How Can I Better Support My Team in a Remote Work Environment? 4 minute read Written by Justin Deonarine, I/O Psychologist Working in a hybrid or remote environment brings new challenges that leaders and managers may have never faced before. Defining boundaries for your team Without the clear boundaries that working in the office provides, your team may struggle to make the switch from “work” to “home”. Some of your team may experience workdays that don’t end until bedtime, which will eventually result in burnout and potentially resentment towards you. The need for a new definition of success Time in the office or in one’s seat has always been a flawed metric of performance. Leaders and managers now have to start considering new metrics for success, such as establishing and striving towards goals. Individuals on your team will still need different levels of support to reach these goals, so be ready to provide this. Communication and Connection Leaders and managers will need to learn how to maintain communication and connection without becoming micromanagers. It’s not as easy to swing by your employee’s office for a casual check-in. Trust and effective communication are going to be critical moving forward. It’s now even more important for those in leadership positions to strike a balance between providing the freedom to make independent decisions and being available to support their team. The question “How can I help?” is going to become a key phrase for successful leaders and managers, but asking it repeatedly will cause communication with your team to break down instead. Burnout Leading remote teams can be a challenge. It’s not a widely familiar environment to lead in. It can overwhelm you, create stress and lead to burnout. There’s also a potential element of loneliness. Leaders and managers will have to learn how to cope with the new environment, remain empathetic (and not overly task-focused), and seek guidance or input when they need it also. Clearly, with the new challenges at hand, leaders and managers need to shift their approach to adapt to this new environment. Looking for personalized tips? Take a look at the new page included with all Work Personality Index reports titled “Finding Success While Working Remotely”. The strategies provided are based on your scores, and will speak to the challenges above.
