According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report, your employees are having a hard time. In fact, they are more stressed than they have ever been. Gallup found that 44 percent of employees experienced “a lot” of stress on the job in 2021. That number is even higher than in 2020 when the world was deeply engaged with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
A stressed-out workforce is not suitable for your company’s bottom line. Even if the circumstances causing the stress are not job-related, your members bring that stress to work with them. Maximizing your company’s effectiveness requires finding healthy, productive means of dealing with it.
In addition to identifying the widespread problem of workforce stress, Gallup also recommends how to address it. The key, it says, is good leadership. Your people will thrive if you can provide leadership that listens, coaches, and collaborates.
Leading effectively in the digital era
One of the best ways to be a stress-relieving leader is to help your staff with the challenges posed by the growth in remote work. The “stay-in-place” orders mandated by the Covid pandemic led to a rapid evolution to hybrid and remote work models. While many studies show that workers approve of the shift, it is not without its challenges. For leaders, it is important to help their people effectively adapt to this new model, which many call the future of work.
A successful shift to remote work requires employers and employees to work with new technology, expectations, and environments. The primary challenge is found in normalizing the shift. Taking the lead in accepting the new normal while remaining honest about its strengths and weaknesses is something that leaders must do.
After modeling a commitment to the remote model, leaders must empower their people to thrive in it. This is critical not only for their success but also for the business’s success. A healthy remote work environment means the staff is more productive, and companies are more profitable.
In addition, the more satisfied remote workers are, the fewer problems businesses will have with retention. For employers, the downside to remote work is that your workers have significantly more options regarding work opportunities. In other words, if you don’t figure out how to do remote work right, your people will find another company that already has.
Training remote members to thrive
As you develop training for remote workers, one crucial step is acknowledging the novelty of remote and hybrid work environments. Remote work is a model that is evolving. The technology and tactics that support it are updated regularly, so people will be expected to evolve with the model. At the same time, they must be willing to give space and support for that evolution.
Because of the novelty of the remote work model, employers must be committed to helping their staff achieve competence in both the necessary technology and their mindset. The new hire process that HR provides needs to involve not just onboarding to the team but also onboarding the tech. This is especially important when working with people who are not digital natives.
Helping workers optimize their use of technology involves presenting the “how” and the “why” behind it. Regular training for new and current staff should emphasize the benefits and opportunities for remote workers. This way, when new technologies are introduced, they can better understand how to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
The most effective training programs will also include testing. You might think of this as “in-house certifications” for the software that they will be expected to use. The more proficient your members become, the more equipped they will be to thrive at their jobs.
Testing and other assessments can also help employers to identify their skill sets and optimize their use. Members that struggle with certain technologies can be redeployed in positions better suited to their skills. Employees that thrive can be utilized as trainers, raising the entire team’s competency level.
Ongoing support will also be a critical component of an effective training program. In addition to the traditional form of tech support, support for the remote worker can involve open communication streams where they can get peer support and encouragement.
In addition, some companies provide anonymous feedback platforms allowing them to express honest feedback on the remote experience. These platforms can provide invaluable information for management on the effectiveness of remote systems and issues that may be challenging employee focus.
As they grapple with finding their place in the new world of work, leaders — more than ever — must be willing to empathize and empower. Your employees need a guide who will hear them and help them by giving them the tools they need to thrive.
