The present situation around the world is highly distressing. Due to this very scenario, many countries around the world have issued a state of complete lockdown to shield the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease. This has caused markets, schools and industries across the globe to shut down. Thus, many companies have asked their employees to operate remotely from their homes. However, working from home is posing great challenges for the management of various organizations to keep its employees engaged. This article throws light on the hindrances which the management is facing to keep its employees engaged while working from home and then proposes effective measures as a reliever for the companies.
Hindrances in keeping employees engaged while working from home
1. Lack of communication among employees:
One of the major drawbacks of working from home is that it leads to a disruption in the communication between employees of the organization. This acts as a considerable hindrance in keeping the employees engaged as everyday interactions are necessary to give a boost to the employees’ feelings of belongingness towards the organization. It is only when the employees feel connected to the workplace that they direct their efforts towards yielding maximum benefits for the company. Therefore, the lack of connecting between the employees negatively impacts employee engagement.
2. Multiple tasks to be done at a time:
As highlighted above, the outbreak of the pandemic, ‘Coronavirus’ has resulted in lockdowns in many countries of the world. Thus, schools and crèches remain closed, which has doubled up the employees’ responsibility as they have to handle their kids at home along with their office work. All this causes time management issues for the employees and reduces their devotion towards work. This way, having multiple tasks to do decreases the employees’ efficiency to work and negatively impacts employee engagement with respect to the company’s goals.
3. Difficult to work in collaboration:
Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”. Such is the importance of working in teams. Also, teamwork not only makes targets easy to achieve but it also acts as an enhancer to boost employee engagement. This is because it offers plenty of benefits such as reduces workload, strengthens relationships and instils a spirit of self-improvement, among employees. All these things when combined together keeps the employees centred towards the very purpose of the company's growth. Thus, operating remotely makes the employees devoid of collaborative working and poses a threat to employee engagement.
4. Lacking energy and enthusiasm to work:
Every place has an aura associated with it and the working environment of an organization possesses an aura of enthusiasm, which makes the employees feel energetic. On the other hand, working from home often makes the employees feel lethargic because of the relaxing environment. Lethargy makes the employees feel lacking in energy and thus, acts as a degrading force for employee engagement.
4 Ways to increase your employees’ engagement while working from home
1. Let the employees’ work with flexibility:
In order to help employees achieve a fine balance between managing their children and work together at home, the management should allow them to work with flexibility. This implies that there should be no boundaries for them to work for some specific timings of the day. Instead, the employees must be provided with a list of their daily targets, which they can complete flexibly throughout the day, whenever they get the time to work. This way, the employees won’t suffer from the division of their attention between work and children. This way, the management can derive unparalleled attention from their employees towards work, which serves as a great way to keep the employees engaged and generate constant profits for the company.
2.Incite communications between employees:
As highlighted above, cordial connections between employees play a significant role in employee engagement. While the employees cannot meet each other on a daily basis, because of having been confined within their homes, it becomes the responsibility of the management to keep their relationships with each other intact. This can be done by inciting daily communications between the employees through group chats and conference calls. To let this happen, the management has to take the charge by becoming the initiator of these communications and these can be either formal or informal in nature. For instance, the management can use group chat as a medium to know about the well-being of the employees and their families. This can work out to be a sure shot way to stimulate interactions between the employees.
3. Impart knowledge about ways to work collectively using digital platforms:
Moving further, the sudden outbreak of the pandemic has made it necessary for organizations to adopt the culture of working from home. Also, many organizations and their employees may experience remote working for the first time. Thus, the management must make it a point to let the employees know about various digital platforms through which they can continue to work in teams, despite being separated by distance. To make it happen, group video calls on WhatsApp, Google Drive and Proof Drive can be used as the digital platforms, which can serve the purpose.
4. Use words of inspiration to make employees enthusiastic:
High morale keeps the employees dedicated to working and thus, enhances employee engagement. Thus, the management can keep remotely working employees engaged by giving a boost to their morale. This can be done by sending morning inspirational messages and affirmative words to the employees. Along with this, the management should also appreciate the employees who keep up their good performance, despite working from home. This is because words of appreciation also give an impetus to employee engagement.
To conclude, the above-mentioned ways can help the management in keeping the employees engaged and productive, while they work from home during the pandemic conditions.
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