PEOPLE
The biggest impact we have seen due to recent events is on traditional working behaviours. Regardless of whether working from home, or the office, happiness, motivation and productivity are cited as the biggest challenges for both managers (40%) and employees (30%).
For businesses that returned to the office, we found that
7/10 (70%) employees are facing challenges with the office itself, such as social distancing and that over 4/5 (87%) managers who returned are also recognising these same challenges.
That said, a work from home set up also sees staff facing difficulties: 3/4 of managers have had employee culture challenges working from home/remotely and 2/3 of remote employees have cited cultural/communication challenges within their environments.
These findings support the view that neither a work from home setup, nor a solely office-based approach, comes without impacts to productivity and people. To explore the issues in more depth, we set out to work with a behavioural psychologist, Emma Kenny, who reviewed the research and worked with us to define four emotionally driven impacts; Confidence of Control, Misplaced Validation, Unanchored Authority and the Apathetic Experience. These are all key factors for businesses to discuss in forming a more conscious work environment for employees.
CONFIDENCE OF CONTROL
For most of us communicating our actions, thoughts and feelings is a way of controlling a situation. At work, we use daily signals, language and actions that demonstrate our purpose and value. But when our environments change, so do our signals and language, this can create misunderstandings and frustrations.
Faced with working in new environments with changing dynamics has meant that over 1/4 (26%) of employees and almost 2/5 (36%) of managers are finding it difficult to communicate with their colleagues and teams.
The problem with such profound miscommunication is that it often results in diminished confidence of control. This loss of confidence in control can lead to any manager or employee feeling uncertain and can further enhance feelings of isolation and lead to a reduction in productivity.
MISPLACED VALIDATION
The link between productivity and validation is not a new one, but the way people seek validation at work is constantly changing. Historically, employee validation was primarily recognised financially through salary: you do a good job, you get a raise/promotion. But over time, the business world has embraced the psychological understanding that whilst money is important, a person’s sense of achievement can span far beyond financial gain.
In fact, understanding what people value can help people understand how they want to be validated. These small validations are known as micro-rewards and we experience them all the time – particularly in the office. In remote environments, the simple replication of micro rewards can feel clunky, misplaced and sometimes even patronising.
The loss of validation is not seniority specific and can be felt at the very top of an organisation. Ultimately, a better system for introducing regular, authentic validation needs to be considered to keep the whole workforce motivated, happy and productive.
UNANCHORED AUTHORITY
Keeping staff motivated, happy and productive is the greatest challenge for managers (45%), while 15% of employees struggle with habits they formed at home and 13% feel less productive. Alongside this, very real issues of safety continue to impact the way staff and managers feel about the space around them. Almost 1/4 (23%) of employees who have returned to work don’t currently feel safe and 2/5 (41%) of managers are finding that making people feel safe is a challenge.
In the workplace, we are all used to having anchors: clear and distinct rules of engagement that help guide us through the working week. Anchors like start and finish times, lunch hours, health and safety guidelines and other processes that help us move through the workday purely focused on what we need to achieve.
Our evolving world of work – including changed and new workspaces – has meant our anchors have shifted. Or in some cases, even fail to exist at all. During this period of adaptation, for some businesses, it’s not quite clear where those anchors have settled – this will need to be addressed in any long-term productivity planning.
APATHETIC EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Employee experience is as important as customer experience, but challenging and uncertain times require businesses to readdress their focus on necessities rather than ‘nice to haves’. The problem is, most businesses wrongly assume employee experience is a ‘nice to have’.
As it stands, our research found that nearly a third (28%) of remote managers and over one quarter (26%) of employees are finding health and well-being a challenge.
This is clearly no longer a case of ‘nice to have’. In fact, keeping people healthy and focusing on their wellbeing is crucial to the ability to succeed; apathy to employee experience will have a detrimental impact on employee productivity.
BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGIST EMMA KENNY, ANALYSIS
Creating happy employees is the goal of any company, however, in the recent months, we have seen a systemic shift in both the work environment and the expectations that staff have about what that environment looks and feels like.
Staff have been traumatised by a steady stream of news suggesting that familiar spaces are now potentially deadly, meaning that the relationship they had with the office environment and colleagues has been challenged on each and every level. Understandably this period has diminished confidence, whilst simultaneously offering staff a ‘safer’ and more ‘controlled’ solution through remote work from home. Staff have grown used to avoiding the daily commute, whilst solving distance problems with video calls, which offer a fast and effective shortcut to connections that historically have proven more complex to arrange from the office base. These benefits have soothed stress levels and led to staff feeling that working from home is the new normal, and a normal they ideally wish to keep.
Understandably, this type of mindset can be a mismatch where managers in particular are concerned. Motivating staff remotely has associated issues, and finding a rhythm and pace that produces happy and efficient staff is a challenge without direct overview of their work and workday. Managers additionally have to be acutely aware of the legislation that affects the workplace, meaning that they are not simply in charge of staff, they are now also in charge of keeping their staff safe and healthy, which is an additional burden to carry.
There are definite gains wellbeing wise to more flexible working options, however, a word of caution is required when remote working becomes a consistent feature within a staff member's life. Isolation and self-management can initially be a welcome change, and certainly there are many benefits time-wise and financially with this kind of working model.
Spending time at home, without the natural interjections and entertainment that relationships in the office offer can diminish overall wellbeing levels. This is why it is essential to encourage remote staff into the office when possible. Water cooler conversations and catching up with a colleague for lunch is important for wellbeing, as is the feeling of connectedness and belongingness received from being part of a team.
