How Leaders Can Improve Remote Employee Engagement In Uncertain Times

Updated 12/25/2024

First Posted 8/21/2020

As a leader, you may feel like your employee’s personal lives are affecting their job performance. You’re probably right. These are stressful times. And your employees’ ways of coping may include going numb because s/he can’t take any more bad news or overworking. Thus they don’t have to think about surviving the double whammy of a global pandemic and economic recession.

Like all coping mechanisms, they aren’t long term fixes. Most people lack awareness of choice during stressful times and that allows leaders to support employees and business productivity.

Since you were trained to keep business and personal matters separate, that’s what you encourage your team to do. Logically your choice makes sense. In reality, your team may quietly resent you for that choice.

Over the last decade, studies have shown that employees want to be seen as “whole people” at work and have employers partner in their well-being. Under prolonged stress and fatigue, people lose the ability to focus, miss important details, and are more likely to make costly mistakes.

There are many ways for leaders and managers to improve employee well-being and engagement to secure productivity and business outcomes.

Here are six ways leaders can help improve employee engagement:

1) Focus on employee output and not hours worked

You hired talented professionals and keep them informed of deadlines and deliverables. In these challenging times, people need more flexibility and support to get through life.

The company that has managers demonstrating their trust and support through consistent two-way employee communication has a more dedicated and resilient workforce.

2) Remind managers to show employees that they are trusted and valued

This means “micromanagement”, idle time activity tracking and time tracking apps, and expectations for being responsive to email, Slack, or text at all hours have to be dialed back clearly and consistently.

Nothing says my boss doesn’t trust or value me faster than being asked why you take so many bathroom breaks.

Encourage socialization to replace watercooler and coffee chats.

3) Update your meeting agendas to help people feel more connected on project teams

For project teams, daily check-in team meetings like 15-minute stand-up team meetings at the start of the day can help team members clarify their “To-Do” list and resolve communication breakdowns.

Encourage sharing personal wins and requests for help in weekly staff meetings

Virtual happy hour on Fridays can help the team catch up on relationship building that requires so much more effort when working remotely

4) Communicate like you never have before.

Leaders can build trust by affirming their commitment to doing what’s right and making decisions, business strategies, and taking action that reflects the commitment.

Remember to take the time to greet people properly on calls and be understanding when personal lives interrupt the work day.

5) Leaders must frequently clarify the organization’s mission and direction

This helps managers establish priorities and for employees to be reminding why they have to adapt to yet another direction or pivot in the business cycle.

6) Implement a plan to support your managers’ well-being and work/life balance.

Since 2021, the surveys consistently show managers are losing confidence in their leadership and have worse work-life balance than in pre-pandemic times.

Taking time to improve managers' wellbeing yields powerful business returns as engaged managers motivate employees and accelerate business results.

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