Why Emotional Wellness is Important for Remote Teams?

2020 has been a tough year for many of us – personally and professionally. It has been a tough battle between battling the deadly virus and supporting infected loved ones. At the same time, we are worrying about our jobs and businesses in the meantime. The pandemic has left many disconnected and lost. It has posed new challenges concerning an individual’s mental health and emotional well-being.

Businesses continue to function remotely in these unpredictable times. And it has become essential for companies to look at employee emotional wellness. The sudden change in the work culture demands a new perspective on mental well-being. Working from home has blurred the lines between office and home, which has led to unbalanced lifestyles. The work-life balance we once thrived on maintaining has diminished in these times of social isolation. Remote employees don’t only deal with deadlines from work and concern for their loved ones. But now also have to learn how to adjust to this new normal.

Offices served not only as a place of work but also provided a safe space for an emotional outlet, whether it was seeing your team in a meeting or a chai break with a friend—certain activities like these facilitated collaborations and creativity. We, Human beings, are social animals, and the lack of contact has reduced work to mundane routines. The sudden change in a fixed routine has been highly detrimental to productivity. How we communicate has transformed drastically in recent times. The lack of in-person conversations has made it quite unpredictable to approach certain matters. Although being equipped with the technology of video conferences has been extremely helpful. It still cannot substitute the influence offline meetings can make.

Face-to-face communication is vital. According to a recent study, up to 93% of communication can be through non-verbal cues. Given that there is some form of personal interaction present. However, most team members don’t even have their cameras switched during video meetings, which can be highly disheartening for the person speaking in the meeting. This can make meetings and interactions impersonal and monotonous. And even make the employee feel disconnected from the company’s broader mission and goals.

There are particular measures an organization can implement to boost productivity and positivity among its employees. The most efficient way is to make it evident that they care. Be it their employees or their work culture. Here are some ways to build trust in a workplace under remote circumstances:

• • Implementing flexible schedules can be helpful for many employees. It is not just about being lenient with the deadline but understanding an individual’s circumstances. 
  • Asking employees if they need any assistance regarding their internet connectivity can be a valuable step. It is not up to an individual if they cannot complete deliverables on time if they have a faulty connection. 
  • It might be possible that not everyone has access to a functioning workspace in their vicinity. Offer any possible assistance to set up a separate workstation. It can be as simple as providing a chair.
  • Work meetings don’t always have to be a grim subject. Organize virtual meet-ups where everyone can take a break and have fun conversations. 
  • If a project is successful or the company accomplishes a goal, ensure the employees are a part of the celebration. Consider sending healthy snack hampers if the opportunity arrives.  
  • To make work less sedentary, offer access to online workout sessions. It can be a healthy approach to indulge in a group activity. But, make sure not to impose any action if someone is hesitant to participate due to their reason. 
  • Create an empathic work environment. Ask employees to share their feedback and suggestions and try to implement them. 

The lack of human interaction, the absence of a space to collaborate and ideate, and the monotony of a work-from-home lifestyle create a work culture where an employee is simply not motivated to work.

As teams shift to remote working, there are adjustments both the company and the employee are making. The absence of in-person collaboration, communication, and separate physical spaces for rest and work has led employees to struggle. It could have been pretty easy to tackle any work-related issue through a collaborative approach in an offline setting. However, online communication only offers a limited insight regarding a concern and its impact on an employee. Virtual meetings also restrict the possibility of observing any behavioral changes in an individual.

Furthermore, these issues fall outside the field of HR expertise and are specific to each individual. One can’t infer these issues and observations from surveys, short-term performance measures, or an over-crowded meeting with an HR executive. It can even discourage the HR representative as they cannot help every individual personally.

An external perspective can help boost growth, positive work culture, and employee emotional wellness in times like these. For the holistic well-being of your company, it is crucial to prioritize every worker’s mental and physical health.

Encourage Emotional Wellness with DocVita’s Program for Work From Home Teams

We bring you this tailor-made program to help your organization and employees sustain a healthy work environment and work-life balance. The program involves a therapist, and a general physician, who ensure the two most crucial things for the company; emotional and mental well-being.

1. Give employees an outlet for their emotions

Offering your employees an emotional outlet can help them become more resilient and transition to the new normal. People might shy away from discussing their concerns with their colleagues. In that case, speaking to a mental health professional can help them better balance their personal and professional life.

Our expert therapists engage employees in coaching and counseling sessions every month. These sessions target employee wellness by reviewing and setting personal and professional goals for each team member. We also offer monthly team-building activities to help companies strengthen as a team.

2. General Physician Check-Ins

General Physician check-ins are essential to maintain prosperous health. Under this program, your team members get monthly access to a detailed lifestyle review conducted by a primary healthcare physician. Where the professional offers practical guidance to cultivate healthy habits, helping them review and set monthly health goals. Physical health is crucial for a sound mind. Regular check-ups can provide better insight into a person’s condition and reduce the risk of uncertain medical ailments.

This program is customized to increase productivity at an individual level, thereby helping the company achieve goals holistically. Pre-COVID19, it was easier for managers to understand the dynamics and morale of the team and the individuals it comprised through daily, face-to-face interaction. As a team leader, it is an added responsibility to monitor team members’ performances while sustaining their mental peace. The lack of this communication leads to the absence of honest feedback regarding the team’s well-being. With DocVita’s emotional wellness program, mental coaches share reports regarding employee perception of work culture, goals, and motivation levels, thereby arming managers with insightful data to make smarter decisions. Communication is the most powerful tool that keeps the workforce alive in these uncertain times. And it is essential to maintain healthy communication among employees and superiors. While it was easy to have a quick meeting whenever suitable, virtual meetings tend to draw an unspoken boundary. When a personal space doubles as a working space, it becomes tricky to segregate personal and professional time.

This communication gap has led to several uncertainties. Working remotely also makes it convenient for people to switch jobs. In such cases, employee retention becomes all the more critical. And individualized coaching significantly impacts an employee’s decision to leave the company. Personal coaching and counseling and tailored team-building activities connect the employee to the company’s larger vision. An organization must care about its employee’s mental distress and take practical measures to solve them.

Knowing that the company is also invested in all aspects of its growth makes them reluctant to leave.

The end result is a team of motivated and emotionally well-balanced individuals who aspire to achieve not only their goals but are connected to the ethos and vision of the company as well.

We believe that every team member should have access to an expert – where they can express themselves freely and in confidence and work towards cultivating a holistic growth mindset. We aim to help create a motivated team and a positive work culture, where the work you love is not reduced to a mundane routine. Create a more efficient team today, and sign up for DocVita‘s Emotional Wellness Program now!