Jeff Weber is the EVP of People and Places at Instructure.
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As more organizations announce plans to continue remote work for the rest of the year, communicating clearly to employees about policy updates and resources is paramount for productivity and well-being. While some companies provided remote work as an option before the pandemic, many organizations and employees are still grappling with the shift.
In fact, in 2019 only 11% of workers in the U.S. had access to flexible work arrangements, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means that a large portion of today's workforce is still looking for guidance on how to effectively work remotely.
There are several essential questions HR leaders are being asked as we enter into what could be a long winter of remote work. I've captured the five most common here.
1. What are the office hours when I don't have an office?
Working from home has made some employees feel like they are always at work. Companies should remind employees of working hours and be clear about expectations for work, and equally clear about expectations regarding downtime.
For instance, in our organization, one employee shared that due to helping kids with virtual school, working from home from 9 to 5 was no longer possible. A quick-thinking manager encouraged the employee to care for their family and worked out a schedule to help them meet their work needs while balancing other responsibilities. Acknowledging that nothing is the same this year is the start to finding a routine that works for everyone.
2. If we are working from home for the rest of the year, do we have more WFH benefits?
During this time, companies may be providing additional stipends, making office equipment available for home use or changing phone or internet reimbursement policies. However, if they aren't clearly updating employees regularly on what can and can't be expensed, problems can escalate quickly. That's why it is important to put revised policies in writing and explain the changes across multiple channels.
If your organization has not communicated work-from-home benefits and stipends, employees should feel like they can check with their managers or work with their HR business partner. A general rule is that with each communication about WFH, especially extending timelines, clearly outline what resources are available and provide clear instructions on how to access them.
A final note: It is important to realize that many employees have not worked from home for this long before. Some may need more advice and help than others. HR can assist this process by providing managers with work-from-home guidelines to share with their team members. One employee recently shared that his manager gave the simple advice to "close the day" by closing his computer and closing the door to his makeshift home office. The simple act of intentionally closing his laptop at the end of his workday helped stop the exhausting "always-on" feeling.
3. May I work from the office?
As school begins and homes deal with potential added bandwidth issues caused by students learning from home, employees are increasingly asking about coming into the office to work. If the company has determined that for the health and safety of all employees their offices will be closed, that should be made clear. If exceptions can be made and employees are allowed to work from office buildings, be clear about the process.
For our workplace, we have worked with building management to post signage throughout the office indicating revised policies and social distancing guidelines while also providing additional hand sanitation stations and masks for those in our buildings. We also are clear that whenever possible, our employees should be working from home.
Your organization might allow specific teams to work from the office in a socially distanced manner while wearing masks. Other companies may only allow a specific number of employees in the building at any given time. Whatever your policy, be clear about it, provide employees with the resources to make requests and help managers understand how to communicate and uphold revised workplace rules.
4. How do I stay connected?
Now is not the time to cancel check-ins between managers and employees. In fact, we recommend keeping a regular schedule, sharing an agenda and setting clear expectations.
How people connect is up to them. One manager recently shared that her team expressed videoconferencing burnout. So, while she is generally a proponent of seeing colleagues during meetings, she turned most one-on-ones into phone calls. In fact, some of the meetings became working walks. One of her team members shared that their weekly meeting became the highlight of her week as she walked and talked through a shared agenda that she captured on her phone.
My advice to managers is to get creative and turn check-ins into bright spots during your employees' weeks. Set clear expectations and celebrate milestones and wins. Life is hectic right now; the more we can make work a place of progress, the better off our employees will be.
5. Can I take a vacation?
Even if people are not traveling to standard vacation destinations due to the pandemic, it is important to communicate that time off is encouraged. Ensure managers are encouraging team members to take time off. It is important for leadership to model this behavior and assure team members that they should do the same.
Some companies are offering different vacation and mental health day rewards. These can include subscriptions to vetted mental health apps, virtual gift cards to rent a movie or branded camping gear to encourage employees to get outside. One company I've heard from even provided a drawing for a week in an RV — these are hard to come by in the current environment!
No matter how people take time off, we know that a healthier workforce is more productive. It's especially important to include mental health as part of our conversations this year as we encourage people to take a break and recharge.
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