Remote Teams
During the course of our normal working lives, we all encounter healthy levels of stress on a daily basis. When this becomes excessive and ‘just too much,’ negative effects can occur; prolonged bouts of stress can lead to ill health, affecting a person both physically and psychologically.
Stress is a person’s reaction to excessive pressures or demands placed upon them. It is psychological in origin, but can produce both physical and behavioural effects. There are two key pieces of legislation that place duties on employers in relation to stress, these are the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Equality Act 2010.
As we encounter the move from office-based roles to working from home, the change will affect people and general uncertainty will lead to increased levels of stress. For many, they will be working from home for the very first time. Many will feel isolated and miss the social interaction provided in an office environment. For many, the lines between home and work will be blurred (see the homeworking checklist that can be provided to employees to help them set good habits for homeworking).
Whilst we cannot prevent or control the personal stress that may occur as a result of working from home, we can as Managers ensure that required organisational changes are managed in a way that seeks to reduce undue stress. The Health and Safety Executive have identified six key areas of work design that, when managed effectively, support a work environment free from undue stress (these are also relevant for office working and other types of work).
Outlined below are suggestions and tips for how to effectively manage these 6 key areas whilst mobilising and managing remote teams.
The 6 key areas are:
1. Demands
2. Controls
3. Support
4. Relationships
5. Role
2. Controls
3. Support
4. Relationships
5. Role
6. Change
DEMANDS - workload, work patterns and the work environment.
Employees can often become overloaded if they cannot cope with the amount of work, type of work or the way in which they are being asked to work. The speed at which many businesses have moved to home working, and the challenges that this brings, is likely to be stressful for some team members. It is our job as facilitators and Managers to identify individuals who are finding it tough and support them through, what for some is considered, a radical change.
Look at job design, SMART working and consider flexibility i.e. hours can assist with alleviating work stressors.
Consider the following actions:
- Assess workloads and whether tasks can easily be managed remotely – think about IT challenges and work to resolve them
- Does the individual have all the equipment that they need?
- Consider whether the individual is capable of completing the task without direct supervision – it may be that an individual was heavily supported in the office environment
- Provide realistic deadlines
- Focus on output rather than input – are fixed working hours required, or can this be relaxed as long as the sufficient output is delivered?
- Allow for regular breaks when work is complex or emotionally demanding
CONTROL - control over the way they work
In many cases, mobilising plans and the move to remote working has been planned independently of the employees, and they are only just catching up with the changes that have been put in place. Take the time to speak individually to each employee to talk them through the plan that has been put in place, and the issues and challenges that may be faced during the transition period and over the coming months. You cannot remove the uncertainty that some may feel, but never underestimate the power of an open and honest conversation.
- Allow employees some time to adjust to the changes. A transition period where productivity is expected to be reduced and expectations lowered will be welcomed.
- Allow employees some control over the pace of work, encouraging them to give feedback
- Encourage employees to participate in decision-making
- Empower employees to make decisions about the way they work and the hours during which this will be achieved.
- Support employees in arranging their working environment to best suit their needs by providing equipment as necessary.
SUPPORT - encouragement, effective line management and resources
The level of anxiety that people are feeling around home working could be immense. There is a great deal of commentary around the effect on mental health etc. Therefore, this makes support one of the most vital elements of the six.
- Check in regularly with all of your employees working remotely.
- Consider additional pressures that the individual is managing
- Identify employees who live alone and ensure that you check in with them more regularly
- Look for the signs that someone is struggling with isolation and/or other issues.
- Support employees in tackling their work-related stress. Individuals are more willing to admit they are experiencing stress if they can expect to be dealt with sympathetically
- Provide constructive, supportive advice and praise where results are achieved
- Provide flexibility in work schedules, where possible
- Hold regular team meetings and put concerns, issues and stressors on the agenda as a regular item
- Keep communication regular, clear and honest
- Provide support with signposting where appropriate (see Wellbeing Signposting 1 and Wellbeing Signposting 2 for some ideas).
RELATIONSHIPS - promoting positive working to avoid conflict.
Prompting a culture where people care about each other, is imperative to building strong team relationships. Nothing strengthens a team more than working together through a crisis. Effective remote working can be achieved by making several small changes.
- Know your team as individuals – their strengths, weaknesses and trigger points
- If you are managing a large team, put in place a buddy system where pairs of people are responsible for checking in on each other daily – pair your buddies responsibly.
- Schedule regular 1-1’s with all your employees and ensure to be on time
- Communicate regularly that your door is open for concerns
ROLE - understand their role and ensure roles are not conflicting
Employees will become anxious about their work and the organisation if they are unsure of, or don’t know, what is expected of them. During times of uncertainty, ensure that you:
- Provide clear expectations and define work structures clearly.
- Ensure that the person does not have conflicting roles
- Value and praise staff for their contributions, especially during difficult times
- Provide a personal work plan to define work objectives
- Provide realistic deadlines and objectives
- Resolve practical work issues in a timely manner
CHANGE - organisational change management and communication
Keep communicating:
- Explain changes and why they are necessary
- Communicate regularly with all employees
- Involve your employees in the planning process wherever possible.