Silence Isn’t Golden, It’s Deadly When It Comes To Virtual TeamWork.
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I used to silently envy people who got to work from home. ‘They seem to have cracked the code on work-life balance.’ I thought.
Then in March, COVID-19 began its rampage. Within one day we were told we had to prepare to work from home. We were quickly tutored on connecting to the network and all protocols to be followed.
My manager’s last words to us before we left the building were. “Make sure your productivity levels don’t fall.”
I felt working from home would be a good change for me. My brother had died a few months back and the workplace had been a particularly hard place for me to function at.
I went home and set up my workspace. That first month was stressful. I missed the structure and quiet of my workday. There was so much chaos going on in the world that all I felt was gloom. My productivity took a nosedive.
There was the grief from my brother’s death, the fear of the Coronavirus, the endless barrage of depressing news, uncertainty over our jobs, monitoring the kid’s shift to online school, and the great toilet paper shortage of 2020.
Living with family members in closed quarters during a quarantine is no walk in the park either. The kids were bored and constantly fighting. My husband turned into a hypochondriac and was self-diagnosing himself with Coronavirus every day. We were all going stir crazy.
By month 2, slowly things improved. My mind settled and my focus improved. The kids had some vague routine to their days now. They no longer complained about being stuck inside. My husband still continued to check his temperature though!
Days blurred into each other and after some time I lost track as to how many days I had been home. Was it 4 weeks or 5 weeks?
‘No, its been 7 weeks !’, our manager reminded us at a meeting.
Challenges while working remotely
Working from home means there are many inconveniences you have to put up with.
Communication challenges
Communication is one of the biggest challenges for virtual teams. Researchers at the Norwegian Business School found that remote workers communicate substantially less with colleagues and managers as they hesitate or are unsure. This can have major repercussions on the business.
My job is very knowledge-based and on most days I have a lot of doubts. Now that I am working from home I don’t have easy access to my brainy colleagues. I do reach out to my colleagues via text but feel worried that I am encroaching upon their time.
Zoom fatigue
While tools such as Zoom have become indispensable, online meetings can be more tiring than face to face meetings.
First I got to get rid of the laundry pile in the background, fix the bed, get the screaming kids out of the room, change that stained shirt, comb my hair, find out which is my good side on the camera(apparently I don’t have one!) and then maintain sustained eye contact and interest for 1 hour.
Exhausting!
Too many meetings
Many employees complain that most of their time is spent flitting from one zoom meeting to another. It takes away from time to get work done.
Interruptions and distractions
Having kids at home while working can be both a positive and a negative. The positive being that I can keep an eye on them and I don’t have to pay for childcare. The negative being, they are bored and hungry 24/7. How do I work with the cacophony of this 3 ring circus in the background?
Working extended hours
I’m sure most employees can agree we are working more hours than when we were in the office. It’s hard to switch off when the home is the new office. Let me just finish this and that. Before I know it, I have worked an extra hour or 2.
Lack of social interaction
Working from home means there are no stops at the watercooler or chats with coworkers. Often coworkers become close friends we vent our work/home frustrations to or share our joys with.
This lack of human interaction and loneliness can affect an employee’s mental health and indirectly their productivity.
Piling on the pounds
This sedentary lifestyle has meant that even my elastic pajamas are getting a little tight. The scale doesn’t lie and I’m not liking what I see!
Benefits of Working Remotely
Working remotely does have its benefits, the biggest being that I still have a job. A job is more than a paycheck to me. It’s something to occupy my mind during a stressful time. It’s having a sense of purpose and some structure during these uncertain times
Much respect and gratitude to front line workers who risk their lives so I can work in the safety of my home.
There’s no commuting nightmare to complain about these days. The only commute I have been doing the past 4 months is from the kitchen to my room. That explains the +5 lb weight gain.
It’s nice that I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get ready for work. I don’t have to rack my brains to figure out what to wear to work. It’s pajama day every day!
I guess we also saved some money working from home by cutting out gas, transportation costs, eating out, child care, etc.
Addressing remote work challenges
International bestselling leadership author Mark Sanborn hit the nail on its head when he talked about virtual teamwork —
“Silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly.”
It is important to remember that communication is a 2-way street. The responsibility to keep lines of communication open and fluid falls on both employees and managers. Managers need to make sure that they are consistently understanding, listening, and mentoring employees.
Clear expectations should be communicated from the beginning so that there is no room for error. Communication breaks or lapses can result in information loss and ultimately poor performance.
Employees should also take the initiative to keep managers in the loop about what’s happening. Do the uncomfortable, don’t hesitate, reach out, make that call, switch on that video, ask those questions and communicate, communicate, communicate!
I am an introvert. I had to go outside my comfort zone and step it up when it came to communications. Every few days I make sure to give my manager an update on my project’s progress without being prompted.
Virtual communication challenges
Imagine you are a teacher giving virtual step by step instructions to students on how to draw a flower. If you can’t see your students, how do you gauge their understanding? How do you ascertain if they followed the directions, made mistakes or were even listening?
Experts estimate that anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of communication is nonverbal which is lost in virtual interactions. Videoconferencing should be used wherever possible to preserve nonverbal communication.
Offering continued training
Having ongoing training and virtual employee development is essential to keeping employees motivated. Trained employees are more productive and contribute to the overall organizational productivity.
Support Groups
Setting up virtual support groups on instant messengers or video calls allows the group to ask and answer questions. Often we learn something beneficial when someone else asks a question.
Meeting up at the digital water cooler
Employees may be dealing with varied emotional, financial, or health struggles during this pandemic. Setting up breaks where they can chat with each other can go a long way in helping them vent their emotions. It also builds employee relationships.
Giving due reward to employees
Celebrating employees and thanking them for their contributions goes a long way in boosting employee morale. Weekly shout outs via email or social media help recognize employees and keep them motivated.
Having Fun
Last but not the least, who said working remotely means no more fun and games? Humans are social animals. We need to let loose every now and then. Have ‘Crazy hair day’, ‘Show and Tell’, ‘ 5 minutes of laughter yoga’ or a themed photo contest.
We had a scavenger hunt game on one of our weekly Zoom meetings and we turned into little kids. It woke us up from our stupor. Some employees might not like games, so everyone’s likes and dislikes should be taken into consideration.
The pandemic has changed the dynamics of how work is conducted all over the globe. Remote work might be here to stay for a long time until a vaccine is developed and the contagion is stalled.
In these past few months, we have learned valuable skills — to work under stressful situations, to be self-motivated, to communicate effectively, and manage time better.
Going back to the office will need some getting used to now. I’m not ready to give up these comfy pajamas just yet!
