In 2019, according to Flexjobs.com, 80% of employees said they would be more loyal to their employer if it offered job flexibility, and more than half said they have tried to negotiate flexible work with their employer. Now that working from home is here, new challenges have presented themselves to employers, managers and leaders; now that the flexibility employees said they wanted is here, how are your employees doing with it? If you’re not sure who is succeeding and who is sinking on your team, here’s how you can tell.
You Can Tell an Employee is MORE Successful Working from Home When. .. .
According to McKinsey research, 41% of people currently working from home report they’re actually more productive than they were before the pandemic. Some of your working parents might report they are spending more time with their children, often assisting them with homework and serving as IT support for their school’s newfound distance learning scenarios. This can be stressful as well, but if your employee emphasizes the positives over the negatives, he or she might actually be finding the silver lining in this new responsibility.
Additionally, previously time-starved team members report they are establishing better exercise and mental health routines, and city dwellers are able to prioritize going out of their way to support local businesses. With the time saved they aren’t spending on commuting, and the other “voluntold” activities that go along with client entertainment and networking, your employees might be carving out time for themselves.
Signs an Employee Might be Struggling with Remote Working
If working parents on your team say they are struggling with the demands of work and unexpected, full-time childcare, this is not an unusual scenario. The IT demands and hands-on learning that many parents have been thrown into might not be going well. From challenges brought by slow internet speeds to the lack of laptops provided by educational institutions, a lot of unplanned changes have thrown parents for a loop.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “In districts across the country, including in Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Missouri, Nevada and Alabama, school leaders purchased scores of devices months ago to prepare for at-home schooling after struggling to manage through closures during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.” But many of these districts are still waiting for shipments, or simply are out of luck due to the surge in demand.
If you have employees finding themselves in this technology crunch, their struggle is real, and may not have a solution in sight anytime soon. How can you or your organization support them? Think about possible solutions to make this transition easier without your employee having to give up their device. Your employee(s) will thank you, and he or she will have the tools to get their job done and support their kid(s).
Another undetectable added pressure. Your employees might be taking on added responsibility to care for their aging or ailing parents. If they have parents in the age group most at risk for COVID-19, your employees might be taking on tasks like grocery shopping, scheduling and attending doctor visits (usually online) and procuring prescription medications, and performing housekeeping to reduce exposure and risk. These are things your employee was able to hire out or take on from time to time, but the pandemic has required new solutions to keep their parents healthy and safe.
Lastly, are your employees lonely? According to the Wall Street Journal, as of 2019, 36 million Americans (28% of households) are living by themselves. Not surprisingly, many of these single household residents are feeling lonely and isolated as we move into month nine of being encouraged to stay home. On the other end of the spectrum, working parents and employees with roommates are feeling overwhelmed and distracted by the constant activity and lack of downtime in their homes.
If you’re not hearing anything from your employees, don’t take “no news as good news.” As an employer, manager or colleague, now is the time to check in and get a read on how your team members are doing. Take the time to ask the questions about their well being, how they’re faring, what they need, and give support in new or creative ways that aren’t traditional employee “perks.” Your employees will thank you and likely even be motivated to deliver better work!