What will the fall look like if remote work stays in place for many of America’s workers? Will they be able to take another long stretch of not seeing their colleagues and juggling home obligations behind their Zoom screens? Nightly reached out to workplace experts to get their take on what, if anything, employers should do to keep employees motivated and connected in the weeks and months ahead — especially after it seemed like work life would return to normal. Here are their edited answers: “These delays are further indication that our reliance on remote work, in one form or another, is enduring and permanent. While some employers have embraced remote work, others have been holding their breath. It’s time to exhale. It’s time to help people develop the skills they need for remote work — structuring tasks, building relationships and trust, collaboration, inclusive leadership, smart and balanced digital tool usage, and boundary-setting. Longstanding research shows that these capabilities yield higher job satisfaction and performance. “With well-equipped and happier workers, the seesaw that the pandemic is imposing upon us won’t feel like a massive psychological and organizational blow. The evolving virus won’t adhere to any particular date. We should be open to timelines that integrate sufficient notice for people to navigate their return to work. Some will need psychological preparations. Families will have to restructure their childcare plans and support apparatuses. Everyone will benefit from timelines that are not rigid in a dynamic world.” — Tsedal Neeley, Harvard Business School professor and author of Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere “Some organizational leaders continue to downplay the extent to which the pandemic has caused lasting changes to how employees feel about their jobs (and work in general), and insist that things should go back to the way they were in 2019. But earlier this week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released monthly figures showing that employee resignations in the U.S. were 10 percent higher in June 2021 than they were in June 2019. These data indicate that a strategy based on turning back the clock is out of touch with reality. “There are at least three things leaders should do this fall. First, the pandemic caused many employees to think about whether their work is providing meaning and happiness in their lives, and for some, the answer was no. There is an opportunity here for leaders to remind workers of the meaningfulness of their work, and the simplest way to do this is to make it clear to employees how their work makes a positive difference in the lives of others and/or the world. Second, now is the time for managers to have one-on-one conversations with their employees, and discuss the aspects of their jobs that bring them happiness and meaning, versus those that cause them stress or dissatisfaction. In a process called job crafting , managers can work with employees to rearrange their jobs such that the positive elements are maximized. Third, as the pandemic drags on, now is the time for leaders to collect data from their employees regarding what is working and what is not working in terms of flexible work arrangements, and then begin experimenting with solutions to those problems. “By engaging in purpose-driven leadership, job crafting and evidence-based management, employers can partner their employees in setting up their companies to succeed in this new world of work.” — Anthony C. Klotz, associate professor of management at the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University “Anything employers can do to address burnout and Zoom fatigue will pay big dividends. Think about rewarding results rather than ‘attendance.’ Celebrate small milestones on projects frequently. Find ways to have fun, like hiring a DJ for the next long Zoom meeting or even hiring a firm to provide remote team-building events. Make it an every-other-day practice to thank your team and acknowledge the hard work they are doing in an impossible situation. “Be innovative with scheduling. For example, close down the entire office each Friday instead of staggering time off or staff work hours/days. This creates a true, and much needed, break for everyone. “Start planning on how to continue to offer flexible and remote work into the future. Companies that demand a return to pre-pandemic ‘business as usual’ will lose employees who will have many remote options to choose from in the future.” — Amy Beacom, founder and CEO of the Center for Parental Leave Leadership and co-author of The Parental Leave Playbook “At the Worker Wellbeing Lab, we interviewed people who were suddenly forced to work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. And our research team (Megan Benzing, Alyssa Birnbaum and Chloe Darlington) found that, as employees no longer have the spatial or temporal distinction between the office and home, they use active techniques to manage their boundary-less work and personal lives constantly during the day: napping to recover from Zoom fatigue, homeschooling between Zoom meetings, working on tasks after dinner. When interviewees described these ‘nano’ transitions as autonomous, intentional and regulated, they also reported that their days were more balanced or productive, even if they were longer. “Employers might be underestimating the ability of remote work to provide employees with the autonomy and the competence they need to manage their own lives fully. Our qualitative findings suggest that being able to engage in effective nano transitions is beneficial, and managers should trust their employees and offer them the agency to do so. This is critical, especially considering the increasing number of employers investing in monitoring software to try to manage their workforces. Monitoring software that is too invasive (e.g., software that logs all keystrokes and online activity) can erode employees’ trust and decrease their agency to structure their days.” — M. Gloria González-Morales, professor of psychology at Claremont Graduate University Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at rrayasam@politico.com or mward@politico.com and on Twitter at @renurayasam or @MyahWard.
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