The importance of supporting your employees mental well being during lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic more broadly has been well documented. Many employees throughout the nation are intensely worrying about the current coronavirus situation and how it may affect our lives in the short, medium and long term.
Remote working has become an abrupt reality for many workers throughout the nation. However, for workers in many industries, this is not a reality that is likely to go away too soon, with many people even predicting that Covid-19 could cause a permanent shift towards remote working throughout the UK.
It is important for us as individuals and business leaders to recognise how this increased prospects for stress and anxiety is likely to affect mental health and make sure that we are doing the right things to resultantly take care of ourselves and our colleagues.
The team at Made in Group have compiled a few tips has put together some tips for business owners and managers on how they can best support employees wellbeing, as well as their own, whilst working remotely. Scroll further down to learn more about our webinar on supporting mental health with Able Future, taking place on Tuesday 28/04/02 at 10:30am.
Regularly Check in With Your Team
Working from home brings with it the real danger of isolation for individual employees. A breakdown in communication between team members is one of the biggest risks of all when it comes to remote working - both for well being and productivity. Now you are no longer a few desks away from your co-workers, it is vital that you maintain regular, preferably daily communication with your team.
Firstly, communication needs to be over-emphasised from a remote location in order to maintain standard business operations and productivity levels. Email, phone, video call and messaging services (e.g. Slack) are your go-to here.
Secondly, regular communication needs to be maintained throughout a healthy workforce in order to support team morale. Many employees will most likely spend the entire working day in solitude, therefore, making a point of having regular whole team “catch up calls” can go a long way to nurturing the mental wellbeing of a remote worker.
It is also vital to maintain your "team socials" just as regularly as they would have occured before remote working became wide spread. The likes of Zoom provide a fantastic platform for team catch-ups and playing games such as quizzes.
Be Strict with Logging In and Off
One of the biggest dangers of working from home is that the lines can blur between work and play. Striking this correct work-life balance is absolutely vital to successful remote working.
Ultimately, we believe it is essential for long term productivity and a healthy work-life balance for employees be strict with an official "logging off" time each day. It can be tempting to push this back due to the highly connected world we live in, where sending an email or work message can be done at the click of a finger from every location. However, to maintain productivity and motivation during the times you are "logged in", it is important to set clear times apart for working and unwinding in this regard.
Following this tip won't only help support your mental wellbeing by sticking to a healthy routine - but it could also boost your productivity. Just as when you are working in the office, it is vital to get into a strong routine of getting up at the right time and being ready to work at the same time each morning. Being 5 minutes late to begin work from home every now and then can become a slippery slope of causing detrimental damage to your productivity and falling short of your work objectives.
Ensure Everyone Has the Right Tools for the Job
Moving from office working to full-time remote working can bring high levels of unnecessary stress if your employees feel as though they don't have the right tools, equipment or technology to fulfill their role to the best of their ability.
Of course, different job roles will mean you will require different tools. However, generally speaking - alongside a strong Wi-Fi connection - here are some other pieces of equipment which we advise for many people in remote working to have at the ready:
- Noise-canceling headphones
- Two computer screens
- Wireless keyboard
- Wireless mouse
- Webcam
- Ergonomic chair
Cultivate the Right Office Environment
Selecting the right office environment forms a large part of getting yourself into a healthy working routine.
For those who aren’t accustomed to working from home, it can be very tempting to slip into the habit of lounging about on the sofa all day with your laptop or responding to your emails from the comfort of your duvet. However, it is absolutely vital for both your long term productivity and mental well being for employees to choose a designated office space to get into “work mode” in.
If you are lucky enough to have an office room at home then this will provide the perfect space. However, if you are forced to use a room which is also used regularly for non-work living, such as a lounge or dining room, then there are certain things you can do to help differentiate it as being a "working space" during this time (e.g. decorating your "desk" with items that you would in your regular office to help create a healthy remote office environment).
Get Support When You Need It
The current time brings with it many unprecedented challenges and stresses for a large proportion of the British workforce. If you feel you or your employees are struggling, it is important to seek out support from professionals.
If you are worried about your mental health or the mental health of one of your employees, we advise that you take a look at information and advise surrounding mental health and coronavirus which is available through the likes of Mind:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus/
28/04/20 Webinar: Supporting Your Workforce's Mental Health During Coronavirus with Able Future
As a member of Made in Group, you are invited to join us on Tuesday 28th April at 10:30am when we are joined by Able Futures to discuss workplace mental health support during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Able Futures is a nationwide specialist partnership set up to provide the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The organisation set out to help people with mental health difficulties to have more good days than they do bad ones.
We'll be joined by Elaine O’Neill, the National Employer Engagement Manager at Able Futures, who will be giving members from Yorkshire and Midlands an engaging workshop on how to deal with employee welfare mental health during the coronavirus outbreak.
To attend the webinar on Tuesday 28/04/20 at 10:30am, simply log into your Made In profile and click Virtual Meetings. If you are struggling with this, click this link or contact [email protected] to be sent a link directly.
https://madeinthemidlands.com/profile/meetings