Use your PTO – take a day to reset yourself, away from distractions and stress.

Every individual approaches the stress and tension of work differently. There is no cookie-cutter approach to handling potential burnout, unfortunately, so strategies that are adopted may need to be adapted to suit a specific individual’s situation.

It is also important that you understand that the first step towards working on your well-being begins with you. No one else can do the heavy lifting for you. The resolve to start must come from you.

Tips For Managing Your Wellbeing While Working

While anxiety and stress are quite often inevitable, it can take a severe toll on the state of your mental health and quality of life if not handled properly.

In Australia, 1 in 4 people are affected by anxiety, making it more common than some may think.

You are not legally required to disclose to your employer a mental health condition unless it has the potential to endanger your safety or that of your colleagues, such as your ability to operate machinery or make decisions.

Though not necessary, informing your employer can help them to support you and better understand what you may need to manage work and health successfully. If an employer takes adverse action against their employee based on their mental health, the Fair Work Act 2009 protects employees with mental health problems from unlawful workplace discrimination.

Those who find they have significant triggers at work should consider making a step-by-step plan to help identify and combat situations that cause anxiety. Those who experience more general anxiety could consider the following:

  • Sleep well: poor quality or insufficient sleep can significantly impact your ability to perform tasks at work. For those who struggle to sleep, don’t consume caffeine after noon, avoid screens 30 minutes before going to bed and have a regular bedtime.
  • Know everyone’s name: although it may seem a small thing, those with anxiety can find names particularly hard. Identifying colleagues by name can improve and reduce stress when interacting.
  • Ask for help: when you find tasks confusing or difficult, asking for help may seem daunting, but the discomfort of asking for clarification is worth it in the long run as it can decrease overall anxiety about responsibilities. Asking for help also communicates to your superiors that you genuinely care about doing a good job.
  • Eat properly: take the time to eat a proper meal at breakfast and lunch as eating not only fuels you for the day, but a good diet can also help you to manage symptoms of mental health better.
  • Schedule: learn when during the day you are most productive and tailor your workload to align with personal peaks. When scheduling, it is important to set honest timeframes for yourself. It is not the end of the world if you fall behind.

Managing anxiety in the workplace is all about understanding what your strengths and limitations are. Anxiety may always be present in daily life, but it doesn’t have to interfere with working hard and enjoying your profession.