The coronavirus pandemic has seen an accelerated shift towards remote working. We’re likely to see this trend continue as states such as Victoria go back into lockdown. Ultimately this could change the way that Australians work forever, but is this a good thing? The positive aspects of remote working include increased productivity and greater work-life balance. But on the flip-side, many workers are missing the day-to-day interactions with their colleagues and feel underappreciated by their employers. This is affecting employee morale.
Reduced face-to-face interactions impacting communication and trust
One of the key reasons that people enjoy work, in general, is because of their relationships with their colleagues. The Australian Financial Review reports that “four out of five Australian workers say they miss interacting in-person with their teammates on a daily basis”.
Depriving staff of these in-person interactions affects morale of team members and also impacts the trust between employees, with research from work management platform Asana showing that 25% of Aussie workers feel that their colleagues are ‘slacking off’ when working from home.
The same research cites that communication with employers is also a cause for concern among remote workers. 42% of Aussie workers feel that they can’t communicate effectively when working remotely which can lead to a sense of helplessness and feeling undervalued by their employer.
Increase employee morale by reconnecting team members
Reconnecting and encouraging communication between team members plays a key role in improving team morale. Team building programs can help facilitate this through:
- Encouraging teamwork – working together towards a shared goal is a team building environment can empower team members to work together more cohesively to achieve business goals
- Providing personal interactions – team building is based on collaboration between team members and can help reestablish workplace relationships
- Making staff feel valued – involving team members in the decision making process within a team building setting can make employees feel valued
- Increasing employee buy-in – team building programs can help realign employees with corporate values by connecting staff at various levels of the business
- Rewarding your team – taking time away from regular day-to-day tasks to reconnect teams is a way to reward team members for their continued work.
The Be Challenged team offers a number Fun and Team Building, Conferences and Meetings, Learning and Development Programs. These can be delivered face-to-face, virtually or through hybrid programs – a seamless in-person experience in a virtual environment.
So regardless of your location or situation there are team building solutions that can be used to facilitate better communication, support your staff and increase the morale of your team.