As the world is still reeling under the impact of the pandemic, organizations across the globe are exploring ways to handle the impact and its effect on employees at large. Check out our interaction with Mr. Rohit Hasteer, Group CHRO, PropTiger.com to get his insights on important aspects like employees work life balance, mental wellness and employee burnout while working from home.
- How has COVID 19 impacted the life of employees? How does WFH impact employees at large?
COVID 19 has impacted almost all facets of our lives and it has literally changed the way we shop, dine, party and of course how we work. One of the major impact of COVID 19 on the life of employees has been with respect to remote working. While work from home was not a new concept but no one had imagined a workplace which would be completely remote. It was a transition which was clearly not easy for anyone of us. Employees were forced to learn and unlearn a lot of things as a part of the process. Right from sales pitches to product launches and employee engagement to performance appraisals, everything went virtual and it was indeed a big change in the lives of employees. The biggest challenge was to get used to this new situation within no time. Also, COVID 19 made all the business models irrelevant and organizations had to devise new ways and plans to survive in this new normal.
Continuous / long term WFH largely impacts employees in the following ways:
- It comes with challenges of engagement as everyone is literally working in silos in their homes without any physical proximity. Employees often feel left out, isolated and miss the feeling of team while working remotely.
- It is often coupled with infrastructure issues like unstable internet or lack of a dedicated workspace at home and other distractions which may impact the efficiency and effectiveness of work
- WFH offers flexibility and agility in working arrangements. As employees are no more tied to a fixed schedule, they are often more willing to extend their working hours by starting the day early or ending the day a little late
- It impacts the overall way employees function. Individuals have to adapt themselves to the new situation and come out of their comfort zones which is most definitely challenging.
- How can employees maintain a work life balance while working from home?
Work-life balance is a tricky thing to achieve as everyone’s definition of work life balance is different when one is working remotely or from home. The new workplace boundaries are more psychological than physical. Some of the ways in which employees can maintain a work life balance while working from home can be:
- Create & maintain your workplace: It’s always a good idea to build a little workplace at home which is preferably devoid of any distractions. This helps you create a consistent routine
- Create a schedule: Work from home makes many of us believe that we are available at all hours. It’s important that people create a schedule and stick to it. Make sure you know when to log off and call it a day
- Socialize & take breaks: Ensure that you do take the required lunch and tea/coffee breaks like you would while working from office. Marking yourself unavailable (on your calendar, collaboration tools like Slack, Google Hangouts etc.) when taking those lunch or tea breaks helps. Or fixing a specific time for the same each day and letting your colleagues and manager know about your DND (Do Not Disturb) is a good idea
- How can organizations help prevent employee burnout?
Work from home often makes things monotonous for employees and at the same time it often becomes difficult for employees to plug out and call it a day. Hence, employees are most likely at the risk of being burned out. Organizations can help overcome this by:
- Communicate: One of the best ways to prevent burnout is to communicate. Managers should make a point to interact with team members socially and discuss anything but business. It’s always a good idea to start daily calls and meetings with some basic chit chat which can help everyone relax
- Core Working hours: It is always a good idea to define core working hours which is nothing but set times when everyone has to be available online at work. The rest of work hours are flexible. This helps one avoid calls and meetings at odd hours
- Engage Virtually: The HR team can definitely help here by ensuring that employees get the required breaks by bringing fun and frolic online. Online games/activities, quizzes, etc. are great ways to ensure that employees get the required breaks
- Wellness: Offering wellness programs related to yoga, meditation, etc. can help in relieving stress. Today there are many EAPs also available which offer these services on Apps also for a seamless experience
- Why Should mental wellness top the “Employee Wellbeing” agenda for this year?
As per a 2019 study by WHO, it is estimated that India will suffer economic losses amounting to 1.03 trillion dollars because of mental health conditions between 2012 and 2030. Hence, it’s a no brainer that mental health should be on every organization’s agenda; more so now as we are amidst a pandemic. A crisis like COVID often brings ambiguity and uncertainty with itself which leads to anxiety and stress among people. Many of them get worried about their jobs and financial security which may be coupled with other personal and professional challenges that one might be battling already. All this only affects the mental well-being of employees. Today, as the world recovers from the pandemic, the top-most priority of every organization is to get the business back on track and we cannot hope that to happen if we have people who are mentally stressed. Hence, it’s important that mental wellness forms an important part of the Wellbeing agenda.
- What measures can organizations take towards ensuring Mental Wellness for employees?
There are slew of measures which organizations can take towards mental wellness:
- Allow flexibility at work and promote work life balance. Ensure they get regular breaks and don’t feel stressed
- Extended medical insurance cover which covers diseases like COVID. We should not let our people fret over the medical expenses of themselves and their family
- Counselling sessions from experts on mental well-being. Today there are many Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) available which have experts available at the click of a button
- Driving the mental wellness through events like yoga, meditation, aerobics, etc.
- Last but not the least, listen. It is important for managers to acknowledge anxiety or stress in the team. If a team member is struggling but not communicating stress or anxiety, ask them how they’re doing and give them an empathetic hearing
