Relax….you got this!

As many organisations are forced to work from home, the challenge can be for people who’ve never had to do this other than for a day or so.

From a manager’s perspective, it’s important to do a few things to help your team feel more comfortable.  Firstly, we need to get them to RELAX. This doesn’t mean sitting on the couch watching Netflix all day, but rather getting them to relax and understand that it’s fine to work from home, that they’re (and we) going to be OK. All we need to do is develop a new routine.

Much like the groove we get into each morning, getting up, perhaps exercising and getting ready for work.   We need to do the same thing except we’re not doing the commute.

It’s important that people relax and just focus on getting work done. Ensuring you and your team have a dedicated workspace, take time out for breaks to stretch walk or go out in the fresh air. Take time to ensure you eat well and sit outside for some vitamin D and to feel “at one” with nature.

It’s also important that we continue to connect with each other.

The physical isolation has an impact on our mental health. The easiest way to fix this is to ensure we have regular connection or touch points during the day. It could be a regular meeting at a pre-set time or it may be unstructured check-in’s via software such as Zoom, Microsoft teams or even a simple phone call.

Keeping us connected is important because it enables us to feel reassured that everything is going to be OK and that we are all working through this together.

In six or twelve months’ time we will hopefully be looking back and appreciating our resilience as we pass through this and we will be glad that this period is behind us.

But for now, we just need to relax and find a new day to day normal

Want help to get and keep your team engaged and productive? For over twenty years Donna has been working with organisations and their teams to increase productivity, performance and engagement with technology both in person and virtually.

Sign up for her monthly productivity pointer at www.donnahanson.com.au