13 Sep 4 Ways To Create A Remote Work Culture For A Happy And Productive Team
via Forbes by Evan Nison
Remote work can enable employees to achieve a healthy lifestyle, allowing them to stay happy, sharp and productive throughout the workday.
My organization has been remote since its inception eight years ago. Before hiring employees, I preferred to work from home and found myself far more productive, fulfilled and healthier overall than I was in a typical office environment. As I began hiring our first employees, the best talent either didn’t want to commute or couldn’t because they lived in other states. For my company, going remote was always the easy and natural choice. Needless to say, I’ve witnessed firsthand the benefits of remote work on employee well-being, productivity and overall organizational culture.
The Covid-19 pandemic shifted the workplace as we know it. Many businesses went remote for the first time ever. Over a year later, as vaccines have become readily available, more and more employees are advocating for and demanding remote work as offices open up again. NPR reports, “As pandemic life recedes in the U.S., people are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility and more happiness. Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time.” Four million Americans quit their jobs in April alone — a 20-year record.
Having happy employees can benefit your organization directly. Businesses thrive when employees feel fulfilled and content. When your employees feel happy, your clients are much more likely to feel happy as well.
Drawing on my own experience, here are four ways to create an effective remote work culture that prioritizes employees’ work-life balance and overall happiness.
1. Give employees the flexibility to work when and where they work best.
With remote work, it’s often easier to allow employees to have flexible schedules (flex scheduling). Consider letting them design schedules that work best for their energy levels, as long as they’re available for scheduled meetings and projects and can meet deadlines. If someone is a morning person, give them the liberty to log on early; if someone is a night person, give them the option to work later.
Flex scheduling enables employees to create their own schedules in ways that prioritize their mental health. This could look like making time for in-person medical and telehealth appointments, counseling services, medication pickups and other health-related obligations.
Being remote workers, employees have the freedom to work not just from home, but wherever they please. Our organization employs people living and traveling in different time zones across the world at any given time, thanks to our remote workflow. The ability to check into meetings using a few different options (spanning from video conferencing to a traditional phone call) enables travel-loving employees to still be productive on the road or trail…
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