May 25, 2020
A mindful approach to remote working
Practicing mindfulness at work is more important than ever and essential if we want to create a better “new normal”.
Mindfulness is not always easy to describe in a few words but the overall understanding translates into a state of being self-aware and being consciously present.
Practicing mindfulness in a time of pandemic is more important than ever. It starts with being aware of our own emotions, being empathic with ourselves and sanely adjusting to the ambiguity of the current times. Being mindful towards others entails being present for them (friends, family, peers, our network), appreciating their strengths and spreading hope rather than fear.
Last week I was completing an online course on digital body language and the content was so refreshing and eye-opening to me. It focused on the immense challenges of expressing ourselves accurately and authentically using digital channels.
The reality is that 75% of face-to-face communication is body language, yet it is estimated that 70% of team communication is now virtual.
We have been speaking a digital language with its own code for a while, yet we are seldom aware of this. With remote working and virtual collaboration becoming more and more the norm, we really ought to practice mindfulness with our teams if we want to maintain an authentic and healthy work setting.
I work for a small organisation and we are spread out across different locations in Asia. When the Covid-19 outbreak started, we had already transitioned to remote working a year ago. I was impressed with how our organisation smoothly transitioned from an office-based team in Bangkok, to an all-remote team. This transition didn’t happen overnight. We started by working from home three times a week before we adopted full remote mode.
In hindsight, we were ahead of the “trend” and have thrived in delivering and collaborating remotely. I share below what I have learned over this period and what has helped me and my team creating a more mindful work space.
Build a Sense of Community with Your Team
If we think about it, we spend a considerable time of our waking hours working with others. We might as well invest our time and energy cultivating healthier relationships and building trust with our team members. In my personal experience, having solid relationships at work has enabled me to confidently ask for help when I needed, navigate challenges more easily and boost collaboration with my co-workers. However, building a sense of community with our team requires both intention and time.
- Be intentional in finding occasions to learn about each other’s hobbies, personal projects or life events.
- Seek opportunities to get to know each other outside the work environment. This is more challenging when remote, but some of us still live in the same city and soon we hope (pray) that grabbing a coffee together becomes a safe option again.
- In the virtual world, you can do an online course with your peers so you motivate each other and have a conversation about a non-work related topic.
By building a sense of community, we create a greater awareness of who we work with and what matters to them.
For reflection:
- Do you invest enough time in nurturing relationships at work?
- Do you bring your authentic self to work and share what matters to you?
- When was the last time you connected with a colleague outside work?
Practice Thoughtful Communication
A great deal of non-verbal communication at work takes place via email and instant messaging, which means we are not able to access the instantaneous feedback of face-to-face communication and thus we can easily be misunderstood. Being mindful about my communication style and choices was one of my biggest growth areas and where I witnessed considerable progress.
At one point I was over-reliant on texting my co-workers to ask a question or a clarification. Though messaging is a useful collaboration tool, it can also be very distracting and create a false sense of urgency and needless stress to the receiver.
Before you decide which channel to communicate with your team (email, messaging, call) consider three key factors: length, complexity and familiarity (with the person and the topic) and then consciously decide on the best tool to communicate.
Research suggests the average employee receives 120 emails on a daily basis and responds to over 60 a day. No wonder we sometimes lack empathy and diplomacy in our response when faced with the sheer volume of daily emails.
Being thoughtful about your email communication means checking your emotions before you hit send and being mindful of your tone.
Are you making assumptions about others without the full context? Are you using punctuation in a polite manner? I personally have been guilty in the past of sending emails where my frustration was very apparent.
Always think of the receiver and how your message and tone might be interpreted. If you are feeling defensive or frustrated, it’s wise to err on the side of caution and maintain your draft email for a while so you can revisit it later before sending it out.
For reflection:
- Do you often review the tone of your emails before sending?
- Are you guilty of overusing a single channel of communication?
- Do you write in a clear manner that others understand what action to take?
Genuinely Look After Each Other
One-on-One calls are an ideal opportunity to bond with your co-workers. Most of my one-on-ones meetings are regular calls scheduled weekly with team members I collaborate more closely with. We spontaneously use the first five minutes or more to check-in with each other: “how is the week going for you”, “how are you taking care of yourself lately”. I know that small talk is how many meetings start, even so, I always feel there is a genuine intent from my team to take a pause and check-in.
Appreciation and gratefulness are also powerful ways to bring more mindfulness to work.
It is essential to me to make time to appreciate my co-worker’s input during a team meeting, a thank you message or acknowledging someone’s contribution in a team email or group chat. Similarly, my sense of worth at work stems from knowing I am adding value, therefore I am always grateful when my team takes a moment to appreciate my efforts.
For reflection:
- Are you practising being consciously present at meetings?
- How regularly do you show appreciation at work?
- Do you often reflect how your actions and words impact others?
We are all learning how to navigate the new world of working and no one has all the answers. Be kind with yourself and strive for progress when practising mindfulness at work. Despite all the great technology and virtual collaboration tools available, we still need to take the time to build healthier relationships and communicate authentically with our remote teams if we want to create a better “new normal”.
