How to keep your employees energized if they're still working from home

It’s been two and a half years since the start of the pandemic and its effects are still being felt. Some staff are experiencing work-from-home fatigue. We all cited the pros at first - saving hours on the commute (not to mention the money), more sleep, jumping on a Zoom meeting with your business attire on top and your pyjamas out of shot underneath… the list goes on.

But for any business where WFH has become the status quo, the idea has started to wear thin as some staff are experiencing work-from-home fatigue. Here’s what you can do to help your people stay motivated, productive, and energized.

Share your wider business plan

Staff are well aware of the company they work for when they walk into the office every day. But it can be easy to lose touch with what you’re doing and why when you’re WFH alone in your bedroom.

People need purpose to feel motivated. Keep your staff in mind when thinking about the bigger picture of your business. Remind them of your company’s vision and goals — and the important role they play in achieving them. Share the business’ success. Hold virtual one-to-ones to discuss their development.

Knowing their work is valuable and that they’re a part of something will help staff feel inspired and invested in their jobs and your business.

Set specific and measurable goals

You can’t micromanage people WFH, which is not such a bad thing. Instead, monitor and measure people’s performances by setting targets and deadlines and getting tasks completed—and let go of exactly how your staff get there.

Not only will this help you to manage people from a distance but being able to see their progress and achievements will give staff a sense of job satisfaction, which is necessary for staying positive and productive.

Encourage personal connections

Healthy and supportive relationships are the foundation for working well together and collaboration. And this is even more important in the current climate. Throughout the pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing have meant people can’t always see their family and friends. Work relationships can and have helped people cope with the ongoing stress and loneliness the pandemic has caused.

Hold virtual coffee breaks or ‘after work drinks’ — or get on board with the now-classic Friday night trivia Zoom calls. We’re not saying everyone needs to be BFFs, but if your staff feel like part of a supported team, they will work harder and do so happily.

Embrace work hacks

In the spirit of work breaks, there’s a lot of evidence to support the idea that working in short bursts or ‘sprints’ helps people to stay productive and energized, too. You might have already heard of the Pomodoro method? It goes like this:

• Choose one task — something that needs your undivided attention.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes and immerse yourself in the task until the timer goes off.
• Put a tick on a piece of paper.
• Take a short break (make a coffee, stretch your legs, anything that isn’t work-related).
• For every four ticks, take a longer break.

Set boundaries to avoid burnout

Yes, it’s called working from home… but it can also feel like living at work. One of the challenges with WFH is that sometimes you feel like you just. Can’t. Get. Away. From. It. All!

Everyone needs ‘down’ time to rest and recharge, so create some structure and boundaries in order to get the best out of your people. This could mean holding daily morning meetings. Encouraging team lunches. Setting an official time for you all to ‘leave the office’. And not allowing WhatsApp work talk to go on until 11pm…

Your staff will be much more focused, productive and energetic if they’re well-rested instead of trying to keep slogging away when they’ve hit a wall.

Nurture your team with Bright

If you need help nurturing your team, BrightHR has several options. BrightHR’s E-Learning sessions for example are an excellent resource. You’ll get helpful info for your business on everything from how you can best use BrightHR to help your business succeed to tips on how to prevent burnout.

Call BrightHR today

If you still need help, give us a call at 1 888 220 4924, Monday to Friday, 9-5 pm. A BrightHR advisor will be happy to assist you.