Bringing Unity in a Virtual Workplace this International Solidarity Day
Working virtually has become a new norm, with more and more companies planning to go remote. And as employees don’t have to commute or dress up for work, they possibly have more time at their disposal. In fact a study from Stanford University found that people working from home are more productive than the ones who go to office.
While working remotely does come with benefits, it requires employers to inspire unity among their employees to keep the team efforts supporting the superordinate goals..
This additional challenge stems from the very fact that they miss the real life team huddles, after work chit chat with colleagues, brainstorming together, and many other in person interactions.
With such uncertainty, it is the duty of employers to inspire a sense of solidarity among the diverse workforce. They can put a step forward in this direction by collectively observing International solidarity day every year on December 20th.
International Human solidarity day
Observed globally on December 20 every year, it is a day to celebrate unity in diversity and raising awareness about the value of solidarity. As the United Nation declares, solidarity is one of the fundamental values that is integral to international relations.
To be precise, solidarity is awareness regarding shared interests and goals create a psychological sense of unity.
How was International Human Solidarity Day instituted?
On December 22, 2005 the General Assembly through its resolution figured out that solidarity is one of the basic and universal values underpinning relations between peoples in this 21st Century. And, hence decided to put December 20th for each year as International Human Solidarity Day.
What exactly does International Human Solidarity Day include?
- Celebrating unity in diversity
- Reminding governments on their commitments for international agreements
- Raising public awareness on its importance
- To encourage debate on ways to promote it
- To encourage new initiatives
What you can do as an employer?
Morning Huddles
In the virtual world day to day meetings are a necessity for workplace success. This type of cohesiveness and opportunity to share thoughts with others streamlines the main goals and targets. These huddles on a daily basis create group cohesion and also allows to bring important updates to the forefront. At this point employers should make sure that these huddles are short and concrete.
Benefits:
- Clarity: Regular meetings help the team understand the tasks of each member and how it fits in the larger picture.
- Solidarity: These huddles help create a sense of responsibility.
- Communication: These virtual communications if supplanted with mandatory attendance for each team member all the while allowing each team member to speak enhance virtual communication.
Daydreaming and experiment
While it is easy in the physical workplace to daydream and put forward ideas. However, in virtual workplaces the similar effect can be created through the new digital ways of communication available today. They help foster creative exchange of ideas and new sources of inspiration.
Therefore it is required from leaders to make a stream in the virtual environment whereby employees can reduce stress and find expressions of company culture. Additionally, this enables employees to experiment more at work and turn those ideas to new innovations
Some platforms that can help achieve this goal include Zoom, Slack, WhatsApp, Team, Google Hangouts, etc.
Don’t time them, instead measure productivity
One of the most highlighting features of working from home is the flexibility. With the new virtual world, they can decide their timings and work on times when they can focus and think more.
Therefore, it is vital for leaders to put some trust over their members and parallely watch over their progress through productivity. If the objective and key results (OKRs) are on track and heading in the right direction, they can be confident that their team has imbued solidarity towards the organization’s mission and vision.
Conclusion
To wrap up, to make the most out of your virtual teams , you need to encourage solidarity and a sense of belongingness. For this you should create a culture that not only allows them to remain in touch through morning huddles but also to de-stress or ponder upon ideas that can bring innovation.
Not only for leaders, employees are also required to respect individual responsibilities that make up unity. However to build and encourage team solidarity requires an established set of values defined around personal responsibility.
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