Improving the Employee Experience – At Home and At Work

Tools & Applications:

Supporting employees’ ability to do their best work starts with managing stimuli that is irrelevant. At home, people may not have the luxury of moving to a quieter spot as in the office. They can identify which tasks need true focus without noise or interruptions and which tasks would benefit from creating a “coffee shop” energy. With workers dispersed into their own homes, employers will have to foster collaboration through virtual platforms encouraging use of video to better facilitate intentional interaction. Empower employees to control their schedule so they can carve out time for focus work and collaborative efforts and recognize they may have to balance the demands of children or other family members at home.

• Staff at home could develop a visual cue so other family members know when not to interrupt
• Use DND function on computer programs so digital messages don’t pop up during focus time
• Schedule focus time on your calendar to discourage meeting requests during that time
• Use live chat functions where team members can ask the quick questions, they would normally have asked their desk neighbor
• Virtual space such as Bluescape or Microsoft Whiteboard for brainstorming between staff in the office and at home.

A majority of employees’ work is done on the computer while sitting. At the office, having a variety of work settings gives people choice and variety. This option is likely limited at home. Connect employees with resources to purchase good ergonomic seating, height adjustable desks, a second monitor or other ergonomic tools. Offer a “Work From Home” allowance towards these purchases. Movement from visiting common areas for re-filling coffee, water or making a copy or walking to the different meeting spaces will be greatly diminished at home. Encourage activity breaks throughout the day to replicate that movement through the office. Once people start returning to the workplace, it will likely be not at full capacity thus the movement even there will be less than before.

• For calls where you don’t need to view content, walk instead of sitting
• Position your computer on a high dresser or counter to stand during a video call
• Employees at the office could still take a video call in a meeting room by themselves to allow a change in environment and movement away from their desk

Recognize this change in people’s lives causes additional stress. It is even more important to give employees a sense of belonging. Ask managers to have weekly 1-on-1 calls with their staff. Provide a sense of security through regular, live communication from leadership even if there is not new information to share. Offer opportunities for fun and wellness inspired activities and ways employees can connect to their community by giving back. Give employees permission throughout the day to take breaks from work and family obligations. If their home office does not have access to natural daylight or views to nature, suggest breaks where they can view the horizon outdoors. These mental breaks are more likely to be taken if they are scheduled as well.

• Virtual wellness chats and staff happy hours or trivia sessions
• Post resources to EAP programs or community resources
• Send staff a small plant to locate near their work area
• Start a fitness challenge people at home and in the office can participate in

A Preparedness Plan is important to facilitate the logistics of returning to work, ensuring employees that you have their safety in mind. Taking it further by including aspects to the plan that cover the Cognitive, Physical and Emotional impacts on the workplace and home office is equally important. Open a feedback loop for employees to share what’s working and what’s not working. Employee engagement in your return to workplace strategy will safeguard their sense of safety, ensure plan adoption and position your organization for success.